First Impressions: Motorola Q Smartphone

Lack of a touch-screen...no thank you.

Lack of Wi-Fi.....no thank you

love the design. if only it was a Pocket PC and not a smartphone....

Awesome.................... I am definately buying one

PocketPC? No thanks. Phone first, PIM second.

no wifi no sale

Form over function is becoming too common these days.

the backspace button is right next to nav key "<-"

If you all want the perfect phone, then design it yourself! You don't need Wi-Fi, the EVDO is plenty...c'mon guys! I have a Treo 700 and rarely use the touch screen.

Anyone want my brand new 700?

$199 in Verizon~~~

What a great price...

I don't want to buy Touchscreen phone for $399

no wifi- why do u need when EVDO is giving the needed band width
touch screen - though comfortable to have, doesn't score big as it is hardly used when key pad available
Phone first PIM next - This is a perfect fit with both
Pocket PC - think and evaluate the need for yourself. best judged by the need
and finally
value for money - I give it 5*

can we trust motorola?

I cant wait until they make a GSM version for Cingular. I would get the Palm Treo 750w instead, but i doubt they will ever release a Cingular compatible version (I'm on a family plan so I can't buy a data plan.)

Motorola Sucks! Piece of crap software.

I have wi-fi on my Verizon xv6700 and almost never use it. I find the download speed and convenience of using the Verizon data network sufficient for email and most web surfing. As for the lack of touch screen, I find the touch screen diificult because I always hit it while in my pocket or on my belt and it launches programs without my knowledge. Let's give the Q a chance before we knock it. Yes, I trust Motorola

I am torn between the treo 700w and the moto q. A phone is very important but I also need to access up to 1 gb of data regularly. With a minisd or a sd the processing speed of which would any of you prefer? I would hate to down load programs in a 2gb disc and take too much time to access.

I have a an XV6700 and it's kinda slow. The call quality is not too good either; I'm waiting to see the Q next week - I might exchange the XV6700 for it

Moto Q is here to stay!!!!

With its looks and slim design, it will aim not only to just the executive personnel but also at the mainstream population that needs to be connected to the Internet 24/7.

I personally have a Pocket PC phone, but I paid a lot more for it. Also, you need two hands on because of the stylus!!

The Q has the right combination of "one-handness" and price.

How about comparing this with Cingular 8125?
Which one has more to offer?

I have a nokia 3310

No Wifi ... no thanks
No touch Screen ... no thanks
Lame side mini usb ... no thanks
It was almost a winner.
You have got to wonder about the ergo and design team. You spend all this time and money to roll a product out and you overlook some key features? It's called R&D motorola.. say it again... R&D...

Nokia E70

EVERY Motorola phone I have ever owned is CRAP. Battery is worthless after 3-6 months, drops calls like mad (when other phones using same service don't), and tech support, repair, and replacement is a NIGHTMARE. Best of luck to anyone who buys one

As someone who's owned several Motorola phones and a WM2003 based pocketPC I can't say I'm too excited about this. It does look like its very much about form over function, it is essentially a smartphone (like the clamshell Motorola's running WM) that has been made to look like a Treo or a Blackberry.

Additionally I'll concedee that Motorola's phones are generally good looking and work ok, but I've had some very annoying bugs, quirks and design flaws with every Motorola I've owned (and these are relatively simple phones). Beyond the obvious visual appeal and size, I would be very hesitant to buy a first-gen Motorola smartphone over the Treo.

No one has commented on the PDA functions. What am I missing? I've got a Treo 650, and I'm on my sixth replacement...can it be worse?

I've used Treo 650 (far superior to BB overall, but lousy battery, quirky, buggy Palm OS - yes buggier than WinCE), and a Treo700 (amazing Office integration, great user interface, FAST software, WICKED fast EVDO which i routinely clocked at the 2wire.com speed meter at 2-4Mbps, never less than 400Kbps).

So MotoQ looks like a smaller Treo700W which sounds compelling (700 is BIG) - just have to get used to going back to BB trackwheel instead of touch screen (hmmm). They probably did that to save power.

One other thing, key spacing on the Treos versus BB is really irritating, looks like MotoQ fixes that too. Probably gotta get a Q...

Price the data plan right, I will get it. Verizon has failed to pull consumers into its great EVDO network because of its high pricing. I hope it will not make the same mistake again. Be smart Verizon, price the data plan right, we will get it..

Q is the best thing to come along since TREO.
Bells and Whistles...does it do the basic tasks well and does it slide in the pocket without leaving a glacier size lump? Yes. Sold.

No one talks about the great kyocera 7135. It still is the best palm phone out there w/ excellent reliability as well as toughness in a hard to beat flip up design. It has solid hinge and never gave me a trouble for the past ~4 years I had. We need an upgrade w/ better software and all the usuals improvements including WiFi/Memory. The technology is here to make the unit a bit lighter and thinner as well. That would be the best...

How many motorola employees do we have here? Some of these posts sound like they were taken straight from a brochure.

y'all compare too much the phone is hot ok

Well, I've read all the reviews on here and I'm not quite sure I've made up my mind yet. I wish the Q had the tethered capability like the 2 letters/key BB offered at Verizon. Most likely I think I will get a Q tommorrow. Will let you all know about my experience in a day or two.

ok whatever, first of these phones are bulky and lame, and they cost hella, and do you people know how much it would cost you monthly to use this phone just because of all the technology on it, you do know your going to have to use most of the services on there for the phone to work right, so itll be like 150 bucks a month to keep this phone up and running how lame, i personally have a razr i love the flip razr the slvr is lame, I like motorolla innovation espesicially with the new keypads you people take all these technologies for granted you make me sick, Im going ot upgrade my razr only with the razr line when they come out with something new and interesting, you guys can buy the q and be lame

Though put rather oddly, spawn from hell, I think, identified the main weakness of this phone: it's too expensive for most people and those who are willing to pay the price would rather it were a better phone with wifi, touch-screen, etc.

I've seen posts all over the place about people not liking the software part of motorola phones and I'd tend to agree.

Give me a touch-screen, palm OS, the better-priced Sprint network (and you could even raise the price) and I'd buy a Q tomorrow.

I have a Treo 650 and so far I love it. Keep finding out new things about it each week. Maybe I should read the manual. I wonder if I could use it to record my professors lectures.

Have no use for a built in keypad. Don't understand this mistique. No wifi no biggy. No touch screen? Lame. Going to stick to my Qtek 9100 until something better comes along. Need a simple clam shell device with as large a screen as possible, WM 5.0, real SD and not BS mini nonsense

I also have a family plan, and was able to get the Q. Family plan is $70 for 700 minutes, 2 phones. I had to pay an additional $49.95 for the unlimited data plan.

Anyone know if there will be a way to hook a laptop up to the Q and use the computer's browser through the phone??

The plans that Verizon has you sign up for to get a Q are simply ridiculous. The $80/mo plan includes only 450 anytime minutes, unlimited data, but you have to add-on text and picture messaging as another cost. What a disgrace. It's a shame too, I was really looking forward to the Q. It figures Verizon would find a way to kill the deal.

I played with a Q for about an hour in the store yesterday. What a piece of shit. Some screens took forever to scroll through. The nav is cumbsome. It seems very latent in responding to some commands. I saw no speed dial feature or dial by picture which I believe is a Treo 700W feature, what is wrong with this thing? I have a treo 650, I hate it but I am not ready to abandon it for the Q. It is half baked like all moto products when they first come out. as usual the users have their chain yanked for new technology that is not perfected. Motorola is just like microsoft, build it, release it, then fix it. Not a way to win the hearts and minds of the adoring public.

I just bought the 700w last week.

The Q is much better as a one handed device, allows more custom settings for the "today" page, and has a better speaker phone, and is cheaper. Better for me who uses these while driving.

Treo has MS office, easier to use 5-way and soft buttons (the lack of space between the qwerty and the 5 way on the Q is tough for bigger fingers) and is actually narrower across the palm of your hand than the Q (although the Q is obviously thinner and lighter-weight).

Processor and memory numbers on the Q have eluded me.

Four score and seven years ago...

So I had to have the Samsung i700 last year when it launched what was "the phone/PDA to have. A PIG! What a pain a touch screen is to use when there are no keys. But I have lugged it around to use just as a phone. My associate has had every possible Phone that Verizon has offered in the past few years and says he likes the capability of the Treo although he just saw my new "Q". I have not even used the capabilities of the i700 over the past year and have come to the realization that at 47 my eyes can't see as well as they did last year and why in the **** do I want to work using Excel or Word when I have two huge wide panels side by side to do my work at the office. Nice to have but...OK I admit I am a gaget junkie just like the rest of you but do you realy make more MONEY "the bottom line" as a result of all the bells and whistles? If you say you do you are full of it! I have spent the last 48 hrs screwing with this thing decieding if I am going to keep it. I do like it's sexy footprint. Already the f-n case that I have bought does not fit right and if I bump it on the seat belt the voice comand chick says "play a command" so now it is in my shirt pocket (what if I don't have a shirt pocket...?)Also, It starts to press numbers on the keypad as well. (same **** as the Samsung and the 3 or so cases I have tried)
The wheel which I like 1000 x's better than the touch screen is very querky as it scrolls - when I wan't to use the button on the wheel it scrolls and does not scroll properly if you roll it too fast. The back button on the side does not alway seem to work especially when in the phone display (unless mine is defective.) Why they did not make a flip case with the ability to access the keys is a mystery (or misery?) The screen although the clearest I have seen is a fingerprint nightmare if touched. Guess a clear screen sheild would also be nice for the case of the future. Also, being able to lock the Caps or #'s keys would be nice. WIFI? who needs it!

For the person(s) who have to have the lastest and greatest of the month, day hour nanosec, we do pay the price. I bought the Moto v60 flip when it was also the greatest and you need two hands to flip it open. I'd miss calls all the time.
And finally a case of Gotta have it now, first I bought a $56,000 cash VW Tourage in 2004 (first generation with all the bells and whistles) and I am ready to do a lemon law buyback as the first year it has been in the shop over 3months with probs. DESIGN FLAWS just like every other techno gaget that comes out.

Moral: If you play you pay. It is planned obsolescence. If they make it the way we want it on the first go-around and they would not be in business for the umpteenth generation of phones. So get used to it cause Nokia is now working on something to take back marketshare they once had only a few short years ago... ...and so on and so on. It is use gaget junkies who launch the momentum when someone looks over our shoulder and want;s one too! So bend-over and take it cause they are givin' it to us!!!!!!!!

THE END L.O.L :-)

i was checking out the q, kinda cool but the lack of wi-fi, bluetooth only headset, and incomplete web browser are what are stopping me from getting it. other than that it's a great idea. i'll check it out later after some of the buggs hve been worked out. "same razor like design" = "same razor crappy battery life"

I have the treo 700 love it and used the touch screen often as I did with my 650. had the 600 and was happy with treo consistant improvement as for moto had 3 razors and the look was great but the phones were trash so I would not even look at the Q

That post about gadgets is a very useful one and deserves consideration. When you think of what these smartphones are supposed to do and how difficult it is to get them to fulfill their own advertised prowess, it is laughable to know how much we'll pay for them.

I do find that the e-mail features and contact, calendar management on the smartphones is very useful for contact intensive professions like mine. You can add contacts on the fly instead of waiting until you lose them before you get home to the desktop:)

There really is no need to continue buying these smart phones because they are always perfecting what they market to us in beta form now. A never ending search for stuff we don't really need and that doesn't make it easier to succeed in our lives or our professions.

Ok I am getting rid of my Blackberry 7250 and I am debating between this Q and a Treo 700w. I really only need the phone to work and I will be using the email and calendar funstions synchign with my office quite a bit. I am leaning toward the q due to price and the fact that it has Powerpoint which is huge in my industry. I hear so many of you bashing this pthing though and it scares me a bit. Some help would be great

The Moto Q is absolutely fantastic. It is the perfect solution for me. I have used the Treo 650, and though it has more features I would never give up my new Q. The small size and weight is awesome, the screen is clear as a bell (images from my hosting site look great), text is easy to enter, and on and on.

Sure, there could be more bells and whistles, but really, how much do we use them and they would change the form of this unit in a negative way. What they have packed into this small unit is more than enough for me.

I get the idea from some of the posts here that some people only look for the few negatives, and look beyond all the great things.

Are you getting the idea I love my new Q. Great, that is my intent in this post.

I played with both i like the fact that i do not need a stylus to move around on the q and also the screen is bigger and the keypad is easier to type with.Unlike the treo whose pad letter are closer to each other. However i like the size of the treo apart from its thickness.

Returning the Q after ten days and getting a Treo 700 instead. The Q does almost nothing its supposed to do.

Calvin - what a dumb post! you may be right about the phone sucking but the data plan and cost is a choice. Whether I get the xv6700 or the q, i have used the evdo and the montly cost for that mobile bandwidth is nothing compared to the business benefit... (and yes, you can tether them as modems for laptops)

I threw my BB 7250 in the trash and got the Q. I need phone first and that is just what I got. Great radio! And the email works just fine, although not a BB it seves my purpose. Great screen, extended battery more than doubles the amount of time I got with the BB. No complaints, great device and great price.

Much better than the blackberry for this tech chick. However, any ideas on a case for the Q with the extended battery?

THE REVIEWS ARE IN!!! MOTOROLA'S ARE NICER TO LOOK AT, BUT THEIR TECHNOLOGY, FIT AND FUNCTION, AND BATTERY LIFE SUCKS!!!

WHEN IS LG MAKING A SMART PHONE???

I have had the Q for a week. This is my first smartphone. I like a lot of the things it can do that a regular phone doesn't like web, email and good calendar sync. However, the battery life just doesn't work for me. With the regular battery I have not been able to make it through a full day yet. This is with about 30-40min. total talk time and 3or4 couple of minute web surfings. Salesperson right off the bat said I would have to have extended battery- he was right. However, the cover that comes with it is CHEAP looking and really takes away from the appeal of the phone. I'm not trying to bash the phone- just wanting to give my experience.

motorola sucks like **** no way am i getting one!!

Do not buy this phone!! The hardware seems great but the software completely suck and locks up several times a day. I have to take out the battery and reboot. It locks up in many different situations like: answering a call, looking up contacts, pressing buttons to quickly. It is really a piece of crap and needs a software upgrade now.

I was very disappointed with the voice activation dialing which is a great convenience while driving. In my old Motorola phone it worked great. In the Q it is almost useless. After one month I'm on my third Q from Verizon, the first 2 died and they replaced them. It locks up occasionally, and I have found this phone to be frustrating in a number of ways.

I have had a Q for about a month now. Overall I like it, but am having regular lock up problems. I also find that the Q will often be unable to connect to my Motorola H700 Bluetooth headset after a while until I reboot it. I would have gone with a Treo 700P but it doesn't support Bluetooth voice dialing, which the Q does. I am going to try to get Motorola to replace this unit or at least provide a software update.

Go to qusers.com and everythingq.com for info on all the updates and software corrections/hacks you can do to fix 100% of the whines and complaints on this board. With the new windows update, there's no more locking up and now we have free pc tethering. With the addition on slingbox tv/video and the ability to have your PC access the net at high speed internet (for those of us who's internet connection went down) without big brother (Verizon) policing us I'd say the 149 amazon asking price is a winner. Plus they have emulators for Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo out now with all the games out plus you can grab the new 2GB SDcard for like 35.00. I'd call this phone a winner anyday.....

Bottom line....its a windows OS...they always suck and crash etc when they first come out but after a while when the service packs come out they're all good.....the Q's no different. Just make sure you do the update when you first power it on and make sure you do the speed hack (qusers.com) andyou'regood

My motorola Q turned out to be a lemon.
The first device I got the stoped working after 3 days, you basically couldn't hear anything. In those 3 days it was mostly in
recharge as it was the weekend. Verizon replace it.

My 2nd device worked ok for a couple of months and started
having problems with the soft keys that were getting stuck. In the
middle of a call it would try to call again, trying to do send and recieve would delete messages as "delete" was the first thing on the menu. applications starting automatically and not being able to
lock the device as the home key would launch applications.
Verizon replace it.

My 3rd device had problems charging and then die without warning and the device was only 1 day old !!!!!!

Verizon said they will look at it to see what's wrong but
I had enough with the Q, I asked them to activate my old device.
I would NOT recommend the device to anybody, it is a lemon.

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Re: Ben- dover's can't shift-lock problem; i just got mine, but i think two clicks on the shift key locks it.

I sure wish this came with some kind of a text editor or notepad.