Motorola MOTOSPLIT: Flexible QWERTY Keypad

Motorola’s rumored MOTOSPLIT has surfaced again with a fresh rendering of its highly flexible QWERTY, touch sensitive keypad, which has a monochrome LCD underneath the customizable keys.

The keypad supposedly can be pulled downwards or to the side like the Droid and Devour. Android Community is citing an anonymous source that this unique Android smartphone is headed for AT&T during the third quarter and will sport Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor:

The keyboard keys are inset and probably have no tactile feedback, however, they should be quite easy to use. It looks like the cutouts are pretty finger-friendly, as they contour to the shape of a standard finger. Under those cutouts is a low-resolution monochrome touch screen, one for each side of the keyboard. This is where the finger presses. The contact area is small, but the plastic grid that surrounds it contours to the fingers. The label and function of each key can be changed to suit certain layouts and applications.
The keyboard has multiple orientations. The keyboard can be pulled from side to side for typing on a surface. A small kickstand angles the phone when typing in this manner. The keyboard can also be pulled to the left for a standard landscape layout. There is also a dial-pad layout.
The specifications are slightly different than previously posted. The MOTOSPLIT uses the same processor as the BACKFLIP. Every other spec is almost the same as the BACKFLIP.

I do not like touchscreen keypads but can live with my myTouch. However, if I could get a quality phone with a slide-out keypad, I would want tactile, analogue keys, not like this digital MOTOSPLIT.

The Backflip and its specs:

- 3.1″ HVGA
- Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 MHz
- 512 Mb ROM, 256 Mb RAM
- Android 1.5 (Ugradable to 2.x)
- 5 MP Camera with Auto Focus and LED Flash
- WCDMA 850/1900/2100, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps (category 7/8), EDGE Class 12, GPRS Class 12
- Wireless G, 3G, Bluetooth 2, GPS, 3.5mm Jack
- QWERTY Keypad
- 2 Gb microSD Card Included
- 1400 mAh Li Ion Battery with Talk 350 min; Standby up to 315 hrs. / 13.5 days
- 4.3 x 2.1 x 0.6 inches @ 133 grams

Source: Android Community