[JoeSpotown]

Came across the final design of the Motorola "Q" on cnet today. Man, that looks hot, but its still no blackberry. Seems like its got a bit of bb and treo in itself. Too bad its on windows lol. What do you guys think of all this?

[stonent]

Hmm, a scroll wheel... Interesting

[BBAdmin]

I think a lot of phone manufacturers have cottoned on that there's two things that work well on email based phones - qwerty keyboards and trackwheels. The days of full on touchscreens seem to be passing by which is great because they're annoying to use, they have poor battery life and you always lose the stylus!!!! Companies like this are desparate (as are Microsoft) to really have a go at the push email market which is a good thing as this will only make RIM push (excuse the pun) the envelope further to make BlackBerry an even better product than it already is. These phones are all really geared up for the push email on Exchange 2K3 SP2 - and Microsoft must be rubbing their hands together as Treo, HTC and Motorola start building these phones.

That said, despite all the security features on BlackBerry (which is really only admired by Admins like us), the top notch executive or CEO's main concern is return on investment. The running costs are so compelling on BlackBerry (as a result of the compression) that BlackBerry is bound to remain the top contender, not to mention how much these smart phones are likely to cost compared to a 7290 or 7100 - a big financial consideration if you've got 50, 100, 200 handsets to deploy throughout your mobile workforce.

[jasonb]

It seems to be a cool design. But, being the anti-microsoft person that I am really would not want windows on my phone. Just from the issues that it has on the desktop environment. But, I would agree that M$ is attempting to get into the push market and I think that RIM will get a little more motivated with some competition for that niche.

[TXBBUSER]

The biggest advantage I see to the Q is that it is so expandable. The BB has such limited memory, and no memory slot, that you are really limited in what you can add to it. MS may be a lot of things, but they know how to give customers what they want. And those of us with a 7100 know that BB isn't without its own bug problems.

[darkmark]

I agree with some of the bug problems (which to be fair do get fixed!) but can i ask why you feel you need more memory?

Not disagreeing as much as playing devils advocate. Having spoken to RIM they feel that with their compression they don't need to grow memory as fast as bloaty MS products (agree) but with new developments (stuff like powerpoint being delivered as graphics image rather than stripped of graphics, and voice mms files being delivered) they will need more memory.

I had the whole execs like mp3's will u ever support them discussion with a very very senior (ML big clue) director as my most senior management love their ipods and mp3 devices for international travel and got a very vague not so sure type answer so hold out no real hope.

Should be getting a Q soon, have head of emea mobility coming to see me monday but even he doesn't have one at the moment, when I get one I'll let you all know. He got me an MPX (mpx300) as well as many other devices, so hoping for him to come thru with this beta, and my contact in motorola says they are considering bb connect so even tho its ms it could still be bb.

again, all speculation at this time but if I hear anything solid i'm allowed to share i will!


Mark

[ChrisLuce]

I like the design but it look a bit BIG in the picture. I am not sure if it is just the picture but I will have to go look on CNET and check out the deminsions.

[SUFan]

The keyboard doesn't look as useful/friendly as the Blackberry. Reminds me of a Treo keyboard which I found to be hard to type on compared to the BB.

[TXBBUSER]

I'd like more memory so I can have more stuff on my phone. For example, on my iPaq, I had a bunch of books, saved pdf files, mp3 etc. I know the BB doesn't offer some of that functionality yet, but that may be because there is not enough memory to handle it, right? What I'd like to see is someone provide to me one device that allows me to do everything . . . read ebooks, make calls, send and check email, listen to music. That way, i don't have to carry multiple devices. THe BB is very close, but the Treo is closer, and this Q seems to get closer still. With the Q having an SD slot, you could have a couple gigs of music with you all the time. That would be great.

[BBAdmin]

Having storage capacity on board would be a fatal mistake to make. Part of the security of BlackBerry is that users do not store sensative infoamtion locally on devices. No point running AES encryption when your user stores sensative material on their devcie and then leaves it on the tube or the back of a taxi!!! I know most of us would store tunes and things, but the corporate user would store all those important documents....I fear that more than anything else!!!! At the end of the day, if you want media buy a PMP unit - that'll do a better job as a media device than a Treo or 'Q'

[ajg]

Originally Posted by jasonb

It seems to be a cool design. But, being the anti-microsoft person that I am really would not want windows on my phone. Just from the issues that it has on the desktop environment. But, I would agree that M$ is attempting to get into the push market and I think that RIM will get a little more motivated with some competition for that niche.

Amen... Windows couldn't run my computer correctly (or at all HAHA) and so I don't think I'm ready to put my faith into Windows running my phone. It is after all my only mode of voice communication... no landline. I can't hav emy phone crashings or getting malware and stupid stuff like that.

[ChrisLuce]

Hmmmm, I do like the keyboard. I do not think more memory is a mistake at all. The whole point of having a mobile device such as a Laptop, PDA & thumbdrives is to assure you have your data with you all the time. That's why there is password protection on you BB. Anyway, that's how I feel.

[T-Roy]

I saw a black model someone posted a link to engadet in the rumor mill.

[TXBBUSER]

Well, first, you don't have to use the memory slot if you don't want to. I've heard this security thing come up before and just don't get it. If you are worried about forgetting important documents, then don't put them on a medium that you can lose. I guess you don't travel with a laptop either, right? Secondly, to please those of you who are security conscious, a model without a memory slot could be provided. It doesn't have to be one size fits all.

My whole point is that I don't want to have to buy a separate device. I want one device that does it all, and since I always have my phone with me, I'd like that one device to be my phone. I realize MS has some issues, but they actually have been getting better lately, and the days of just bashing MS are close to over (and this from me, a diehard Mac user). I use XP for work, and have had it crash only once in the last year, and that was a result of an aborted install. My iPac rarely had problems, far fewer than I had with my Palm, and, I have to say, FAR FAR fewer than I've had with my 7100, so whose software is the most buggy?

[Rodolfo]

First, I like it (or the images I've seen) *very* much, and part of what I like is the BB-like keyboard and scroll wheel. My guess is we'll learn that Motorola has licensed these features from RIM. I believe the v-form of the keyboard and slanted keys, along with the scroll wheel, are RIM patents and is what they sued Handspring over a few years ago. I had the Treo 270 and that was the best keyboard Treo has had and it had the scroll wheel (although on the left/wrong side). Handspring had to change the keyboard and lose the scroll wheel after that suit.

Second, the other thing I like is the Win Mobile software. The 7100t is my first BB and I like it. I've had it since March and am lucky to have gotten a very stable and reliable issue. I have not had a single reset, and although reception is spotty (when in motion), I have had only one dropped call in 5 months. The mail functionailty (I have BWC/BIS) is superb and the size and weight are remarkable: oz./mg-for-oz./mg. and bang-for-the-buck, this is the best device out there. YET, the software for BBs is remarkably limited and remarkably static, at RIM and elsewhere. If this Q device proves reasonably reliable and has strong mail functionailty, I'll probably be all over it ~60 days after its release. Unless a great 7200t comes out and gets me first.

[Prophet]

...so Motorola ripped off design aspects of the Treo and the BB...wow, so much for original thinking.
First off, it's a windows based OS...what about MAC users...hmm
Secondly, it's a little big (at least according to the pictures)
Third, even though Moto might have some decent phones, they're not exactly at the top of their game when it comes to smart phones...or even long lasting phones at that...