Motorola Q on the Verizon Network?

[Mike Temporale]

According to an email we just received, the Motorola Q will be shipped in Q1 for Verizon. The email also claims that there is are CDMA (with EV-DO) and GSM (with EDGE) versions - something we've heard in the past. From the sounds of this and all the other news, it sounds like Motorola is working hard to get things right, and not just rushing this to market. It's unfortunate that Q1 is so far off because, I want one of these now! Give the email a read (see below) and let us know your thoughts."Everything that I've read about the Moto Q has talked about a GSM device. Today, at a conference, I played with a Q that was connected to Verizon. The Motorola rep said that they could launch CDMA or GSM phones in Q1 (I didn't think to if he meant that they only had the resources to do one of those formats during Q1 or if he meant that they were ready for both formats at once). The CDMA phone has EV-DO; the GSM phone will be EDGE 10 only because there isn't a big UMTS infrastructure in the U.S. yet.He said that some folks (I don't know if he meant inside Motorola or the carriers) wanted to have the phone come out in Q4, but that he didn't think that they could do it and feel comfortable about the quality.As for the handset itself, the size was a bit wider and thicker than I expected, but it wasn't as lopsided as traditional Blackberries. It fit comfortably in my hand, against my face, and in a shirt pocket. The screen was very nice (there might have been a polarizing filter on top because it seemed to have a bit more contrast than I'd expect in a backlit LCD. The landscape layout was a bit weird inefficient because many of the lines on the home page don't need a lot of width so much of that page was empty, yet scrolling was necessary to see everything. The phone was not yet fully functional, i.e., I couldn't get it to dial reliably. (Could just be a bad keyboard.) I did not spend much time typing, but the keys are fairly small, as is typical for devices of this size.Finally, the connection that the phone had was 1xRTT, not EV-DO. The Moto rep told me that it could do EV-DO. I don't know if he meant that the signal was bad in the conference area, or if the prototype that he had was not capable."

[Mike Temporale]

According to an email we just received, the Motorola Q will be shipped in Q1 for Verizon. The email also claims that there is are CDMA (with EV-DO) and GSM (with EDGE) versions - something we've heard in the past. From the sounds of this and all the other news, it sounds like Motorola is working hard to get things right, and not just rushing this to market. It's unfortunate that Q1 is so far off because, I want one of these now! Give the email a read (see below) and let us know your thoughts."Everything that I've read about the Moto Q has talked about a GSM device. Today, at a conference, I played with a Q that was connected to Verizon. The Motorola rep said that they could launch CDMA or GSM phones in Q1 (I didn't think to if he meant that they only had the resources to do one of those formats during Q1 or if he meant that they were ready for both formats at once). The CDMA phone has EV-DO; the GSM phone will be EDGE 10 only because there isn't a big UMTS infrastructure in the U.S. yet.He said that some folks (I don't know if he meant inside Motorola or the carriers) wanted to have the phone come out in Q4, but that he didn't think that they could do it and feel comfortable about the quality.As for the handset itself, the size was a bit wider and thicker than I expected, but it wasn't as lopsided as traditional Blackberries. It fit comfortably in my hand, against my face, and in a shirt pocket. The screen was very nice (there might have been a polarizing filter on top because it seemed to have a bit more contrast than I'd expect in a backlit LCD. The landscape layout was a bit weird inefficient because many of the lines on the home page don't need a lot of width so much of that page was empty, yet scrolling was necessary to see everything. The phone was not yet fully functional, i.e., I couldn't get it to dial reliably. (Could just be a bad keyboard.) I did not spend much time typing, but the keys are fairly small, as is typical for devices of this size.Finally, the connection that the phone had was 1xRTT, not EV-DO. The Moto rep told me that it could do EV-DO. I don't know if he meant that the signal was bad in the conference area, or if the prototype that he had was not capable."

[Jerry Raia]

If they do this right its going to be a big hit I think. The screen dimensions do seem a bit odd as pointed out. I'm looking forward to this.

[cortez]

jerry - i'll wait for your 90 day review before i consider Motorola. my first choice is the HTC Wizard - even if it comes out after the Motorola. i prefer the landscape layout of the keyboard and screen. (oh, and did i mention that i don't trust Moto's QA)

[Jerry Raia]

Originally Posted by cortez

jerry - i'll wait for your 90 day review before i consider Motorola. my first choice is the HTC Wizard - even if it comes out after the Motorola. i prefer the landscape layout of the keyboard and screen. (oh, and did i mention that i don't trust Moto's QA)

Oh I will probably end up with both of them. :mrgreen:

I am very skeptical of Moto's ability to do this right but I really want them to because I like the form factor. This would be a nice come back for them from the dark cloud the MPx220 has left over their heads. If they mess this up you will hear the screaming all the way in North Texas! :twisted:

[ARW]

Originally Posted by Mike Temporale

According to an email we just received, the Motorola Q will be shipped in Q1 for Verizon.

Shipped to VZW Q1, which means customer of VZW won't see it until Q2 at the earliest, but I'd guess more likely Q3, based on their past performance releasing phones. This makes me wonder why they cancelled the i645. It certainly wasn't because they had a substitute that was imminent.

Maybe they cancelled it because they didn't want more of my money.

[gmontielh]

Although I like very much the Q, come to think of it how about a RZR Smartphone? The Q should be a PPC PE i/o a Smartphone. RZR hardware already exists or is it that Motorola just can't do it (or don't want to)?

[ARW]

Originally Posted by gmontielh

Although I like very much the Q, come to think of it how about a RZR Smartphone? The Q should be a PPC PE i/o a Smartphone. RZR hardware already exists or is it that Motorola just can't do it (or don't want to)?

I'd have to agree with you. The Q format seems to much more in line with PPC. Smartphone should be much smaller and phone dimensions oriented, i.e. flip or candy bar.

I'll probably still try the Q if it makes it to VZW and it runs without problems, assuming of course that Cingular hasn't added coverage to couple of areas. Should they I'll dump VZW as quickly as possible.

[Mike Temporale]

Originally Posted by gmontielh

Although I like very much the Q, come to think of it how about a RZR Smartphone? The Q should be a PPC PE i/o a Smartphone. RZR hardware already exists or is it that Motorola just can't do it (or don't want to)?

Motorola is targetting the enterprise Blackberry market. This device isn't aimed at the SE's or BlueAngel's out there. They are looking at getting a piece of the corporate messaging market, and I think it's pretty clear that this market doesn't care about having a touch screen, or the BlackBerry would have one by now.

[Jerry Raia]

So they really better not mess this up.

[gmontielh]

I have the SMT5600. Reason is that the RZR current OS just sucks and is difficult to manage. I was able to set up the SMT within minutes for corporate e-mail. With the RZR it took hours to +/- ge it working and still had problems. After 2 frustrating days with it I switched to the SMT but alas I must confess I miss the RZR design and feel. But at its price level with Cingular you expect more than just good looks. Motorola hardware has always been very good. So why not go a step further with a Smartphone RZR? Best of both worlds...

As to the Q, I still believe that it should be a PPC PE. OK so it would be one without the touch screen, but it would have Mobile Excel, Word and PPoint plus a variety of other software available for the enterprise which can make it a more useful tool than just a smartphone. Btw I still keep my 4700 handy all the time as the SMT is not enough and still PPC phones fall short of my expectations (for now...)

Why just be "equal" to the BB when you can come up with something a lot better with WM? I guess time will tell...