The Q Smartphone available in black combines RAZR styling with a BlackBerry-like form. Key features include Windows Mobile 5, a QWERTY keyboard, EV-DO high-speed data, Bluetooth (with stereo), and a megapixel camera. It also comes equipped with a side scroll wheel, a miniSD memory card slot, and a full-duplex speakerphone.
Motorola launched their Q smartphone amidst a flurry of hype proclaiming it the world's thinnest, lightest, and most stylish handset to feature a full QWERTY keyboard. Still a hair's-breadth skinnier than the new Samsung Blackjack, the Q is amongst the chicest handsets to offer the full productivity of the Windows Mobile platform ... at least until Motorola's forthcoming q9 debuts later this year.
The Q is now available for use on Sprint's CDMA network with high-speed EV-DO data services. Early adopters of the Q on Verizon complained about middling processor speeds that led to unbearable hang times when multitasking and/or switching between applications. Has Motorola found a sweet spot between style and performance with this latest Q, or is it still a case of a piece of good-looking hardware that doesn't have the juice to run the software that's installed on it?
I spent a few weeks with the Q for Sprint to find out. The answer says as much about the state of the US cellular marketplace as it does about the handset itself. If you want the price and customer service advantages that come with a carrier supported handset, the Q for Sprint is a decent choice for a Windows Mobile smartphone. However, if you're willing to go outside the box (and can use a GSM network like Cingular or T-Mobile), there are other WinMob devices that offer more in the performance department without sacrificing too much style. Motorola really did a bang-up job on the Q's industrial design. The housing is finished a grey plastic that's at once pleasantly forgiving to the touch and 'grippy' enough to stay put in your hand without the need for cramp-inducing application of force. While a bit wider than the Samsung Blackjack (its primary competitor in the fashionable smartphone arena), that extra space affords a much more comfortable keypad layout. Just about my only complaint with the Q's design lay in the somewhat sharp lower corners - the bottom right corner had a tendency to jab into the flesh on my right hand thumb pad when I used the phone one-handed.
Measuring 117 x 64 x 11.5 mm and weight a scant 115 g, the Q certainly lives up to all of the "thin and light" hype. The device fit comfortably into pants and jacket pockets, and really made me rethink my aversion to carrying around a long, wide phone: the Q's remarkably thin profile helped me to forget the large footprint that's part and parcel of any smartphone.
A 2.4" screen sits just below a blue Motorola logo - flanked by earpiece speakers - on the front of the device. Below the display sits a two-row array of buttons featuring two softkeys, call, call end/power, Home shortcut, and backspace keys as well as a five-way directional pad. These buttons are plenty large for easy access, and the D-pad is raised a few millimeters above the other flush-mounted buttons for convenience. I do question Motorola's decision to place the backspace key here as opposed to at on the top right corner QWERTY keypad below; I found myself annoyed at having to hunt for it when composing an email or SMS message.
The QWERTY layout that occupies the lower third of the front panel features small oval shaped buttons that are mounted diagonally, which makes the keys feel a bit larger than they are and results in easy typing relative to the narrow overall width of the handset. While the Q's keyboard isn't as roomy as those found on full-sized Blackberry devices, it's head and shoulders easier to use than the cramped buttons on the Blackjack. Keys are finished in black with white labels save for the ten buttons which double as the phone's dialing pad. Dedicated shortcut keys for Email, Camera, and Speakerphone are a great touch here, though I did wish the keyboard featured a backlight as found on Verizon's version of the Q.
A scrollwheel and back-button combination on the right panel of the Q allows for one-handed access to many functions, a la Blackberry devices. The controls are easy to use, though the thick plastic ridge that frames them seems a bit overdone to me. A standard mini-USB jack - which is used with the included AC adapter as well as for data connectivity - and a rubber-capped slot for mini SD memory cards adorn the Q's left panel. The rear panel of the Q is largely taken up by the battery cover (an optional extended life battery adds just a hair of thickness to the device), with the camera assembly at the top and dual speaker grills at the bottom of the panel.
Overall, I found the Q's design very pleasing. The font used to label the alphanumeric keys is pleasing to the eye, and the overall layout of the controls and QWERTY board is as roomy and easy to use as one could expect on a device that packs this many buttons into such a small space. As mentioned, the lower right corner of the phone pressed uncomfortably into the fleshy part at the bottom of my thumb pad during one-handed use, but aside from that I liked the design of the Q.
HOLTSVILLE, N.Y. – 2 May 2007 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced it was selected by Microsoft Corp. as the recipient of the North American Windows Embedded CE Partner Excellence award in the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) category. This award recognizes Motorola’s expertise in the embedded market and proven ability to consistently deliver a wide range of innovative Microsoft Windows Embedded powered devices.
Presented in a ceremony at Microsoft’s annual Windows Embedded...
Could things be turning up for MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) in the US? Amp'd Mobile would be inclined to say Yes. According to a press release they issued yesterday, Amp'd subscriber base "jump[ed] nearly 70% in Q1 of 2007" with some 84,000 new activations tallied. This brings the youth-focused network's subscriber numbers up near the 200,000 mark which, while still a far cry from the millions of users heavyweights like Verizon (from whom Amp'd leases network...
Motorola launched their Q smartphone amidst a flurry of hype proclaiming it the world's thinnest, lightest, and most stylish handset to feature a full QWERTY keyboard. Still a hair's-breadth skinnier than the new Samsung Blackjack, the Q is amongst the chicest handsets to offer the full productivity of the Windows Mobile platform ... at least until Motorola's forthcoming q9 debuts later this year.
The Q is now available for use on Sprint's CDMA network with high-speed EV-DO data...
Sprint's version of the Q features the standard Windows Mobile 5 installation with a few key additions that really add to the device's usefulness. The downside is that while the Q's operating system is designed for multitasking across a variety of communications, productivity, and information management applications, the system isn't all that zippy to use. Whether it's the OS itself or the 312-MHz XScale and 64MB of RAM that it's running on (and I think it's a combination of...
The 2.5" diagonal, 320x240 pixel touchscreen on the Q is really a standout. While the 65K color specification isn't state-of-the-art, the display is quite bright and colors really pop in both text and images. Viewing documents, reading messages, and watching movie clips were all a pleasure on the big, vivid screen (so long as I wiped it free of the smudges that it tended to attract).
One caveat to the display is that it's not a touchscreen. As such, the Q lacks some of...
Sprint's EV-DO "Vision Network" provides a high speed data connection that allows for near-Broadband speed Web surfing and data services so long as you're within a network coverage area. Web surfing and Email on the Q was very speedy, though I did hit the occasional dead spot in Sprint's EV-DO coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Q does not have an internal WiFi antenna, so Internet connectivity is limited to EV-DO cellular data. With a strong signal, EV-DO speeds can...
By: K Stringfield on Sunday, April 13, 2008 From: Louisville, KY (United States) Experience: 4 Months
Pros: Keyboard works for me; screen is clear and easy to read (when it's lit); size is convenient; seems pretty tough; recharges quicklyCons: software lacks a lot; microphone is all but useless for voice dialing; back-light time-out optionsSummary: I can't quite remember now why I didn't replace my stolen Blackberry with another one, but the Q seemed a good idea at the time. Honestly, it's very serviceable, very good-looking, fits nicely into my hands, pocket, side of purse and I've found the keyboard easy to use. initial synchronization with my Outlook contacts was quick and straightforward. Initial setup of Bluetooth was difficult due to poor instructions on finding the "Discover Me" mode on the Q. Although microphone is adequate for speakerphone purposes, it is totally inadequate for voice dialing and I'm still trying to find out if I can use some sort of voice tag for each contact to mitigate that. So far, no luck. Up until now, Blackberry was the only cell phone/PDA I had used and if something happens to this one, I'll probably go back. Seems sturdy enough. I've dropped it once or twice without ill effect and carry it around in my purse without a cover. also, there needs to be a longer-time choice between "never" and "60 seconds" for back-light time-out. Finally, Microsoft needs to take some basic lessons from RIM as to PDA software.
By: Sara Harris on Sunday, March 23, 2008 From: Indianapolis, IN (United States) Experience: 20 Days
Pros: good keyboard (when keys don't stick), extended battery, easy Bluetooth sync, picturesCons: everything....keys stick, delays in all applications, difficult navigation of everything, text message organization, just a lot.Summary: Hopefully I just received a random broken phone, but this phone was horrible. Turned it back in within 20 days. Everything froze, the h and m keys don't work on text, bluetooth connection would just drop, no direct camera key, email set up was impossible, backlight was never the same each time (no matter what setting you have it on), missed calls like crazy, horrible static during calls. Good thing was the battery (extended) lasts forever. Good speakerphone (just not on receiving end of convo).
By: j gross on Friday, October 12, 2007 From: farmingdale, NY (United States) Experience: 1 Months
Pros: a little black box that holds everything you need, for work and play. i've waited all my life to entertain myself when i'm waiting on line, in the car, etc. i would buy it again and again. i bought this before it the touch screen may have possibly be the next step. i love a clean screen. the wide screen, easy read buttons, zoom, exceptional. it even has a task manager that "kills" unwanted running programs. Cons: the feature of day, date, and year was untrue since the "long date" will never allow the day to be shown on the screen: manager at motorola said, "oopps, i guess not." battery must be charged since the web. last but not least: i have not found chess games that motorola endorses. Summary: great "all in one". i'm wishing for the same gadget with a 4x4" screen. . . more of a computer with a phone. i understand that had this at one time but stopped making it (b.w. before web). this is as close as you can get to it and highly recommend it and endorse without reservation. hoping the games will catch up!!!!
By: Brittany Panus on Friday, August 10, 2007 From: St Louis, MO (United States) Experience: 3 Months
Pros: looks nice and slim fast internetCons: kinda hard to use...and something that is REALLY annoying is that if u get a text the ringer keeps playing until its over...even when the text message has already been read it will keep ringing until the song is over...when in meetings or public places it gets a little old and we can't figure out how too stop it...Summary: More of a business phone,not recommended for teens...go with a different phone and there isn't the best battery life either
By: gerald davis on Sunday, April 22, 2007 From: phoenix, AZ (United States) Experience: 1 Months
Pros: Thin, sexy, large screen, very similar to my blackberry in button layout, usb-mini sync/charge port, voice recognition is good, speaker is good (callers can hear me an i can hear them.) Holds 2gb mini-sd. Battery lasts with the righ preparation of powermanagementCons: adding new contact from unknown number, cant press letter to go to similar lettered entries if just adding to existing contact, silver buttin is not a joystick, though that would be nice, No MMS is available yet.Summary: This phone is more like a business extension device then a phone. It has web, mobile outlook which is easily synced with MS.Exchange (very handy for smb users and entrepreneurs). The device is a good looking device, balances well in the hand for great one-handed action (texting, short email replies, etc ...) the only things that its missing is wireless (802.11) and MMS capabilities, although that might be a consequence of the providers not enabling the MMS feature. Beyond that its a very business friendly device and well recommended. There are a few tips to extend the battery ( turn beaming off, set displays to turn down after 10 sec, and dim the screen with utility caled candlelight, and youll love your phone battery life like me.
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3.5
Motorola launched their Q smartphone amidst a flurry of hype proclaiming it the world's thinnest, lightest, and most stylish handset to feature a full QWERTY keyboard. Still a hair's-breadth skinnier than the new 
