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- Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 496 reviews Back to product review
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165 out of 168 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Considering other Verizon PDA/Phones? Read this!"
Pros: Size, Screen, Battery Life, Multimedia experiance, One handed use
Cons: Screen does hold smudges, No Wi-fi
Summary: After much research and use on other smartphones and pocket PC's (Treo's, Samsung i-730, XV6700, etc...) I decided on the Q. I have had the device for about a week now, and will try to give you the nuts and bolts. First off the size really is significantly smaller than any competitors! I honestly forget it is in my pants pocket (a big difference from my old Kyocera 7135 and Treo 650). The screen and is outstanding, better than the xv6700, much brighter and it is readable in sunlight. The keyboard is only a bit easier to use than the Treo's but it is enough to make a difference in speed and accuracy. The QWERTY is also better than the i-730?s but easily inferior to the xv6700?s (which does require two hands though). The Q?s one handed use is the best I have experienced, you don't miss the stylus at all which was one of my fears. The navigation pad is very precise, again better than the Treo's. However, the scroll wheel, while very functional is a bit stiff to click down when selecting, thus causing the wrong program to open on occasional. It is a bit annoying and honestly I find myself using the navigation pad more anyway. This is a very good phone, it lives up to its billing. It has better voice quality than other phones I have used except maybe the Kyocera 7135, though the Q's speaker is far superior (there is no comparison to the xv6700?s speaker or headset volume). I will give you a heads up on reception. I have constantly been receiving fewer bars on my Q compared to other phones, including my old 7135, Treo 650, my wife?s LG vx9800, and friend?s phones. However, it hasn't affected call quality yet, and I haven't had a single dropped call and my coverage area isn?t exceptionally strong. I figured out an answer to this issue noticing that the Q only can display three reception bars as opposed to other phones which have four or more. The Q plays Mp3's and video files very well, replacing my Mp3 player and the desire to get a video iPod as I had hoped it would. There is no wi-fi which may annoy some. I opted out of the data package, and regularly sync e-mail and AvantGo which feeds my web needs. I will say too that the battery life is far better than I expected, it took me almost 3 days of using it regularly to kill the battery! I am loving this phone. It was very difficult for me to select it over the xv6700 and the Samsung i-730 (phones I played with alot at the stores), but I am glad I did. The one-handed use surpasses the competition as does the Q's appeal. Not only is the Q an excellent PDA, Media player and Phone, but this thing rocks on form factor and coolness. Your friends will be impressed! The old brick phones are finally gone. Motorola got this device right, it accomplishes what it set out to do and they will sell alot of these devices! Hope this helps any of you fellow techies who might be wrestling over the idea of getting a Q over some strong competitors.
- 17 replies to this review
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I totally agree with your comments about this phone...I just purchased it and loving every minute that I have it. The only thing I find to be different...is my battery life. I literally run out of juice before the end of each day. So not sure if I just ended up with a lemon for a battery or I just happen to use it more than you???
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Did I understand it correctly, that you cannot write and send email, only veiw it?
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I just bought the Q black and like you, did not need the data package and am satisfied with the general phone features. However, I bought a 2gb card and aside for a brief period when the media player did have storage card as one of the libraries, i cant access the 200+ soungs I have synced from media player 11 on my home pc to the q....any advise?
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You can not even write a text note without going out and buying extra software. No touch-screen. Treo 700w is a better device by far.
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I've had the phone for one week and I'm happy overall with it's performance but for one exception......the battery life is terrible! I have had to charge it daily with minimal use. I ended up buying an extended battery. Store clerk told me I should see a 70% improvement. So, where the original battery lasted 20 hours before needing to be charged, the extended battery should last 34. Still not great, but we shall see.
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After reading your review about the Q, and the comments from others... I think everyone missed the boat. What good is a phone to have a PDA if it crashes? I owned the Kyocera 7135, and then bought the XV6700 because I wanted the bluetooth and the Wi-Fi. The size was nicer than the 7135, but that is where the good stuff stopped... magnetic cases would turn it on... because it was an open face, several people were re-dialed by mistake... the battery would "sizzle" the skin in my hand if it was charging... call recetion was poor at best...oh, and did I mention it crashed... and crashed... and crashed... because that's what the Microsoft Operating Systems do best. Palm in the 7135 only crashed once on me... and I probably shouldn't have tried to remove the memory card when it was writing to it.
Yes, people look at my 7135 (I went back to it) and wonder why it is so large... but the clamshell is important to me for durability. One comment mentioned having the phone in his pants pocket... what's up with that???
I also need a stable operating system, and a phone that people can hear me on. If all the people that buy these new pieces of **** to have something that "looks good", quits buying them, then the industry would be forced to design and build... a small, reliable, clamshell style phone with a decent battery, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, touch screen and great reception with the ability to tweak the memory.
So for those of you that bought into the hype of the Q... nobody at the office really thought it was one of your better ideas, (unless they bought one too).
Come on Kyocera... I'm waiting for you to show the industry how to do it right... again.
It would be nice to use my bluetooth GPS with my phone rather than the laptop... or better yet... GPS in the phone...
But Microsoft will continue to crash. -
You obviously have never used a BlackBerry
Try the 8703e with Verizon, there is absolutely no comparison with the Q. -
attn to detail,thx shawbart,cant wait to pick a Q up in a month and a half
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I've heard that you'll get charged for sending picture messages, is that true?
http://gearlog.com/blogs/gearlog/archive/2006/05/29/12787.aspx
I hope you have no trouble w/ the no data plan sice I really don't want to have to pay an extra $40 a month for internet i barely use. -
come on now... I'm not trying to be rude or anything but the Q is not a better device. I dont want to be too biased so I will say this...
The Q is nice cause it has a nice small and thin form factor, has decent battery life (for a pda/phone), and Its got a great camera.
So with that out of the way, here we go...
The I-730 one, IS TOUCH SCREEN. I dont care how easy a nav. pad, or a wheel is to use, it will never be as easy as just touching what you want. Now I said already the Q has good battery life considering, and it is much better than the 730, but I can deal with carrying my spare battery (which is included). The form factor of the 730 is much better in my OPINION, and here is why: one, it is thin, less wide than the Q and thus easier to hold in one hand. also because it is a slider the screen is bigger. The screen and the keyboard dont fight for the space on the front of the device. Also, the external speakers on the 730 are far superior. Lets talk reception... moto is notorious for poor reception, and the Q keeps that stigmata alive. The 730 gets by far better reception hands down. so what else... BUNDLE SOFATWARE!!! the 730 has a much better array of useful software already on it. Now for the nitty gritty...
Processors... the Q boasts one of the fastest 300mhz processors around, but it can't keep up with the 520mhz intel in the samsung. Now the Q has more memory but... the I730 takes what it has and allows you to allocate it however you want. Personally i store all of my files and programs on sd, so i allocate more than 85% of my memory to program rather than storage. Wi-fi... 730 has it, Q doesn't.
Im not trying to make a 730 sales pitch, but its just hard for me to swallow somone saying the Q is a better phone. It has it's strong points but its just not for me (maybe it is for you).
Oh and before i forget... I will says this about the Q...
I would definitely buy it over the 6700! The 6700 would be nice if not for the fact that everyone who uses one has had to return it at one time or another (i used to work in the cell phone industry... trust me, there where ALOT of returns.) -
Thanks for your review. You def know what you're talking about. The Q is made for a certain audience and some of the things people say aginist the Q are only because they want something that is not. You must choose a different product if you want to do some of the things they talk about. The one handed use is a big one. Nobody talks about commuters who drive 100+ miles a day and who are gone 12 hrs from the fam. It's people like myself who could use the Q. Check the email and do a little research on breaks, downtimes and lunch. If I need to edit word docs or excell I'll do that on my work laptop. For personal use the Q will do just great. Thanks for all your helpful information.
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do you work for Motorola?
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I've used my Q as a phone, calendar, and email for almost 2 months now and there is no way the battery will last an entire day of usage. I had to get a spare just to make it through a 12hr day. In all fairness, it will last longer used as a phone only but this isn't why you purchase a Q. For a point of reference, I switched from a Treo 650 and it would last throughout the day and into midmorning. I was able to use it all day, put it on the charger at night, and be ready for the next day. All said I still love the Q and wouldn't go back, let's just be realistic about the battery life.
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I have had my Q for almost two months... The greatest issue is that it has poor battery life. I even brought it back to Verizon after the first week and they gave me another... when I came back a second time they say its a "known issue". Of course, they'll happily sell me the hi capacity battery now.
I got rid of my 650 because it wasn't a good phone, but the Q is no good when I can't keep power for more than 8 hours. -
Your review definatly helped me decide between the various "smart phones" out there. Great review and thanks for taking to time to share the experience with others. Motorola Q here I come!
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Because if you did you would realuze that it sint a PDA and it is nothing more than a razor on steroids...how could you possibly give this a good PDA review?????
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Shawbart7's great review it helped me a lot I was waiting to find a review from somebody that has used other smartphones and went with the Q. I am going to be a new user to smartphones and I have been deciding between the Q and the XV6700. But I think I am going to go with the Q. thank you.
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