Motorola Q Global / Q9h
Average Ratings
First Smart Phone... What the heck was I waiting for?
So I just replaced my Samsung Sync with a shiny new Moto Q9h (Global) from AT&T. So of course this review will be from a smartphone novice viewpoint. I have been toying with the idea of a smartphone for months now and my Sync was finally beat up enough to justify replacement. Anyway, I really really wanted to get a Bold, but the $300 tag was just too much at this point. So, after a lot of research I decided on the Q9 (the $100 pricepoint w/ 2yr sealed the deal).
Working on 3 days with the device now and I am blown away with it's functionality and ease of use. I have already delved into a little registry editing to eliminate ringtone size limits and have installed Evernote, GCalendarync and Googlemaps all working flawlessly!
I am a big fan of combined technology (I would pay big money for a combined GPS/Radar Detector!) and this unit combines several devices nicely. PDA/Camera/GPS/MP3 player.
Also, I am not a Windows hater (well, maybe occasionally) so I see Windows Mobile as a big plus.
So here are my newbie pro/cons;
Pros:
Speakerphone is great!
Call Quality is top notch
3G Speed
Nice Screen
Fast Apps
32 Gb MicroSD Slot
Decent Keyboard (still getting accustomed to it)
Thin and light
Windows (familiar interface...)
2M Camera
Unlimited Video length
Cam Flash (Useful as a flashlight too)
Moto Q Silver edition update with WM 6.1
My wife and I recently switched from Verizon to ATT. I tried the Moto Q for a few days and returned it for a Blackjack II. After a few days of using the BJII, I realized the Q was the better phone. I returned the BJII for the Q. This time, I received the updated Q in silver with the Windows Mobile 6.1 OS. This unit is sharp! Below are my thoughts of the Q.
The Q's speakers are very load which puts out crisp audio for the speaker-phone and playing MP3's. The BJII's speakers are very weak in comparison to this unit. The voice-dial feature of the Q is very accurate and comes in handy while driving or paired with a blue-tooth unit. The BJII does not have voice dial. The Q's speed is blazing fast in respects to navigating and using apps. The BJII seems to lag with everything and without any apps open. The Q is wide but it sure comes in handy when texting as the BJII keyboard is narrow and cramped. If the width of the Q concerns you while using having the phone to your hear, it's really not bad. Since I have a BT earpiece, holding the phone to my ear is a rare occurrence. I'm still learning things on this phone as I just picked it up last night.
In conclusion, having used and tested both the Q and BJII, I can honestly say the Q wins hands down in my opinion.
Great PDA~!
Let me get the CONS out of the way first:
* No WiFi
* Poor battery life in low signal areas
Having said that, however, I have to say that the strengths far outweigh the cons.
The device is shipped with an extended battery which, while certainly bulky, completely solves the battery life issue in poor signal areas. In situations where there is a short 3G signal competing with a strong EDGE signal, this phone does a much better job grabbing a signal and holding onto it than do other 3G devices that constantly hunt back and forth and chew up the battery.
There is a slight learning curve if you're coming here from a regular Moto or a Blackberry, but once you get used to WM 6.0 operating system, you'll find it easy and instinctive. There might be a couple of impossible features (like New Voice Message not being there), but overall everything you'd ever want to do is easy and works well.
The phone's voice communications are every bit as clear and wonderful as the other Crystal Talk devices like the V9 and V8, and the phone does very well hanging onto a conversation in poor signal areas.
3G is not quite as fast as you might expect (600K vs the max theoretical 3.6 mbps), but this is the local network's fault, not the phone's fault.
The 2.0 camera seems to take better pictures than you might expect at that resolution, and it's pretty good, really. Bluetooth is faultless and seems to work better than the V9 and V8.
Internet Explorer and Opera can both be used, easily and well. Themes are easy to customise to suit the individual user, and McAfee is included for those of us who are especially paranoid. :-)
Internet Sharing and Email is easy to set up, and reliable.
I am impressed. Definitely a keeper.
Sturdy and dependable Phone
Just purchased the QH and I cant say enough good things about it too bad AT&T no longer sells it.. First its much more rugged then the Blackjack. Very few resets but if needed all you have to do is turn it off and back on and its fine. Phone powers up quickly compared to Blackberry. Predictive text could be much better, give me a good ol spellchecker.Two batteries included.
PROS. Great world phone, windows 6 very easy and dependable.
Great speakerphone, loud
Sound quality is good
Voice dialing works well.
Great signal.
Keypad easy to use.
Camera seems to work well.
CONS
Predictive text is bad.
Could be a bit smaller but still lite.
Battery life could be better on Standard batt.
No Wifi
A Review for the Novice
I moved up from a Nokia 6682 (a smartphone) mainly to make texting easier. I chose this phone based on the reviews here which after having this phone for a 3 weeks seem to be spot on. I have never owned a Blackerry or Palm so my experience with PDA's is limited to this device.
Pros:
Cellphone - call quality is up there with the best. Likewise the speakerphone. Signal strength is equal to the Nokia (in NYC and other areas I frequent)
Windows Mobile - I don't web surf or get my e-mail via this device however I did send an Outlook e-mail (Edge Network) and a MMS as a test and it took 5 hrs for the Outlook message to get to arrive, MMS a couple of minutes. Navigating Windows Mobile is not difficult but not exactly the same as your home PC, with a couple of hours learning curve.
Camera - Not bad for a cellphone
Keyboard - The QWERTY layout is ideal. A bonus is that with all those keys Motorola dedicated some for direct access to the speakerphone, camera, media player and other stuff.
Battery Life (regular) - I am not a heavy web surfer or e-mail user. Couple of calls and texts per day. I have followed the advice of all here in the forum and kill any running apps after I am done with them. I get two to three days before the battery indicator loses a bar (out of 3).
Voice recognition - I love this feature the most. Speak normally except a with a bit of a pause between words and the VR works flawlessly.
Bluetooth - works without problems.
Cons:
Size & Form - If you don't like large devices this is not for you nor if you prefer answer on open (flip). This phone however is slim (with the regular battery).
No touch screen - this would have made my review a 5 and made this phone perfect for me.
Buttons all on the left maybe. Hasn't bothered me and I hold the phone in either hand.
Uppercase & Numbers - UC characters are a bit small and hard for me to see (I'm 55) and the blue numbers are difficult to see in anything less then good light.
good phone, software needs work
The phone really is a jack of all trades. The problem is trying to figure out how everything works in Windows Mobile. There are so many layers of menus that just don't make much sense (to get to any pictures saved on you chip take 4 to 6 clicks), task manager and the need to shut down apps is annoying. That said, I would buy the phone again.
Pros
great call quality
good (not great) signal strength
great speaker phone
great media player volume
ability to add apps
opera browser renders most pages correctly
great screen (could be bigger though)
best keyboard available
good battery life
Bluetooth is easy to set up and works consistently
Great download speed (AT&T), though not promised
GPS-works with Live and Google maps
solid construction
Cons
confusing menus
windows media player is confusing and not flexible to use
camera is not good unless there is a lot of light
too hard to customize without additional programs
screen scratches too easy
Huge latency (not sure how much is phone and how much is ATT)
Exceptional
I tried the Motorola Q and Blackjack II.
Pros:
Great Reception
Call Quality
Screen
Keyboard
Build Quality
Tons of Programs
Volume
Speaker quality
Cons:
Could be smaller
Insufficient home screen customization
Believe the hype!
I'll keep this short and sweet. This phone rocks! RF is great, speakerphone is AMAZING! I've read numerous other reviews on different sites and I totally agree with the reviews that say DON'T compare this to other versions of the Q. Q9m etc. This phone is totally different in its performance, it's light years better! ZERO freezes/lockups, zero software glitches, zero problems.
I had VZW for about 7 years previously, and owned MANY phones...I730, Treo 700wx, Treo 650, Q9c, and a bunch of non PDA phones. I had pretty much given up on windows based devices due to all the CONSTANT problems...hard resets, freezes, etc. Decided to give AT&T a try, I was with them back in the early blue days, and I will say that coverage is MUCH better than it was! I personally don't notice much difference from VZW coverage (CDMA voice quality does sound slightly better to me though). I ported to AT&T and purchased the curve since I totally gave up on windows, used the curve for about a week, but could not deal with no 3G capabilities. Researched reviews like crazy, and settled on the Q9H...I'm GLAD I did! Very very happy with this phone, I'm even regaining confidence in Windows!
Excellent Phone
All I can say is give this phone a try. It may not be as fit and trim as some other smartphones out there but when you need a device that has power to perform, THIS IS IT.
PROs:
-Signal Strength is outstanding!
-Excellent call quality.
-Bluetooth Excellent with my Plantronics Discovery 655.
-Excellent Keyboard.
-Build Quality. (Does not feel cheap like the BlackJack II).
-Speed. (Runs through applications)
-Screen is crystal clear.
-Comes with Hi Capacity battery. (Life of standard battery gives me about 2 1/2 day charge)
-Speaker Volume is unreal!
-Works wonderful with Vista (So Far).
-Will support up to 32GB SD. (Are they available yet????
-Works with Blackberry connect.
CONs:
-Larger than some.
-Default settings impose a size limit on ringtones.
-Default setting dosen't recognize ringtones stored on SD card.
-No WiFi yet. Told the chipset is there waiting for a firmware update to enable it. If it gets WiFi, I would give it 5.0!
Reluctant at First, But This Phone Keeps Delivering
I made the switch from Palm 750s that always worked great for 3-4 months then had to be replaced. I wanted another Palm because of the touch screen and ease of use, so I considered going to Verizon to get a Palm 700wx. I was reluctant when I first heard of the q9h. After 4 months, I am glad I got it and stuck with AT&T.
Pros:
- Rock solid build quality. There really is no more solid smartphone made. After using this, Blackberries and Palms fell flimsy and cheap.
- Signal strength is amazing. My gf has a Palm 700wx with Verizon and my AT&T q9h blows hers away.
- Have NEVER had to reset this phone in 4 months.
- Great for Multimedia
- Keypad is best smartphone keypad yet
- Extended battery life is best on market
- Great Camera
- GPS is great, but I am cancelling b/c Google Maps works really well on this phone.
- Lots of memory for pics, music. I also have 4 gb storage card
Cons:
- No touch screen. I think Windows Mobile was made for touch screen devices, they are sooo much easier to use.
- Sometimes call clarity is marginal even though signal is strong.
- It has slowed slightly since it was new (still not nearly as bad as Palm)
- No data "beaming" without bluetooth
- Wireless syncing is a waste of time and requires bluetooth
- Data/Internet/Email is slow, that is AT&T issue and has never been as fast as Verizon
- When going to add more music to storage card, first have to delete all existing music. Anyone know how to get around this?
- Always have issues syncing. Folders/files corrupted, now I have a million different picture folders on my pc and they are everywhere.
Even with all those cons, they are very minor compared to my issues with Palms and other carriers. I will never go back to Palms unless they do some major upgrades. This phone is just so much more reliable.
