Motorola announced this week on its Motorola Owners’ Forum an invitation to participate in testing the updated software for Motorola CLIQ 2. Two hundred (200) slots are available for Motorola customers willing to be guinea pigs before the CLIQ 2′s updated software is released publicly.

The software testing is part of a private trial under the Motorola Feedback Network. Users who wish to take part in the testing and who wish to be among the first to receive the official updates are encouraged to fill out a registration survey.

According to the Release Notes of the latest MOTOBLUR 1.1.30 update for CLIQ 2, the changes include improvements to speed and performance, as well as new security features. MOTOBLUR is Motorola’s proprietary replacement of the Android UI. MOTOBLUR, touted by Motorola as the “smart,” “life-simplifying” software that puts everything “where you want it,” runs on top of Android 2.2 Froyo. Being a pushed-based service, MOTOBLUR brings into one place several social networking channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.

The MOTOBLUR update is expected to improve Motorola CLIQ 2′s performance through:

• faster loading of wallpaper and widgets
• better power consumption (especially with WiFi and Google Maps)
• updated and new applications
• fixes for bugs that cause the handset to hang or programs to suddenly quit
• more accurate network location for WiFi calling
• improved accuracy of haptic feedback when Virtual Keyboard is used

Among the new security features added via the update are the following:

• encryption capability for device and SD card
• support for proxy and VPN so that WiFi users can connect to external corporate networks
• new password management functions

Heavy users have had performance headaches with the CLIQ 2, despite the smartphone’s promise of its 1-GHz processor. Motorola quickly comes to the rescue–or at least an attempt at it–by updating the CLIQ 2′s firmware to iron out the kinks.