Motorola this afternoon entered into modern smartphones with its first Android device, the Cliq. The touchscreen slider centers on a new interface known as MOTOBLUR that has customized home screen widgets that let users check and update their social status, handle messages and check information like weather without loading a separate app. It even integrates status updates in other apps, such as for incoming calls or GPS mapping.

All information is synced online and can be pulled down again even if the device is lost, Motorola says.

The Click is headed first to T-Mobile USA and takes advantage of its native 1,700MHz 3G network. It also brings a 5-megapixel camera with video capture, GPS, Wi-Fi; it uses a 3.1-inch, 480x360 screen for most of its input and omits the usual Android device trackball. Most launch information isn't available, but it should ship to the US before the holidays and will also reach Orange, Telefonica and America Movil as the Dext.

It's also suspected the phone will be one of the first to ship with Android 2.0, a promised update from Google that brings device-wide search, gestures and possibly multi-touch.