Motorola unveils the Quench, a new touchscreen Android-based smartphone

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Posted on 18 Feb 2010 at 12:23

MWC 2010: Motorola has announced the Quench, a new touchscreen Android-based smartphone with an interesting new text input method.

At first glance, the Quench looks like Just Another Android Phone, running Android 1.5 on a high-resolution 3.1in capacitive touchscreen.

It boasts pinch and zoom multi-touch gestures, as well as support for Adobe's Flash Lite which will help to boost the browsing experience on the handset. Moreover, the centrally located touch-pad adds another dimension to browsing, enabling you to flick through pages quickly and effectively.

Probably the most interesting thing about it though is its support for gesture-based text inputs. Instead of typing with the onscreen keyboard, you can simply move your finger around the keyboard and it'll work out what you're trying to type. Once you've learnt how to use it, it could actually be quicker - and more accurate - than typing on the onscreen keyboard.

The Motorola rep we spoke to said that it's the first time this technology has been used on a mobile phone and, as we haven't seen it running on other devices, we're inclined to believe him.

Of course, the Quench also includes support for Motorola's new Motoblur technology, which it first introduced on the Dext at CES in January. Motoblur is the company's Android-powered content delivery system, which collects status updates, photos and synchronises contact information from a variety of services including Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Last.FM, Google Mail, along with work and personal email accounts synced with the phone.

The Quench also comes with dual microphones and noise cancellation technology and a 5.0 megapixel camera with autofocus and an LED flash. There is also 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, aGPS and stereo Bluetooth, as well as access to Google's web services, which you'd expect on an Android device.

Motorola says that the handset will be available within a month, although specific carrier information hasn't been announced yet. We're told that will be revealed as the phone nears its street date.

Author: Tim Smalley in Barcelona