Review: Motorola CLIQ XT
Screen
Boo, hiss. The Cliq XT's display is identical to the Cliq's and Backflip's and measures 3.1 inches with 320 x 480 pixels. As with the other two, given the size of the phone, I wish the display were at least half an inch bigger. It's just too small and doesn't match the competition. It is bright enough indoors and is colorful, no doubt, but it is practically worthless outside. When under the sun, the Cliq XT was pretty much impossible to use and forced me to seek out shade.
Signal
The Cliq XT performed excellently on all signal tests. If there was T-Mobile 3G nearby, the Cliq XT found it and latched on tight. I had no missed calls, no delayed messages, and no other problems related to signal strength or quality. Nor did the Cliq XT drop any calls or even have any trouble with data. The wireless web was a bit slow once, but otherwise it was zippy. Wi-Fi worked fine, too.
Sound
True to Motorola form, the Cliq XT has really good call quality. The earpiece was loud enough for me to hear callers in most everyday environments. Calls were free and clear of static, noise, hissing, echoes, or other odd happenings. Those to whom I was speaking registered no problems, either. The speakerphone and ringtones, however, were not quite loud enough. I would have preferred a lot more volume for both. I didn't miss any calls, but it would be easy to drown out the ringer in a really loud space.
Battery
Astoundingly, the Cliq XT makes some modest improvements in battery life when compared to the Cliq and Backflip. Don't get too excited, though. I was routinely able to get 24 hours of battery life from the Cliq XT, where the Cliq and Backflip sometimes called it quits after just 7-12 hours. You're still going to need to charge the phone every day, but you have a much better chance of at least making it to bed time with the Cliq XT still operational.