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- Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 496 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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40 out of 40 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"Q is solid, but isn't for everyone"
Pros: Design, Phone Performance, Price Point
Cons: Battery Life, Email Software, Windows Mobile OS
Summary: I have lived with a Motorola Q for three months now, so this isn't a review from someone who has only had the phone long enough to hate it. I'm also a long time smartphone user, having gone through too many Treos and Blackberrys over the past six years to count. In fact I still have to carry a Blackberry a good deal of time for work.
But the Q is my personal phone, paid for it out of my own pocket when I moved over from Cingular to Verizon, because Cingular coverage wasn't matching up to my needs. It has earned its place in my pocket and while its not the absolute homerun I would have hoped for, its more solid than some reviews here might lead one to believe.
Let me focus on my biggest complaints: First is Battery Life. My early impression was that the extended battery was going to be a permanent installation. Turns out that my battery life was directly affected by two things: Reception and Wireless Sync. Foregoing the Wireless Sync feature (which doesn't mean you still can't get your email automatically) really made a big difference in my situation, because I often go into marginal coverage areas, and it appears that Wireless Sync will just keep trying to make a connection when it can't. That said, the Q is a phone which will need to be charged up every night, pretty much like my Blackberry and any other smartphone I've had. The extended battery is a worthwhile accessory if you are a heavy talker or email junkie. It adds a little bulk to the back of the phone, but its still more "pocketable" than a Treo or Blackberry
Email works well enough on the Q, but its not heavy-duty email like a Blackberrry or a Treo running Snapper Mail. If you are buying this phone more for email than for calls, including attachments and html-based email, my suggestion is to look harder at the others until someone releases an alternative mail client for Windows Mobile. By the way, the Q is one of the better phones for voice calls that I have used in a long time. Quality of what you hear is solid, the speakerphone actually is decent, and bluetooth headsets (at least the two different ones I have used) work fine.
Most of my other real knocks on this phone are mostly about the Windows Media Smartphone software. It just feels a little clunky and all the edges haven't been rounded off. It is important to occasionally clear the memory out by killing all of the running programs via the Task Manager. Maybe a future update from Motorola and Microsoft will help this weak point.
A note to Mac fans, despite the Windows Mobile software being...well, Windows--Mark/Space's Missing Sync for Windows works just fine for syncing the Q to your Mac Address Book and iCal. Be sure to get the latest version (2.5.1) which improves the sync performance greatly.
Bottom line: You should look at the Q and decide if you need more of a power tool than this phone is. Hardcore tech types will likely be happier with a Treo 700 or a Blackberry 8000 series unit. However, if you are a normal person, who wants a sleek cell phone that can do email, surf the web, carry your address book and calendar around in your pocket for a smaller price than the Treo or Blackberry, the Q is a solid choice in my experience.
- 1 reply to this review
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I agree with this user opinion. He has actually owned the phone for a while to give it a accurate review. A couple of notes:
I have the black Q from verizon. This new version of the Q has a firmware update that greatly improves the speed of the Operating System and the battery life. I have the standard battery and I can go two days without charging with moderate use. Do yourself a favor and get the black Q from Verizon.
Motorola Q (Verizon Wireless):
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