Those of you patiently waiting for Sprint to
officially launch (and make available) its rendition of the Motorola Q can finally breathe a sigh of relief, but you'll still have to wait just a bit longer to actually grab one. Slated to hit webstores "around mid-January" and retail outlets the month after, Sprint's Q isn't
quite available to the masses just yet, but LAPTOP Mag got their palms around a pre-production release and promptly threw it on the testing block. Mimicking
remarks we made earlier, reviewers noticed the lack of upgrades aside from the Sprint splash screen, logos, and unique "dark grey" hue, and they also found the "less rubberized" feel compared to
Verizon's black version less enjoyable to handle. Noting the possibility of including a dedicated volume switch (as on the
BlackJack), the crew was also let down by the omitted backlight underneath the keyboard, which Verizon's unit is blessed with. Additionally, surfing the web proved quite a bit slower when compared to Verizon's flavor, but
Sprint suggested that "finalized units" wouldn't suffer the same fate. Nevertheless, not all was doom and gloom, as they did take note of the exclusive
NFL Mobile functionality as well as the bundled Handmark application -- dubbed On Demand -- that loaded up "news, weather, directions, and other information optimized for the Moto Q's screen within seconds." Overall, this Q proved to be a bit of letdown considering what it could have been, and if only Sprint would've taken the time to add support for its
Sprint TV and
Music services, at least something would've stood out from the competition. As it stands, however, the Q still isn't a bad choice, and it was noted that Sprint's cheap unlimited data could swing contract-less buyers in its direction, but if you were hoping for a revamped, refreshed offering from big yellow, you'll be sorely disappointed.
Read - Motorola Q officially launches on Sprint
Read - LAPTOP Mag reviews Sprint's Motorola Q
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
chuck @ Jan 4th 2007 11:57AM
I don't understand. The keyboard isn't backlit? It even looks backlit in the pictures.
That's horrible for such a high-end phone. Even all the free phones from a few years ago had backlit keypads.
Aaron Rodriguez @ Jan 4th 2007 12:15PM
Are there any other phones coming out within the next 6 months like the Q? I have pretty much settled on sprint when my prepaid mins run out because of their unlimited data not being a ripoff. but I want to be sure I get the best phone when I move off my prepaid. I have pretty much set my sight on the light and thin phones (like the Q) vs the bulky pocket pc phones. I am going to CES in a week so maybe we will see something there.
Im mainly getting this to surf the internet anywhere and be able to access my media pc to stream live/recorded TV/music/photos etc. Which Im sure dedicated volume buttons would have helped out with.
tony @ Jan 4th 2007 12:22PM
this is only a pre-production release if there final release sucks like this im sure im not going to get it
Reza E. @ Jan 4th 2007 1:56PM
I haven't used this phone or the Verizon version but here's my issue. I recently purchased a Samsung Blackjack which I ended up returning after 48 hours. Why? I loved the phone but I hated the operating system. Next I bought a Blackberry Pearl. Again, I loved the phone and I hated the operating system. Now this wasn't a surprise because I've had Blackberies in the past but I guess I was hoping that the Pearl would be different. I used to have a Treo...I loved the operating system but I hated the phone! So why doesn't Palm license the operating system for other phones or maybe the question is: Why do phone companies shy away from purchasing Palm licenses to use on their phones? It is the easiest and friendliest OS out there...why not use it instead of the crappy Windows Mobile or any other OS?
JG_06 @ Jan 4th 2007 2:28PM
1: It's obvious from the photo that the device has a backlit keyboard... It's just that the dark-colored keys only have the letters on them lit, while the light-colored keys have the entire key lit. 2: For those complaining about the Q not having Sprint TV... No WM5-powered smartphone can support Sprint TV... That's why I copped the Treo 700P instead of the 700WX. Personally, I think WM5 is too complicated when it comes to basic tasks that one would do on any phone, smartphone or otherwise. Palm is much more user-friendly, even though it's kind of bland. However, I'm sure the Q will do very well with Sprint simply because of the lower cost for an unlimited data pack, compared to Verizon, Cingular, etc.
derF @ Jan 4th 2007 10:00PM
And, for those contemplating a Sprint Q...it has NO built-in Picture Mail or MMS! How in the hell can anyone sell a camera-equipped cell phone these days that lacks the ability to share pictures with other cell phones?
LG @ Jan 5th 2007 12:16AM
@#2 Sprint is charging I think $50 or $60 for unlimited internet for pdaphones now, and it's a tethering plan.
No more $15 unlimited data...
fred @ Jan 5th 2007 1:18AM
sprint is still charging $15 for basic vision, which includes unltd web access, unless you get a blackberry, in which case you have to do a blackberry data plan, i'm pretty sure.
their site is hard to navigate, so it can be confusing.
if they raise prices before i can get a Q, i'll be bitter. :)
sn1lloc @ Jan 5th 2007 2:51AM
who needs sprint tv when you have orb, you just go ahead and buy a tv in card for your computer you can watch live tv on your q or record stuff like music or video and then watch it later over the q. and as far as the q is going to preform i think it will be alot like its vzn cmda cousin just with a few extra sprint apps
http://www.orb.com/
Jess @ Jan 5th 2007 10:26AM
wait...there's no picture mail for this sprint Q?? What the hell is going on with sprint? So much hype about this phone for all this crap???
derF @ Jan 5th 2007 1:22PM
RE: Post #10...Like Sprint's Treo 700wx, there is no native PictureMail/MMS application on the Q. With Sprint, pics can only be sent via Pocket Outlook, which only allows e-mails to be sent to a valid email address -- no phone nos. Other carriers use true MMS and, therefore, have no issues sending pics. Sprint backed themselves into this corner by developing their own, 'mock MMS' (aka PictureMail) which is simply not compatible with Windows Mobile.
Hopefully the 3rd-party MMS hack that works on the 700wx will do the same for the Q.
tlhadley @ Jan 10th 2007 6:57PM
Any idea when the exact release date is? I have been waiting to get one for a long time now...
Steve G @ Jan 11th 2007 4:33PM
Regarding comment #5: The Treo 700p would be great if it supported voice dialing via BlueTooth. A major advantage of voice dialing and BlueTooth headsets is to let the drivers concentrate on DRIVING instead of dealing with a cumbersome phone. So having both voice dial and BlueTooth without having them integrated is an extreme lack of intelligence. I'd buy the 700p if the two features worked as they would have had the engineers been awake, breathing and thinking.
Marcus Lang @ Jan 17th 2007 4:05PM
Does the Sprint Q do SMS Text Messaging
c-dog @ Mar 27th 2007 10:59AM
I bought a Motorola Q last weekend and the sales people failed to clarify that it does not get Sprint TV or the streaming Sirius satellite radio despite the fact that it is advertised as a PowerVision phone. Those features can be added with an additional cost download and a PhD in network engineering. They also failed to mention that it is not compatible with a free Yahoo email account. This was even unknown to the tech support guy who gave up in frustration after an hour and a half of trying to walk me through the email set up (the fact that I ahd to call tech support for this is a bad sign). He eventually handed off the call to a Motorola tech person who informed me that becauseit was a Windows application device, it only will work with a paid Yahoo account, Sprint Email or Hotmail (Bill Gates!). I'm taking this crap back to the store today and getting a Treo.
jt @ Mar 28th 2007 10:46PM
How does the picture mail work???? I cant get a straight answer from any tech person. I did an up grade for my Sprint account and took home the Q.
Using my old phone I could upload directily to my sprint picture mail account but I cant even do that or its to difficult with this Q!!! Seems like I have to go through some sort of email and attach each photo??? ANYONE having this problem ...help thanks
Cory @ Apr 5th 2007 8:38AM
I too, am disappointed in the MMS lack. Although, since I jumped to the Q from a Blackberry 7100i (no flames, por favor - I know the 7100i sucks), I do appreciate the fact that you can SMS when you need to (unlike the 7100i where EVERY text was MMS). I want MMS support, though. Any phone hitting the shelves now should support MMS.
As to the positive factors - I can use ActiveSync to deal with my corporate exchange w/o a BES or GoodLink server. This is most wonderful for my calendar!! POP3 and IMAP4 accounts are supported and I am running those for my personal accounts.
Browsing speeds are good when I'm downtown (Houston), but coverage for 3G is a bit spotty where I live (Spring - way north Houston) even though Sprint marks the whole area "Green."
Overall, I'm happy with the device. I like its size and the corp. exchange wireless sync (plus activesync integration with Vista) keeps me sold on the Q. MMS lacking SUCKS big time - and, I was quite surprised that it's not there. Like I said - ANY phone hitting the shelves should have MMS support. It would be akin to Dell selling a new computer that can't support a network card... Just plain stupid :)
- cory