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Moto Q(9h) Global

One of the latest smartphone offerings from at&t wireless. Offering a lot of features in a thin, pocketable device. Is it the one you are looking for? Read on to find out.

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Moto Q(9h) Global

Reviewer: Stephen Borders (badersk)
Vendor: at&t
Price: $349 w/ 2yr contract $499 w/o contract
Rebate: Currently additional $150 (conditions apply)

Rating: 88/100

While the Motorola Q name has been around for a couple of years. This is the first offering of a GSM model however it should not be compared to the previous models. This is certainly a feature packed Smartphone that will keep you connected in almost any way you need or want.

My current device is the Cingular 8125 and while the Q didn’t have me ready to switch to a Smartphone, I was certainly impressed with it and its many features and feel that for some it could be just what they are looking for.

The MOTO Q Global is a high performance Windows Mobile 6.0 smart device offering a full integrated QWERTY keyboard, 3.6 Mbps HSDPA, 325 MHz applications processor, 128MB RAM and GPS, among many additional features and capabilities. It offers robust Email & Messaging services including personal email with Xpress Mail, corporate email with Good Mobile Messaging, Microsoft Direct Push and Blackberry Connect, and SMS, IM and MMS. It supports AT&T Music, Video and Media Mall services for capture and playback of photos, music, games and video. Finally, it provides a category-leading 3G browser experience with Opera.

Technical Specs

Weight: 4.73 ounces
Dimensions: 4.65 x 2.63 x 0.47 inches
Talk Time: Up to 9 hours
Standby Time: Up to 30 days
Bluetooth® Wireless 2.0 with stereo headset support
Quad-band world phone - 850/900/1800/1900 MHZ
Dual-band domestic UMTS/HSDPA
Powered by 325 MHz processor
Micro USB 2.0
256 MB Flash ROM plus 96 MB SDRAM
MicroSD(TM) removable memory expands up to 32 GB
Email: Microsoft Direct Push, Good Mobile, Outlook, IMAP, POP3
Warranty: One year warranty on phone and accessories
All talk, data & standby times depend on network configuration

What’s in the Box

Haven’t got a clue, seriously, what I got was clearly a demo/engineering model. No pretty box, packaging or anything. According to at&t’s website you will get:

The Moto Q Global
Sim card
Rapid Travel Charger
Standard Battery 1170 mAh
Battery door
Extended Capacity Battery
Extended Capacity Battery Door
Data Cable
Micro (usb) to 3.5 Adapter (for headphones)
Micro to EMU Adapter (data connection to a standard mini usb cable)
Getting Started Disc
Quick Start Guide

Design

I liked the overall design of the unit, it feels well constructed and solid in the hand, and the front appears to be a very smooth plastic, around the edge looks and feels like a brushed metal band. The back of the device is a rubberized plastic that we are gratefully seeing on a number of devices. I wish my 8125(wizard) had it; I don’t know how many times I have almost dropped it. It is quite different from the original Q released a couple of years ago which felt light and plasticky.

The device is very thin less than a ½ inch with the standard battery, and it really feels thinner then that. In fact when I started looking at the features it included I couldn’t believe that they could do that. It’s about the same thickness as my wife’s razor! Because it is so thin it is very pocketable, even with other things in your pocket, although if you plan on keeping it in your pocket you would want to put a screen protector on it. It is a little wide, I have big hands but not long fingers and the device is just about ¼” too wide for me. If you look at the picture of the 8125 you can see the Q sticking out about a ¼ “. This also makes it little hard to use the buttons on the side of the device if you hold it in your left hand.

It has a front facing backlit qwerty keyboard that is way better than the one on the Treo 600 I used to have. It is well spaced even for my big fingers and has excellent tactile feedback. When Chris Leckness did his video unboxing he stated that this might beat out the Treo 750 keyboard for usability. I have never used a 750 but the Q global does have a very nice keyboard.

The display is very clear. I couldn’t find the specs but I imagine that it is a 320x240 landscape display. One of the nice features of this unit is the automatic backlight. When you go into bright light it brightens to full and as it gets darker it dims itself and eventually turns on the backlight to the keyboard. It, as most of our devices, is hard to see in direct sunlight.

Practical key placement on the front. On the right side of the device we have the scroll up/down buttons, enter and back button

On the Back we have the 2 mega picsel camera, built in flash, speaker and battery door. The left side has the data/audio port and the micro SD slot (I was glad to see that it was not placed under the battery). There is nothing on the top or bottom of the device. The sim card fits in a slot in the back beside the battery and as always the battery must be removed to insert it.

On the left side of the device we find the cover for the Micro SD card slot (Yes it can be installed from the outside and the cover goes back on with the card in it) and the sync, audio and charging port. It is a micro USB; it does however come with two adapters for using a mini USB data cable and 3.5mm audio jack.

There is nothing on the bottom or top.

As a Phone

As a phone I can’t imagine anything better. Great reception: I could walk anywhere and I mean anywhere in my office building (yes even the bathroom) and receive a signal. We always mention that we give up a little on the phone for functionality with multi-tasking units; this one however gives up nothing in the phone department. I even went to a road near my house that is notorious for dropping calls and it hung on with teeth and claws. In the nearly 3 weeks I used it I never dropped a single call, well, except when I accidentally pressed the end button on several occasions. As for call clarity and volume again it rocks. I have some hearing loss and the volume on this device is fantastic, especially when you have the profile set to outdoor.

Dialing too, is straight forward. Just dial from the number pad or start spelling someone’s name from your contacts list and it brings up a list of possible contacts for you to choose from. My personal device (8125) is nowhere that simple and I often wish I had a device with a front facing keyboard (thank goodness for Voice command). I would rate this just as a phone a 95 or better.

Speaking of Voice command, because the Q9h is WM6 it comes with voice command out of the box. It does work but it is a little annoying. When you activate voice command it says: “Say a command” and a screen pops up to tell you what commands are valid, if you don’t say one it understands it keeps repeat itself over and over “say a command” on my phone if I change my mind I just say cancel, this one you have to 1 say a command it understands or 2 hit the end call button to end the application. It works ok if you are using the unit alone but with my Jawbone headset it was horrible. Thankfully with the wonderful keyboard voice command isn’t really needed.

PDA

Many of us carry our lives in our devices, with a need and or desire to access it where ever we are. The Q9h does all the things that you need it to when it comes to PIM management. You have Email whether it is exchange mail, pop or imap. Full access to Contacts and other folders which is an advantage to windows mobile (I read that on Mobilitysite.com) when using exchange. Full calendar functions as well.

There were times when I missed my touch screen; I guess it’s just easier to navigate that way. I didn’t have a whole lot of trouble I just never could get used to the scroll keys, I think that a scroll wheel might be better but that is a guess on my part because I had never used either before now. The 325Mhz processor was a refreshing change from my 200 in my wizard variant.

It comes with all the software you will need, Mobile Office, AT&T Music, Billboard, Music ID, XM, Napster, Yahoo, Cellular Video, Good Mobile Messaging, Outlook, IMAP and POP3 email, AOL, Yahoo and MSN IM Clients. The XM Radio is cool you get a three day trial and an abundance of music that streams very well, but you better have an unlimited data plan, I used more data in 2weeks than I normally do in a month.

As a Media Device

The Q9h can easily be used as a multi-media device. It can play mp3s, video, stream XM radio and cellular video; you can sign up for mobi-tv as well. It comes with a headphone adapter or you can use a Bluetooth Stereo headset for sound. It also has support for up to 32GB expansion cards. I wouldn’t say it could replace a dedicated media device (mostly because of battery life), but for occasional diversions it would work just fine.

Internet Access

The Motorola Q9h is a 3g device and the internet speed is noticeably faster than my 2g 8125. I didn’t check speed but I can tell it is a great improvement. As I mentioned before I used the trial for the XM radio and it as well as the cellular video and they ran without a hitch. We have sprint air cards at work and the Q felt much faster, although part of it might have been the browser.

Speaking of the browser, I don’t know who decided to install Opera instead of PIE (Pocket Internet Explorer) but it was a good Idea. Opera seems faster than PIE and other than web address entry gives a better browsing experience. Although I am not a big fan of browsing on a phone, the screen is too small and my eyes are too old, I did surf enough to want to upgrade to a high speed device.

The Camera

The Camera is a 2 mega pixel with a led flash. Both the camera and flash work as well as most multifunction devices. It has decent light adjustment and autofocus with zooming capabilities. I would love to show you some pictures I took of some flowers but stupid me hard reset it and mailed it back in before I realized what I had done.

GPS

Yep, you heard right, built in GPS. If you download the telenav application you have GPS right in the unit. There is also a trial for Telenav so I tried it as well. It works fine. I used to navigate around town a little bit and it gets a lock after about a minute and a half. I am certain that is not fast, but for people like me who use one about once every other month it is nice to have. Also I found out that you don’t really need telenav. What I did is: download the application and run it, I will ask to sign on or sign up. Just exit out at that point. Now install windows live search and open the map application, select “menu” and “center on gps”. It will on occasions not link with the sensor but just exit out and do it again. It will lock on your position and then display it. You can also get turn by turn directions and the cool part is you can display it in aerial mode and you see the color satellite images move along as you drive.

Bluetooth

The Q9h supports Bluetooth 2.0 with AD2P Stereo profile. I don’t have a wireless stereo headset but I do have a Jawbone Bluetooth unit. Pairing the 2 was simple and straight forward but if I turned the Bluetooth off on the phone or walked out of range, when I turned it back on it took 2 or three tries to get it connected again. The only way I could ensure a connection was to turn off the headset, turn on the Bluetooth on the phone, and then turn the headset back on. I know it is not the headset itself because it pairs flawlessly with my 8125. Once connected though it worked fine. I did find that the volume was low on the headset unless I had it on outdoor profile which as mentioned before really cranks up the volume.

The Q9h does not have wireless (802.11) however it has been reported that it might be turned off by AT&T, because in a Boy Genius report on the unit with WM6.1 it does show wireless. I did not read the report and my unit did not have it. So if it is important to you, do some research. I have it on my 8125 and I never use it.

Battery Life

This seems to be one of the most important things people are concern about. Most PPC phones and Smartphone’s do not have great battery life. I think that most power users do not even get a full day on a charge unless they have an extended battery. On my 8125 I get 2 full days if I don’t leave Bluetooth on all the time. If I do, I get about 18hrs on a full charge, and I am not a power user by any means. With the Q9h I would get about 24hrs on a charge and I was playing with it more than normal, but still not in a heavy use mode. For those that are power users it comes with an extended battery and cover that for me lasted about 2days. I think this is what we are used to and I am not sure it will get much better.

Overall impressions

The Motorola Q(9h) Global is a fantastic phone first and a PDA second. As a phone I have not used anything that works any better. As a PDA it works fine it just doesn’t seem to be as usable as one with a touch screen. It could also be a decent media device. In my opinion it is best suited for those who need a phone primarily but like or need to stay connected as well. It is fully featured in a thin but wide package that can easily be pocketed or slipped into a purse without any trouble. While a very nice device its price is a little on the high end if it weren’t for the rebate, and considering that the blackjack 2 is $149 which also has GPS and is a little smaller.

Pros