Motorola Q Smartphone
|
|
I clearly remember the day in May 2001 when I first held an iPAQ h3635 Pocket PC in my hands. The iPAQ wasn’t the first Pocket PC released and had been preceded by several other handhelds of one type or another, but its design and implementation started a revolution; looking back, it’s obvious that this first iPAQ defined how Pocket PCs would be constructed for generations to come. Now, five years later, I find myself holding another potential trendsetter for Windows Mobile devices: the Motorola Q.
Like the iPAQ, the Motorola Q’s appeal is in its attempt at merging the best aspects of similar devices. The concept was to combine the versatile Windows Mobile OS, a BlackBerry-type QWERTY keyboard and jog-wheel, a slim RAZR-inspired design, and a first-rate wireless transceiver, all in one sleek device. Unfortunately, the Motorola Q's bold design and admirable attempts at combining features do not overcome several important missteps which make the device a dubious choice for most.
|
Introduction
The Motorola Q is a Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone, designed primarily to compete with wireless data devices like the RIM BlackBerry. This being the case, a large part of the Q is devoted to data entry and navigation, with features like a QWERTY keyboard and dedicated scroll wheel, along with extra attention to a one-hand-friendly layout. While it more closely resembles a Pocket PC Phone in some aspects of its design, the Motorola Q is, sadly, a true smartphone, lacking a touch screen and stylus.
Primary features include the Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone OS, a 312MHz Intel XScale processor, a 128MB ROM chip (storage memory, of which about 60MB is free to the end user), 64MB of RAM (system memory), a 2.4” 320x240 color display, a 1.3MP digital camera, Bluetooth, a miniSD flash memory card slot, and a removable, replaceable Li-Ion battery.
Included in the box with the Motorola Q is an 1130mAh Lithium Ion battery, a USB sync cable, an AC wall charger, a plastic holster with belt clip, a software CD-ROM and a printed user manual. Unfortunately, there are no included car accessories or even a desktop cradle, though a growing number of accessories, both third-party and Motorola-branded, are available for purchase. |
