The Moto Q 9h: Motorola Venturing into the Unfamiliar

Author: Moby
Filed under: Motorola
Date: Feb 22,2008

Moto Q9h
Wonder how it would be like if your Keypad became a Keyboard? Wonder no more, the Moto Q 9h is here. It is about time that Motorola veered into the unfamiliar. For years now, it has produced phones solely based on the RAZR V3, which is its best seller. But Motorola seemed to go towards the really unfamiliar clamshell design-less path with the Moto Q 9h. Why? Read on and find out.

Motorola is introducing a handset with a QWERTY keypad with the Moto Q 9h. It is actually a smart phone which is design for those who heavy text and email users. This is not the first handset equipped with this type of keypad, but it is by far the easiest to use.

As in BlackBerry handsets, the Moto Q actually has room for a QWERTY keypad. With its 4.7 x 2.6 x 0.5-inch and 4.7-ounce dimensions, it is to a large extent wider, taller, and heavier than most usual phones we know. However, it is still thin enough to be pocket-friendly.

The QWERTY keypad is great and tactile, though it can take a little getting used to. The keypad is seemingly designed to match the movement of the thumbs. The colour screen is large enough, though there might have been a little more room to make it wee bit wider. It does not have a scroll wheel to help skim through emails easier, but it does have an up and down select button on the right side. We figure not all users will appreciate this.

The Moto Q runs on the Windows Mobile 6 standard. It supports email sending through Exchange Servers and access to your Hotmail account. You can also access your mails through a server supported by BlackBerry. One thing we like about the Moto Q is that it provides a 3.5G HSDPA connectivity for pre-installed Internet Explorer and Opera browsers. It’s unfortunate that it does not support WiFi.

The Moto Q 9h is not just for business use. It also features a Windows Media player which enables watching online videos and play music files, among a few others. At the back is a 2-megapixel camera which is great for taking snapshots and for sending MMS. It also supports quad-band connectivity, a microSD expansion slot which can hold 400 songs and a few hundred photos.

We didn’t have high hopes in this phone’s camera so we were not all that disappointed. The pictures are not crisp and may be a little blurry, but it is good enough as a 2MP camera phone. Audio quality was excellent, without any noticeable muffling or distortions. It is also impressive how the phone can be very responsive, with no amount of lag except when multiple applications are used at the same time. You may need to get yourself an extra battery if you are a heavy data user or talker.

The Moto Q 9h is probably one of the best smart phones we have seen so far. It is surprisingly affordable relative to other smart phones. Though it does not have Wi-Fi or a scroll wheel, all the rest of its features compensate well for it.

The Motorola Q is available for $329.89 at ElephantCellular

tagged: HSDPA, Keyboard, QWERTY, Windows Mobile 6, Keypad, Windows Mobile, Wi-Fi, Moto, Q9h

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The Motorola RAZR2 V8 Luxury Edition: Truly Luxurious

Author: Moby
Filed under: Motorola
Date: Feb 22,2008

Finally, the long overdue successor of Motorola’s best selling V3. What additional edge does the Motorola RAZR2 V8 Luxury Edition offer?

Well, the way we see it, the V8 Luxury is focused mainly on fashion and elegance. The RAZR2 form factor has been redefined into the most luxurious of materials possible. This refined and slim model sports a full attractive metal jacket which can impress anyone who sees it. The handset is most especially accented with 18K gold, and the back surface has a matte snakeskin-like finish which anyone with class will surely love. The package comes with a black sleek designed Motorola H680 Bluetooth headset, which also has 18k gold-plated accents.

The V8 Luxury edition closely resembles the V9, though there have been a few difference integrated. The V8 Luxury is, simply put, an ordinary mobile phone. It has all the regular handset features, does not support HSDPA, and does not have a microSD expansion card slot. However, it does come with a 2GB onboard memory which is quite enough for most regular mobile phone users. This should be more than enough for storing photos, videos and music.

The music player included in the V8 Lux is quite cool. It overlays a number of Touch sensitive controls on the external display. It’s a pity though that these inconspicuous keys only function with the player. The player is also quite basic so it does not offer sorting functions or a good equaliser.

We noticed considerable response delays for this unit as far as menu speed is concerned. It was speedy for the most part, but it noticeably slows down if two or three applications are processed at the same time. We particularly like the Keypad as it has adopted the tactility of most Motorola units. The external display of the V8 Lux is much like that of the V9, which by the way is one of the best we have seen. The internal display is just as impressive - bright and colourful.

The camera included in the V8 Lux is a lowly 2 megapixel. However, it comes with an 8x digital zoom. The camera is good enough to take decent snapshots, but if you would like a camera that gives excellent image quality, then you might be better off looking elsewhere.

The V8 Lux also features the Crystal Talk technology which makes audio quality excellent. Conversations even in noisy environments are audible. We noticed a few volume fluctuations though, but the voice was as clear and as sharp as should be. The battery life is quite impressive with up to 300 hours on standby and 7.5 hours talk time.

The Motorola RAZR2 V8 Luxury edition probably won’t make you as rich as David Beckham, but it does offer a wide number of features that you will appreciate. With this fashionable handset, what you see is what you get – great design and great elements that can be expected from a Motorola phone. This is definitely a great choice as far as elegance and fashion is concerned.

The Motorola RAZR2 V8 is available for $309.89 at ElephantCellular