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23rd August - Motorola is close to having a great smart
phone in its arsenal, and we suspect the next generation
of the Q will be among the best available. But for now,
we have a few reservations.
The Q has plenty of smarts. It’s just missing
an intuitive navigational interface, which the BlackBerry
8700g and Palm Treo have. The Q employs a four-directional
control pad with a center-select button and right-side
pinwheel to guide users through its Microsoft Windows
Mobile 5.2.2 operating system.
Those aids are augmented by a two-button navigation
system that sits below the high-resolution 320-by-240-pixel
LCD screen.
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The problem with all this is that the user has to call on
all three modes of navigation when executing functions as
basic as retrieving and replying to e-mail or surfing the
Internet.
This translates into a steep learning curve and significant
headaches when trying to perform simple tasks. We want to
send e-mail, not learn a secret handshake.
And it’s unforgiving. For example, when inputting a
ZIP code into the device to access the local weather, make
one mistake and you have to redo the entire process.
Why? Because the Q is missing an easy-to-find character delete
button. Yet there seem to be several back buttons that take
you to the previous screen—we counted three. The Q would
be better if it had a touch screen and stylus to complement
the pinwheel, and removed the useless four-directional, center
collection of buttons.
The Q provides average signal reception and voice clarity
over the Verizon network.
But it comes with several desirable bells and whistles, including
a decent 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth capabilities, voice
recognition, 128MB of internal flash memory, 64MB of internal
SDRAM and a Mini SD card slot for extended memory.
Perhaps the best feature is the slim 4.3-by-2.5-by-0.45-inch
package, which makes the Q easy to carry and use.
Although the Q’s list price of $350 makes it one of
the more expensive smart phones available, its features and
performance make it a good fit for any agency user with enough
time on their hands to get past the Q’s navigation idiosyncrasies.
Motorola Corp., Schaumburg, Ill., (847) 576-5000, www.motorola.com
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