Motorola CLIQ 2 finally gets gingerbread

While everyone remembers the Motorola DROID as being the handset that kicked off Androidmania, it was not the manufacturer's first Android model. That honor belongs to the Motorola CLIQ which was released almost a full month before the game-changing DROID was. The handset was launched with Android 1.5 while the Motorola DROID was the first to have Android 2.0 installed.

About 15 and a half months after the CLIQ was released, Motorola came back with a sequel having the inspired name of the Motorola CLIQ 2. With a much larger screen size (3.7 inches vs. the original's 3.1 inch display) equipped with higher resolution, the sequel still featured a side sliding QWERTY keyboard. The camera remained at 5MP although the sequel had a dual LED flash. The OG CLIQ featured a Qualcomm MSM7201 A 528MHz processor vs. a single-core 1GHz Snapdragon under the hood of the sequel. But perhaps the biggest change was with the OS. The Motorola CLIQ 2 had Froyo, or Android 2.2 running the show which not only was miles and miles away from Android 1.5, but it also allowed CLIQ 2 users to run Adobe Flash and store apps on a microSD card.

Now, Motorola CLIQ 2 owners are moving up the ladder. Android 4.0? Uh, no. But Android 2.3 is finally coming to the Motorola CLIQ 2 and offers improved cursor controls, better battery performance, number and symbol shortcuts and updated calendar options. You can check out the entire (and rather lengthy) changelist by clicking on the sourcelink.

There is some bad news. This is not an OTA update which means you will need a Windows powered PC, a micro USB cable and the Motorola Software Application. Clicking on the sourcelink will bring you to the instructions for downloading the update. And while it doesn't take owners of the Motorola CLIQ 2 all the way to Android 4.0, it should make it feel like a brand new phone once you've completed the installation.

source: Mototola via Phandroid