Well, I finally did it. I got neither a Treo nor a Blackberry but the Motorola Q. It’s been about two weeks ago and I’m liking it more every day, as opposed to other smartphones I’ve had in the past, the allure of which wore off as time went on.
Granted, the Q has been out for a while so it’s not as though I’m on the cusp of innovation here, but here’s my review for what it’s worth. Maybe other laggards will be able to get something out of it.
What I Like
1. Screen. Resolution seems fine to me, I never have a problem reading anything or feeling like I don’t have the space I need.
2. Bluetooth headset compatibility. I know, I know, you look like an idiot with one of these on, but it’s really handy in the car. I got the Motorola H700 Bluetooth Headset. The mic folds open, turning the headset on and automatically connecting it to your device. Amazingly it works exactly like you would expect and want it to. You fold it out, it connects. You close it, it disconnects. That’s it. Easy. Oh, and the car charger (not included with the Q, $30 extra) will charge either the Q or the headset.
3. General ease of use. Other than the first few hours of confusion, which I was expecting, it’s been pretty easy to get used to the Q. Things work the way you would expect them to for the most part.
4. Email. I use Exchange for email and this works great with it. I delete emails from the Q and they get deleted from my computer, I send from the Q and the sent email appears in the sent items on my computer. Seamless integration. I love it.
5. Internet. I installed PDAnet from June Fabrics, which was super easy to install, and now I connect my Q to my laptop and I can get decent Internet speeds from anywhere I can get a connection on my Q, which is just about anywhere. Unfortunately my laptop doesn’t have Bluetooth, so I have to connect via USB.
6. Form factor. It’s thinner than the cellphone I had previously. Very flat, so you don’t notice it in your pocket. When I see people pulling a Treo out of their pocket it looks like a brick.
What I Don’t Like
1. My thumbs. My thumbs are such that it’s hard for me to push just one button at a time. I would blame the buttons themselves, but I think it might just be that I need pointier thumbs.
2. Buttons. Since my thumbs are too big and I feel like I’m mashing the keyboard whenever I compose something, I’ve taken to using my thumbnails instead of my massive thumbprint. However, it would be a lot easier to use my thumbnails if the buttons were rubber instead of plastic, since my nails tend to slide off the plastic, causing further typos. It’s not all that bad, but it could be better.
3. Battery life. This is my #1 gripe. I’m not sure if I got a bad battery, didn’t charge it right the first time, or if the battery life just stinks, but my battery goes out incredibly fast. I have to charge the thing several times each day. I’ve quickly gotten in the habit of plugging it in whenever I can. I swear it lasts less than an hour if you’re actively using it.
4. Speed, sometimes. Maybe it’s the processor, maybe it’s the memory, maybe it’s Windows Mobile OS, but sometimes the interface lags a bit. Not a huge problem, but annoying sometimes because then I press the button again and then all of a sudden it catches up and performs both button presses, and then I have to go back and correct.
Overall, I like it quite a bit. There is room for improvement, which hopefully we’ll see with the upcoming release of the Motorola Q9, slated for later this year. Why do you think I bought the $6/month no-questions-asked insurance plan? The direct quote from the guy who sold me the Q was “Lose it, drop it, throw it against the wall, and they’ll replace it.”
Oh, and yes, I’ve had no problems with Verizon thus far, other than my wife and I not being able to hear each other on a few calls, but I got pretty used to that on Tmobile.
