Motorola Q q9: Our in-depth, hands-off impressions

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	Motorola Q q9: Our in-depth, hands-off impressions	By Philip Berne, 13 February 2007

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With HSDPA for 3.5G networking and a sleek new shell, the new Q9 is a step forward in the smartphone's evolution. Will it have what it takes to survive?

When the original Motorola Q was released last spring, it certainly made waves in the smartphone market. Less than a half-inch thick, the slab-like device sparked a wave of look-alike models, especially the T-Mobile Dash and the Samsung BlackJack. Each of those phones one-upped the Q in terms of features: the Dash offers Wi-Fi (though no 3G support), and the BlackJack surfs AT&T's faster-than-EV-DO HSDPA network. Though we originally liked the Q's design, once the novelty of such a thin smartphone wore off, we found it a bit stodgy, especially compared to the smaller Dash or the sleeker BlackJack. However, our biggest concern with the Q was its speed. The phone was sluggish, and the first update to the phone addressed software concerns, which may have improved the experience, but didn't offer a significant boost.

Windows Mobile 6

The most significant update to the Q is the operating system. The new Q q9 will run Windows Mobile 6, and most of the improvements we see with the phone we believe will be tied to improvements in the Windows Mobile platform. The new WM6 is reportedly faster than the older version, so that should help settle the speed issue. Also, while we complained about the inability to edit documents on the original Q, the new Windows Mobile solves this issue as well, bundling Mobile Office with the OS. We had no problems with the original Q's keyboard, but the new Q q9 has keys that look a bit fuller, a contiguous keypad instead of discrete keys.

3G networking

If we had to choose between HSDPA support and Wi-Fi, we would choose HSDPA. We're not sold on Wi-Fi for mobile phones just yet. Side-by-side, mobile phones using a good 3G connection browse about as fast as phones on a Wi-Fi connection. Though AT&T still has a ways to go rolling out their HSDPA network, finding a free Wi-Fi network isn't as easy as it was in the early days of wireless, when most networks were open and unsecure. And even free Wi-Fi can be suspect, as it is easy to eavesdrop on open networks. Also, a 3G phone can act as a tethered modem, a feature we use frequently on business trips. We're not frequent VoIP users, which is the biggest advantage of Wi-Fi. If there isn't space in a device, or battery power, for both, we'd choose 3G.

The new look

The new Q q9 is also more round, and has a slicker look than its predecessor. Black is a good color for this device, it's slimming. Silver slab-phones, like the Nokia E62 and the new E61i, look bigger than they are, thanks to the shiny shell. One thing Nokia definitely holds over the Q q9, however, is the fantastic screen you'll find on Nokia smartphones. Nokia tends toward higher-resolution screens with a color depth of 16-million hues, which makes a difference not only in terms of multimedia content, but also reading small text. We would have liked to see an improvement over the original Q's admirable QVGA screen, though we had no complaints about that display, now that Windows Mobile 6 seems to be able to handle higher resolutions.

Otherwise, feature upgrades seem incremental. The camera has gone from 1.3- to 2-megapixels. The expansion slot is now microSD, instead of miniSD, though this doesn't seem like a necessary change unless it shaves some millimeters off the shell. The Q q9 supports USB 2.0, which is great for tethered modem support. No killer new features that will definitely sway the pack, which is unfortunate, considering the stiff competition on the horizon.

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