Log in

View Full Version : The BlackBerry User’s Perspective on the Motorola Q


Kris Kumar
06-13-2006, 02:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.infusionblogs.com/blogs/activenick/archive/2006/06/07/550.aspx' target='_blank'>http://www.infusionblogs.com/blogs/activenick/archive/2006/06/07/550.aspx</a><br /><br /></div><i>"As a BlackBerry user of 5 years but a lover (and implementor) of Microsoft technology, I awaited the Motorola Q with some eagerness: maybe this would be the device that could finally stand-in for my BlackBerry. I’d always coveted the Microsoft Smartphone's features. They just lacked two things I needed: keyboard and real-time email. Reading the PR on the Q, it looked the BlackBerry alternative I had been waiting for. Now, I am in a unique position…as the owner of a consulting firm that actually employs two Microsoft Mobility MVPs, and with the immediate ability to make changes to my infrastructure, I knew I could do a thorough review of the Q. So I bought one. And while I still have the BlackBerry 7250, I am leaving it at home and force myself to use the Q."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Kris-June06-BBQ.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />This is the kind of review I was waiting for. Gregory Brill, CEO of a consulting firm called Infusion and a long time BlackBerry user, test-drove the Moto Q and has written up a nice comparison review. The thing I like about this review is that it is coming from a <i>real power user,</i> unlike most reviews that are written by mobile technology enthusiasts like myself. :) So what is the verdict? Well for that you will have to read the review. All I will say is that it is the little things that matter. And I wonder if Motorola ran this unit through a BlackBerry user group, at least they would have got the keyboard right.

Jerry Raia
06-13-2006, 03:42 PM
Funny when you see the two next to each other the Q looks so much better. Unfortunately the two dinosaurs (Moto and VZW) might have missed the mark again. Maybe Moto should stick to what it does best, making trendy toy phones for kids on VZW.

Pete Paxton
06-13-2006, 04:32 PM
I have seen the BB 8700 and I actually like the look of that device. Haven't seen the Q yet.[/img]

seaflipper
06-13-2006, 04:41 PM
This is the kind of review I was waiting for. Gregory Brill, CEO of a consulting firm called Infusion and a long time BlackBerry user, test-drove the Moto Q and has written up a nice comparison review. The thing I like about this review is that it is coming from a real power user, unlike most reviews that are written by mobile technology enthusiasts like myself. :) So what is the verdict? Well for that you will have to read the review. All I will say is that it is the little things that matter. And I wonder if Motorola ran this unit through a BlackBerry user group, at least they would have got the keyboard right.

Yes he is a power user, no question. But he brings his admitted "5 years" of Blackberry baggage in his review of the Q. Just like anybody else who has used a Treo (me and thousands of others) or a Blackberry for that long is going to have certain habits that a new device is going to challenge.

A couple of points in his review I found interesting are:

he says:

"But for BlackBerry users, it is the PHONE you can do without. I am text-centric. I hate the phone. Phone is only for immediate communication of something complex where it would take to much time to type."

but then later is critical of the Q for not having same conference calling capabilities of the Blackberry. Ok. But then lets have a real comparison between ALL of the phone features of the 2 devices...and the Q is a hands down winner there, no question. BT voice dialing on the Blackberry? I don't think so.

The review also talks about getting Good installed, but then he never mentions any review of Good - which leads me to believe he hasn't tested it yet. Good is fantastic on the Q. Granted the included "Outlook" on the Q (and all WM smartphone devices) is really pretty crappy. For a user coming from a standard old cell phone the included email client will be pretty nice, but for a power user who needs solid support for email it just won't cut it - EVEN WITH true push email enabled on the device. You still can't flag messages, you can't change font sizes, you can't change from 2 line to 1 line views of email inboxes, you can't have notifications for subfolders in the inbox etc etc - most of us know the litany of shortcomings of Pocket Outlook on the Smartphone (and PPC Phone Edition too). Good changes everything. The interface of Good is clean, customizable and easy to use. It supports your standard set of one key actions (d for delete, f for forward, r for repy, m for move etc). It integrates right into the home page with Good's custom homepage with Goodlink plugins. Voicedialing via BT still works on the device (although you have to sync contacts on the device in addition to the Good contacts to get this work). There certainly are some areas for improvement in Good (attachments, picture caller ID, recurring appts created on the device, recurring tasks to name a few) but Good really makes the Q a Blackberry killer IMO. Considering that with Blackberry you have one choice for your email client, the Q offers more options.

The brilliant thing about the Q that everyone has missed is that never has there been a device like this where my mother and I could have the same device and at the same time be totally flexible for a casual user or a power user. With Good you have that option. With a Blackberry you don't have any of that flexibility.

For another perspective on the Q vs. Blackberry (BB 7290 &amp; BB 8700), I suggest people look at this review - much more detailed and in depth than Gregory Brill's:

http://www.barjohn.com/Moto-Q.htm

Mike Temporale
06-13-2006, 07:55 PM
...

Excellent post! Some really good points in there. I haven't tried Good (it's not offered in Canada - that I'm aware of) and I didn't realize it actually replaced your inbox. I thought it just replaced the email delivery system on the device.

Now I'm off to read the review you linked to. :D

seaflipper
06-13-2006, 08:36 PM
...

Excellent post! Some really good points in there. I haven't tried Good (it's not offered in Canada - that I'm aware of) and I didn't realize it actually replaced your inbox. I thought it just replaced the email delivery system on the device.

Now I'm off to read the review you linked to. :D

Hi Mike,

All you need for Good is to have a Good enabled device (they support a whole bunch of handhelds - 22 to be exact http://www.good.com/index.php/products_platforms_devices.html) and then either Good server installed as part of your Exchange server (enterprise level stuff here really) OR a hosted Good account. This should be available anywhere, no specific to Canada as far as I am aware. Good doesn't care where you are as long as you have a data connection on your phone.

http://www.mailstreet.comoffers Goodlink hosting
http://www.themessagecenter.com offers Goodlink hosting
http://www.intermedia.netoffers Goodlink hosting...

Price is between $18 to $32 a month US, which includes a hosted Exchange account (required).

I use Mailstreet.com, but anyone of them should be fine.

subzerohf
06-13-2006, 10:13 PM
The review also talks about getting Good installed, but then he never mentions any review of Good - which leads me to believe he hasn't tested it yet. Good is fantastic on the Q...

From a BlackBerry user's perspective, any device that does not speak "push email" as mother tongue is inferior. Good is "good" but it is like a second language. I use Visto push email on my SMT5600 and I love it; so I know what it is like. But my coworkers who are BB junkies will never even consider any device other than Blackberry. I think that any device, including the Q, will not stand a chance to "pinch" let alone "kill" the BB unless it speaks push email as native tongue; hence Microsoft Push email ala MSFP. :?

seaflipper
06-13-2006, 10:26 PM
The review also talks about getting Good installed, but then he never mentions any review of Good - which leads me to believe he hasn't tested it yet. Good is fantastic on the Q...

From a BlackBerry user's perspective, any device that does not speak "push email" as mother tongue is inferior. Good is "good" but it is like a second language. I use Visto push email on my SMT5600 and I love it; so I know what it is like. But my coworkers who are BB junkies will never even consider any device other than Blackberry. I think that any device, including the Q, will not stand a chance to "pinch" let alone "kill" the BB unless it speaks push email as native tongue; hence Microsoft Push email ala MSFP. :?

Sorry, but Good IS push email. Good is as much push email as BB is push email. That is it's mother tounge. Their is no "timed" pull or "sms trigger" to Good, Good is simply PUSH email. Good competes directly with BB. The ONLY reason that BB phones have push email is because of BB server. Without the BB server, no email is ever going to get pushed to the device. Same with Good. Plenty of companies have ditched BB and gone with Good, especially during/after the whole RIM/NTP lawsuit issue - that was like slicing a hot knife through butter for Good.

Just ask all your BB co-workers if they can buy just about any WM or Palm device out there right now and have their corporate PUSH email on it ? Nope, can't do it. They are stuck with a RIM device and nowhere else to go. That's the beauty of Good. It's BB (and more some argue) and better because you bring your device to Good...

When I got the Q on my 15 day Verizion trial I simply live chatted with my hosted service, they disabled the pin on my Treo650 for Good and within 30 seconds I was downloading Good for my Q. Within 10 minutes I had my entire exchange account on my Q and was off and running.

NOBODY with a BB device can do that.

ctmagnus
06-13-2006, 11:07 PM
SPECIFIC FEATURES BLACKBERRY HAS THAT ARE MISSING ON THE Q

...


Clip is awkward: Many people will accuse me of being persnickety, but the clip matters. Let me explain. The BlackBerry clip is a holster, you slide the device in and out of it. When you are at a traffic light, in a dull meeting or something like that, you are sitting down. And you want to easily slide out the device, take a peek at your email, slide it back in. You don’t want to be fussing with the clip. With the Q, it is not a holster, you snap/pop the device in and out horizontally. Damn near impossible to do when sitting down. So forget about stealing a glance at your email while in a meeting sitting down. The other people in the room will think you are having a grand mal seizure as you try to pop the thing in and out of the holster.

OMG! I'd love to see a case like that for a MS device! :drool:

Mike Temporale
06-13-2006, 11:35 PM
Sorry, but Good IS push email. Good is as much push email as BB is push email.

I think what subzerohf was trying to say was that it has to come with it baked in. Regardless if it's Good or MSFP. If it's not capable out of the box it's going to be a harder sell to a BB user.

Kris Kumar
06-14-2006, 01:02 AM
...

Excellent post! Some really good points in there. I haven't tried Good (it's not offered in Canada - that I'm aware of) and I didn't realize it actually replaced your inbox. I thought it just replaced the email delivery system on the device.

Now I'm off to read the review you linked to. :D

Didn't know all the good things about Good. So thanks seaflipper. 8)

Janak Parekh
06-14-2006, 01:19 AM
Apart from the push email, which has already been discussed to death (and I think it's inexcusable that AKU2 wasn't included), a lot of the other issues are simply a matter of evolution -- Blackberries have been around for about 10 years, and have had time to evolve and the little nits have been fixed, such as the intelligent belt clip. Not quite so for the Q, yet. Still, it looks like an admirable first step.

--janak

Kris Kumar
06-14-2006, 01:20 AM
But he brings his admitted "5 years" of Blackberry baggage in his review of the Q. Just like anybody else who has used a Treo (me and thousands of others) or a Blackberry for that long is going to have certain habits that a new device is going to challenge.

A very good point. That is why I curious if Moto is aiming this device as a "BlackBerry killer" or a BlackBerry wannabe. I believe it is the latter. Aiming more at the trendy consumers who would like to get into email. Similar to what the author of the article of suggesting.

When it comes to IntelliText, it is matter of getting used to the auto complete (T9) on the Q. The holster issue is also not a serious one. The screen going blank, not a biggie for me, but I know it affects productivity. I hated the fact that on my MPx220, the external screen would go blank, but some people didn't find it that bad. Also I loved the BB holster that had a magnet or something to turn off the screen, when put in the holster, not sure if they still have it. :? Extension dialer, it is cool that BB has it, and I can see it as a plus. But not a deal breaker.

Now for the deal breakers in my opinion. Keep in mind that is based on the fact that Moto Q is perceived as BB competitor:
- Camera on an enterprise class device is bad.
- Push email out of the box is needed. I will say not just the MSFP but others. BTW MSFP is not proven in my mind, it is still new and not many big enterprises have it turned on. Mine doesnt. And that is why Moto probably decided to release the device anyways. So it is important to support Good and others. And most importantly. Moto Q should have shipped with BlackBerry Connect. That would have made Q the BlackBerry killer. You have to infiltrate the gang if you want to disband the gang. ;-)
- Keyboard. Having used it myself, it is hard to get used to. The keys have a positive response when it is clicked, but that is when it is clicked all the way. It takes a bit more effort. Moto didn't get the right touch. I have seen that complaint pop up time and time again, right from the early review units to the final shipping unit. Sounds like the MPx220 voice issue to me.

Once a business starts using a system and the users get used to a device, it is very difficult to make them move to a new system. You have to be able to do everything that the competitor does and more. It seems like Moto Q does the more part well, but doesn't handle the current things that the competitor does well. And I will admit that getting all that right in the first version is tough. ;-)

seaflipper
06-14-2006, 05:25 AM
Apart from the push email, which has already been discussed to death (and I think it's inexcusable that AKU2 wasn't included), a lot of the other issues are simply a matter of evolution -- Blackberries have been around for about 10 years, and have had time to evolve and the little nits have been fixed, such as the intelligent belt clip. Not quite so for the Q, yet. Still, it looks like an admirable first step.

--janak

Yes, the Q isn't perfect by any means. But can you just imagine what Moto's projections of selling nearly 7 million of these by the end of the year would do to the Smartphone OS? It changes the ballgame totally for 3rd party sotware makers!

sojourner753
06-14-2006, 12:04 PM
My company is in the process of phasing out Blackberries and BB server. Out direction is to support both Palm and Windows Mobile devices. And for that we're going with Good.

The "good" thing about Good is that its device independant.

Janak Parekh
06-14-2006, 03:28 PM
It changes the ballgame totally for 3rd party sotware makers!
Not only that, it incents new/other OEMs to build keyboard-enabled Smartphones. This could be just the beginning. 8)

--janak

Duffy
06-20-2006, 12:18 AM
I am a former Blackberry and now Q user and I love my Q for all the reasons that were mentioned, but lets be clear. Almost everything that was listed as a deficiency is a WM 5.0 deficiency, not a Q deficiency.

There are three things that I feel the BB outshines WM 5.0 in:

1. Blackberry's ability to have different profile setting for in the holster and out of the holster.
2. The ability to be notified of email arriving from specific individuals while ignoring others. WM 5.0 is all or nothing. I loved only being notified of emails from important customers or co-workers.
3. Blackberry does a better job of keeping track of recent calls and not only ordering the phone book in alpha order but also with more recently used contacts overriding the alpha sort.

As far as complaining about running an app on a computer that must run all the time, well, Blackberry Enterprise Server is an app that runs on a computer all the time. If you don't want to run the app on your desktop then put it on a server in the data center. Verizon's version of Intellisync client can support upto 20 Exchange clients and should therefore be on a server anyway. I would encourage using an enterprise version of Good or Intellisync instead of the Verizon version because they are much richer in features.

Bottom line the Q is a great form factor even if it does have a camera and I like the camera, but I don't disagree with the trade secret and HR points. WM 5.0 has a ways to go to catch up, but it is much easier, at least for me to write something using .Net than it was for the Blackberry.

Kris Kumar
06-20-2006, 12:31 AM
WM 5.0 has a ways to go to catch up, but it is much easier, at least for me to write something using .Net than it was for the Blackberry.

Million $ point! 8)

subzerohf
06-22-2006, 08:13 PM
... Bottom line the Q is a great form factor even if it does have a camera and I like the camera, but I don't disagree with the trade secret and HR points...

Sorry to interject here. But I don't quite get the camera/trade secret thing being a disadvantage to the Q. Almost all cell phones you can find at the store nowadays come with a camera. Does that mean corporates with trade secrets should ban cell phones at the work place as well? Do they frisk their employees at the entrance?

Rocco Augusto
06-22-2006, 08:50 PM
... Bottom line the Q is a great form factor even if it does have a camera and I like the camera, but I don't disagree with the trade secret and HR points...

Sorry to interject here. But I don't quite get the camera/trade secret thing being a disadvantage to the Q. Almost all cell phones you can find at the store nowadays come with a camera. Does that mean corporates with trade secrets should ban cell phones at the work place as well? Do they frisk their employees at the entrance?

certain corporations have already been known to ban phones with cameras, ipods, mp3 players, usb thumb drivers, regular camera, memory card readers, etc. :evil:

Kris Kumar
06-23-2006, 03:03 AM
Of all the companies, the one that caught the attention of the media and also our site was Samsung. Samsung, yes the phone maker, has banned the camera phones at some locations. Wish I could find the link.

EDIT: Found the link:
http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3720

Mike Temporale
06-23-2006, 04:04 AM
Of all the companies, the one that caught the attention of the media and also our site was Samsung. Samsung, yes the phone maker, has banned the camera phones at some locations. Wish I could find the link.

EDIT: Found the link:
http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3720

Ha! Yeah, that's the best one to date. :lol: