Moto Q9 First Look

July 31, 2007

By: Christopher Meinck

Motorola announced the Motorola Q9 at 3GSM and more recently at a Motorola event last week in NYC that I attended. Since the 3GSM announcement, the Moto Q9h (h for high speed) has only been released in Italy on Vodafone. There is no official word from Motorola on a U.S. release. This hasn't stopped a steady stream of reviews of pre-release units, Vodafone branded devices and even different versions of the Moto Q9. In our Moto Q9 first look, we'll take a look at what appears to be on the horizon for customers in the US market.

Click to enlarge

Moto Q 9h

Debuting at 3GSM, the Moto Q 9h (official product name) is a GSM based model that supports high-speed 3G networks. The 'h' moniker aptly stands for high-speed. The European version of this phone is shipping in Italy and the unlocked version has found it's way to other markets. Motorola has yet to announce a carrier for the US, however many expect AT&T to be the carrier. If Motorola decides to offer unlocked versions, than it would open the door for T-Mobile customers looking to experience the latest in Q. Price has yet to be determined.

Click to enlarge

Reviews

Ahead of the release here's what some are saying about the Moto Q 9h.

"First off the top is the noticable improvements over the first Motorola Q (CDMA). The keyboard — just wow! The feel of the unit is great, with speaker volume and quality on par or better than pretty much any Windows Mobile 6 Standard device." - Boy Genius Report

"Overall this is an impress new mobile phone that I believe will appeal to both the enterrise business executive and the mum on the run who wants easy access to messaging, contacts, a camera while also being able to listen to music." - Smartoffice, Austrailia

Moto Q 9m

Not to be confused with the Moto Q 9h (GSM), the Moto Q 9m (m for music) appears to be headed to Verizon or at least testing. While similar, the build is different when compared to the Moto Q 9h. Both models do appear to share the same keyboard, but different layouts. The Moto Q 9h has dedicated email and web buttons that flank the answer/end call buttons. It also has two additional dedicated buttons on the lower row. A quick look at the screen of the Moto Q9m reveals a circular interface that could also be used for shortcuts to popular applications.

A common theme among the reviews of both Q 9 devices has been the response to the new keyboard layout. Where the original Moto Q had Tic Tac shaped keys, the new member of the Moto Q family sports what you could call Chicklet style keys.

"The design is sleek but more important is the fact that Motorola has built in functionality that is easy to access and works. A classic example is the curved keyboard and easy access function buttons on the bottom of the keypad." - Smartoffice

"The keyboard — just wow!" - The Boy Genius Report

"The three best things about the Motorola Q9h are the keyboard, the ambient light sensor for automatic screen brightness/backlight control, and the custom software addition." - PocketNow

Click to enlarge

Final Thoughts

This past month marked the first year anniversary of the original Moto Q and the lastest entry to the Moto Q family will offer a variety of improvements including an improved keyboard, ambient light sensor and the introduction of Windows Mobile 6 to the Q. One of the main complaints of the Moto Q was the battery life and despite some rumblings in our forums, none of the reviews mentioned battery life as a drawback. I had the opportunity to spend limited time with the Moto Q 9h. I found the device to be more responsive than my Sprint Q. The keyboard is a vast departure from the original and you really have to press the keys hard when typing. It's difficult to offer a fair assessment of the Moto Q 9h given my limited time with the unit. Upon release, look for our comprehensive review.

No official release date has been set yet, but speculation is that we could possibly see a Moto Q 9h release around August 24th with AT&T as the official carrier. For the latest release news, please sign up for the Everything Q eNews. You can discuss the Moto Q 9 in our forums.

It was the latency problem. Windows Mobile 5 allowed too many applications to remain open to the non-techie user (which is most of us). Thus eventually, the user would find his Q moving ever so slowly with the DRAM taxed. This is a HUGE problem when compared to a blackberry which lets you keep open at most 2 applications-- even tho the user has no idea what's going on.

So why don't any of the reviewers talk about this? Because the reviewers are all techies, and don't get the non-techie crowd.

Also, how big does Blackberry have to get before everyone realizes how important email is?? We all want real time email (Apple!? wireless carriers!?) and we want it to be REASONABLE price. Apple did their best for the consumer, but did nothing for the business user. Once apple produces software upgrades allowing businesses to do corp email effectively (you must be able to delete on the handheld and have it be deleted in Outlook), look out. And then after that, they need to make an iPhone with a QWERTY, call it iPhone B for business users. I'm sorry Apple, it was an awesome attempt with the virtual keyboard, and it will work for a huge segment of the population; however, business users are the ones that can afford $600 phones, and they want QWERTY for their email, or at least the Blackberry half Qwerty (2 letters per key).

report abuse

vote down

vote up

August 01, 2007
Votes: +0

Christopher Meinck said:

I agree with a number of your points. I think both Apple and Palm have succeeded in simplifying the user interface. Palm's Today screen is a perfect example of a manufacturer taking the Microsoft OS and customizing it for the end user. The Moto Q 9m appears to something similar, but they also appear to be targeting that device to multimedia.

With regards to QWERTY, I agree completely. I've been using the iPhone and at times I do miss the QWERTY keyboard. I can type perfectly on the iPhone, but I do prefer the tactile feel of a QWERTY keyboard.

Having read the reviews floating around, I am excited to get my hands on a Q9. To date, I think the latest round of Palm keyboards are the best I've used on a mobile device. I haven't used any of the Blackberry devices, so cannot comment on how well those work.

At the end of the day, different users will have different requirements of their smartphone. The current crop of smartphones each have their weaknesses. In the end, it'll be the consumer who decides based upon what features are most important.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

August 02, 2007
Votes: +0

Donnie Dark said:

	You mention lack of complaints with battery life! That's only because the magnitude of all the other problems out weighs the simplicity of providing a decent battery.
	report abuse vote down vote up

August 02, 2007
Votes: +1

digitalbath614 said:

	I KNEW AT&T WAS GOING TO DO THAT! I was waiting for at&t to get the Q but I heard it was out for awhile and that they wasn't going to get it. So I switched to Verizon just for the phone (which I like better). AT&T was just waiting for the hot ticket item just like the iPhone. I hate AT&T!!!
	report abuse vote down vote up