My 1 Month w/ the HTC Touch & Q9c

[RaozrV]

Okay, I’m probably one of the few that have been using the Moto Q9c and HTC Touch (both active with full data plans and phone numbers from Sprint) for well over a month now. I have tried many apps on both and been using both devices for business every single day and use over 3,000 minutes a month voice. So I’d say I’m pretty well versed in writing this and I'm also the IT Director for a large multi store chain down here in Florida that supports just about every technology that an employee would want – quite a pain the a$$ at times trying to be everything to everybody.

To begin there’s no doubt that the Touch is a tad quicker than the Q9c. With that, other than the ability to have a touch screen there isn’t much more that the touch can do that the Q9c can’t do. Again for over a month I’ve been e-mailing, texting, setting appointments, writing office correspondence in airports, and doing just about every business thing you can think of on both – including a small amount of youtube and gaming.

I love the HTC Touch’s form factor, but then again, it is a little feminine for me. The Q9c ,as my fiancée says, just looks like a man’s device that’s serious about getting business done! The Q9c – the damn thing just WORKS! There’s no doubt about it and no doubt “just about” anything can be done quicker on the Q9c than on the touch.

The keyboard, on the Q9c is second to none. Yes the Touch’s XT9 keyboard and its word recognition is pretty darn good – better than I expected but it’s nothing close to the Q9c’s keyboard. If you’re in business and on the move whether traveling or just out of the office a lot, it’s going to be very hard for anyone to give up the Q9c’s keyboard for an on screen keyboard. I have written many e-mail replies on the Q9c with ease. On the Touch it usually starts out easy but get’s pretty monotonous as the e-mail goes on due to the on screen keyboard. Given any test, I know for sure I can out type any one using an On-Screen Keyboard with my Q9c!!!

You may think I’m a nut-case, but I have found that completing many of the same tasks (and I have timed myself many, many times) on the HTC Touch can take a little longer because of typing errors with the built in keyboard or because the keyboard will cover up the input field on the screen or because it takes two or more taps of the screen to get numbers or symbols.

When using the phone on the Touch unless you actually turn off the screen with a push of a button while on the phone, when you hang up you will have a few different apps open because of your cheek touching the screen. Especially if you use your shoulder to keep it up to your ear.

Although I have a Bluetooth ear piece, the Q9c (for me) is much more comfortable to speak on when the phone is up to my face. And that’s a big factor for someone that talks a lot on the phone. It’s also easier to hold between your shoulder and ear.

The ear volume on the Q9c is louder than the Touch – no doubt. When I’m in my server room, I can truly attest that the Q9c’s ear volume is much better than the lower volume HTC Touch. At first I thought maybe I wasn’t turning it up all the way, but after checking, and double checking many times, rest assured that that it’s not close the theQ9c’s Volume.

Speakerphone on the Q9c is a quick ONE-Touch button on the keyboard. On the HTC Touch, again you have to click menu button on the screen then click speaker phone. Although you may think that’s not hard to do, there have been a few times, where your finger/thumb just doesn’t tap right and it may take a second or third try.

The Touch is sluggish when hanging up or dialing. The Q9c is much more responsive. I press the Hang-up key on the Q9c and it ends the call almost immediately. On the touch, I have to press it like 3-4 times. This is most noticeable when you accidently dial a number you didn’t want. The Touch doesn’t seem to recognize that Hang-Up was pressed until it’s connected or almost connected.

Although I didn’t check battery voltage physically - cause I didn’t really care, Battery life was great on both devices - considering.

The CUBE on the touch is a really slick program and if you use the CubeConfig from HTC, you can change the static apps that are launched.
Quick Dialing on the Touch via the CUBE is very nice and very quick! If you have 9 people you frequently call, then you will find it very helpful especially since you can launch it with a swipe of a finger from anywhere in any app.
No GPS yet on the Touch. It’s coming, and coming, and coming and maybe in June it will arrive. It has a gpsone GPS Module built into the Samsung processor but no ROM Yet to activate it.

The Touch is a Kewl device. Size, looks, speed, and the availability of a touch screen makes this device hard to part with especially with www.LogMeIn.com. I can support all our servers statewide even when at the movies or in a bar having a drink if a major issue arises.

The Q9c --- the thing JUST WORKS! Remember Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan? Well that’s the Q9c – IT JUST DOES IT and it does what it does good! Sometimes less is more and I think in this case it applies to the Q9c. It doesn’t have a touch screen so using Excel may not be easy but who really works on spreadsheets on their device? It’s quick, never locks up like the Touch, easy to launch recent apps and has a GPS with pretty good voice recognition for dialing.

Once the GPS is avail for the Touch it will move it up one notch. But if you are the type of person that needs to respond to e-mail, set appointments with details, type memos to or text other business associates, travel and use a GPS for location info, the Q9c is going to be a hard choice not to select.

Well this is just my own opinion from using both devices. I do like the HTC Touch and it’s screen is great, but when it comes down to getting my stuff done and being very productive, and quick at getting to an app, it’s getting more difficult for me to deal with the on screen keyboard and it’s idiosyncrasies. I don’t have big fingers and I consider myself pretty accurate with the touch screen, but it still leaves itself for errors.

I guess if you have the patience to deal with missed taps, and the patience to deal with the on screen keyboard, and knowing that the GPS for the touch will be here within a few months than I would say you’d be fine with the touch. But for me, time is money and the Q9c is going to be my business partner as the HTC is more of a toy geared to touching the screen.

Greg
Saraosta, FL

[PacoJr67]

Very nice side by side. Thanks man!

[zenkinz]

having used a smartphone for more than 6 months, I realised how simple yet productive the phone can be, and dimiss my own personal myth that I need a touchscreen phone in order to meet my needs.

I have tried my Q9h and had the chance to try out the new iPAQ 612 for 2 weeks, and I have to say despite all the great things the new iPAQ has, I can't live without my Q9h as well.

So Q9h is currently my best business partner, until the next smartphone/ppc-phone that has what Q9h PLUS built-in GPS. (which is a regret since US Q9h does have GPS!)

[tbhausen]

I've used both devices extensively, as well. I couldn't agree more with the OP--the Q9c is a great device which indeed "just works".

Todd/Indy

[gazment]

Wow thanks a lot for that review. I have always wondered about "What it would have been like" to own a touch the day after I got my q9c. I'm glad you set me straight ;)

[firecracker37]

Great review, glad to have my trusty Q!

My jobis going to be getting me a smart phone, and I have been thinking of getting a touch, but the onscreen XT9 keyoard might drive me towards a Bb.

[Echoes&Madness]

I also love my Q9c. It is my first Smartphone and I must say that I am very impressed. I read some pretty bad reviews of the Touch and it is refreshing to hear an honest side-by-side review of these phones. The one thing I do wish the Q9c had is a touch screen. Not because I want to type on it, but because a lot of the medical apps I used to use on my Dell Axim 51v no longer run on my Q9c (e.g., Epocrates Essentials, Merck Manual, Clinical Pharmacology, etc.). Had I known that these manufacturers didn't support Smartphones, I would have chosen the Touch instead; however, I would have been disappointed at the lack of a useable (at the moment) GPS. It would have been a difficult decision for me... I have found programs that somewhat replace the medical apps I cannot currently use; however, not having GPS would be difficult, as I use this many times throughout the day... I guess when the Touch's GPS becomes useable, I will have to re-evaluate my decision and give the Touch an honest try... I don't email or text all that much; however, I am sure I would miss the Q9c's keyboard...