The 7 Weirdest Android Phones of 2010: largest screen, smallest size, toughest hide, and much more

Android phones enjoyed a very good 2010. This is the year when it overtook Apple and Blackberry and gathered over 25% of market share, and will soon eclipse Symbian and become the top Smartphone operating system in the world.

One part of the reason is its flexibility for the phone makers to create a variety of form factors and abilities and still fit within the Android OS. Here are some of the weirdest Android Phones of 2010.

Please note that not all these phones are available everywhere. Many of the phones are not available in the US, or only available via certain carriers.

The Sony-Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini has only a 2.55" diagonal screen, but it really is a full Android phone. Sony have to shrink the "home" size from 4x4 to 3x3, and create some fancy UI to make the touchscreen phone work with just a thumb, but it is currently the smallest Android Phone.

The X10 Mini Pro added a slide-out keyboard, removable battery, and is not much larger than a credit card in terms of size (but obviously not thickness).

The largest Android phone is Dell Streak... 5 inches diagonal screen. This phone is just monstrous and almost too large to hold. In fact, it's usually referred to as a small tablet, not a large phone. However, it is a fully capable phone.

Tablets are usually 7-12 inches diagonal. Samsung Galaxy Tab is 7 inches diagonal, and iPad is 10 inches diagonal. 5-inch diagonal is a bit too small, esp. when it has no more pixels than a Motorola Droid, which has a 3.7-inch screen. Most Android phones have a 3.2-4 inch screen. Evo and Droid X have a 4.2-inch screen, and they are almost too large to hold.

Motorola Droid X have HDMI out if you get the special dock/cable for it, but that's nothing special when you compare it to another Android phone from Korea... the Samsung Galaxy Beam. What's its trick? It has a built-in pico projector... that's right, a PROJECTOR. You will NEVER have to worry about doing a presentation and got nothing to show.

Obviously this consumes a lot of power so a power supply would be mandatory, but that's much lighter than a laptop and a projector plus misc. cables and other stuff.

Motorola seem to be trying a variety of designs, trying to break away from the flip-phones and sliders. The result are some of more interesting designs... with some of the strangest hinges on a phone (except for the double-hinged phone, but that's not Android). The phones? The Backflip, and Flipout.

Motorola Backflip

Motorola Backflip look like a normal touchscreen phone, but it has the keyboard in the BACK. That's right, BACK. In most flip phones, the keyboard is INSIDE, and the large screen is inside, with a small screen outside. Backflip have just one large screen. The keyboard doesn't slide out, but rather, you open it, and you use the "outsides", not the insides. If you don't understand, view the attached video from PhoneScoop.

Motorola Flipout

Motorola Flipout has an unusual square form factor, and uses a hinge that rotates... sideways. Just look at the picture. It is a very interesting form factor. Whether it works well is up to debate. LG made a square-ish feature phone call the Lotus, except Lotus is a more conventional "flip" style.

Motorola seem to be dominating this countdown, as they have made thus far the only 'rugged' Android phone, called the "Defy".

From the outside, the Defy looks completely conventional. However, the exterior hides a phone that is shock, dust, water, and impact resistant. It is made of Gorilla Glass, which is virtually scratch-proof as well.

In fact, watch Phandroid purposely pour water on their test unit.

Ever wonder if your phone can have split personality? With the Moon Smart Double Star you can. This Chinese phone (even the screenshot is in Chinese) dual boots Android and Windows Mobile 6.5 so you get twice as much phone.

How well does it work? Apparently not that well.

You can probably do this to many existing HTC Windows Mobile 6.5 phones by loading Xandroid yourself, but then, that's up to you. At least it exists.

That's the end of 2010 Weird Android Phone Roundup. What would 2011 bring? Stay tuned.