Mike Temporale
04-08-2004, 03:00 PM
Late last week I had a chance to sit down with Sierra's new Voq Professional Smartphone. Unfortunately time did not permit me to play with every aspect of the phone. However, I was still able to gather a wealth of information about the Voq. Please keep in mind the phone I played with was an early beta. The ROM had been upgraded a couple of times, and other physical changes like the improved keypad and screen where not on this model. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/SPT_MT_Voq_Phone.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><i>Figure 1: The Voq Professional - sorry the picture is a little fuzzy.</i><br /> <!> <br />At first glance the phone looks massive, but when you place it beside a Tanager it doesn't look so bad. I was told that the final version will be a little shorter and as others have reported, the keypad will be shaped a little different. The Voq is surprisingly lightweight considering its larger footprint. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/SPT_MT_Voq_Tanager.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><i>Figure 2: The Voq Professional along side my Tanager.</i><br /><br /><b><span>The Unique Factor: A Hinge and Keyboard</span></b><br />The keyboard's hinge is solid and sturdy. It snaps shut, so there is no way this is going to pop open when you're handling the phone. It also snaps into place when you open it. I never once worried about the keyboard folding up on me while I typed on the phone. When the keyboard is open, the front number pad is deactivated to prevent accidental pushing of one of the buttons. I found the keyboard buttons had a nice solid feel to them. In fact, the only issue I with they keyboard was the height of the hinge. If you have ever used a thumb-board, you will find that there are times when you have both of your thumbs on one side of the board. <br /><br />For example, the word YOU has all three letters on the right side of the board. You can enter the letters using only your right thumb, or you can use your left thumb for the letters Y and U, and your right thumb for the O. The problem is the hinge is so tall that you can't just drag your thumb to the other side of the board. You have to stop and lift it up and over the hinge. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's enough to throw me for a loop when using the device. I'm sure, however, that after using the keyboard for any length of time you wouldn't even notice this anymore. Just be prepared to spend some time getting used to the keyboard layout. <br /> <br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/SPT_MT_Voq_Tanager_OpenKeyboard.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><i>Figure 3: The Voq Professional along side my Tanager.</i><br /><br />Another physical difference on the phone it the extra Voq button, located between the Home and Back buttons. This button launches Voq's pre-installed software. The joystick on the Voq is much better than the one on my Tanager. It is very firm, and clicks when you push down on it. In my opinion, this is how all joysticks should be, providing the right amount of firmness and feedback for your actions. From what I was told, the battery life on the device is very good, however I have no numbers to share with you on this.<br /><br />The phone ships with the full Java client installed. This means that Java applications written for the Nokia series 60 phones will actually run on this device. I'm not sure this is something I would want to do myself; but hey, if Java is you cup of tea then this would be a cool feature for you. When you flip open the keyboard, a special finder application runs. It will search the phone for references to what you are typing. For instance, if you flip open the keyboard and start typing Smartphone, items that contain Smartphone will be displayed. You can then easily scroll down to your "SmartphoneThoughts.com" IE favourite and click to select it. On a regular device you would have to go into the Start menu, run IE and then select SmartphoneThoughts.com from the favourites menu. This application will search history, contacts, favourites, and notes to find a match. I was not able to play with the Always-on / Push email feature of the phone. Unfortunately it requires a VPN into your corporate network. Normally that would not be a problem, as I would simply build a network just to play with that feature. However the short amount of time I had with the phone did not permit for such fun to be had. <br /> <PAGEBREAK> <br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/SPT_MT_Voq_MailWizard.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><i>Figure 4: The Voq Professional email wizard for setting up your phone.</i><br /><br /><b><span>Not All is Rosy...</span></b><br />There are a couple of draw-backs to this phone. The first is the aforementioned hinge issue. Although this is an inconvenience at first, I’m certain that people will quickly become accustomed to it and move on with a little practice. The second draw-back is the charge cable and separate sync cable. There is no reason for these to be two separate components. Again, this isn’t earth shattering, but it’s annoying nonetheless. The third draw-back is Bluetooth - or rather, lack thereof. Only Sierra can tell us why this feature was left out, but I would hazard a guess that they felt at the time, Bluetooth was more of a personal use technology and it wasn’t going to play much of a roll in the enterprise world - ultimately the market for this device. At a price of around $700, you’ll find that this device is aimed squarely at the enterprise level. <br /><br />Bluetooth is growing in popularity. Just one year ago, I would not have been overly concerned that the phone didn’t have Bluetooth. But now that Bluetooth is showing up pre-installed on various phones, headsets, computers, PDAs, and even in cars, you cannot just ignore it. I think you might see another product announcement from Sierra six to eight months after the Voq becomes available, and this model will be more consumer focused with Bluetooth included.<br /><br />The Voq will be released by Canada’s largest wireless carrier. (For those of you not sure who this is; they are affiliated with a large US carrier that is currently loosing a large amount of customers each month. From that you must do your own research and draw your own conclusions.)<br /><br /><b><span>The Right Phone For You?</span></b><br />Would I drop $700 on this phone? I think a better question would be; is the phone worth a $700 price tag? Absolutely, hands down. This is a fantastic phone that's lightweight and offers a QWERTY keyboard for fast data input, always-on email, good battery life, and a host of other features. For me, I want my next phone to be more of a fun device. I’m looking for Bluetooth, a camera (although I’m certain I will almost never use it ;) ), and a very small footprint. But that’s just me.