Motorola Q 9m Cell Phone Review - Intro
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Mark Brezinski Published on December 31, 2007 Comment on this |
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The Motorola Q 9m from Verizon is an average smart phone in many ways, and a below average smart phone in more. This flat, BlackBerry-esque handset doesn't boast much other than what Windows Mobile Standard typically offers. Its camera is bad, the handset itself isn't particularly attractive, battery life wasn't notable, and the phone is slow to respond. The home screen features a media player plugin which would be a great feature if it was either a fully-featured media player or it worked in tandem with the phone's version of Windows Media Player. It's a separate entity, however, and programmed carelessly: you can actually get two songs playing at the same time. In fact, there isn't much to the Q 9m to merit its $199.99 price tag (with a contract). Once we saw its price, we shrugged, thinking it was just another over-priced handset with a bit of a gimmick to help sell it. Reading further down the page, however, we saw there was a $100 mail-in rebate that wasn't reflected in the price. This rebate is the Q 9m's saving grace in our eyes. At $100, the Q 9m's flaws can be overlooked somewhat. We weren't able to tell if this was just a limited-time offer for the holidays, or if this is how much the phone costs. We'll update this review if the rebate vanishes, but as a general rule, you can get a much better smart phone for $199.99.
Tour & Design - The Q 9m looks like a BlackBerry with a strange color scheme. It seems solidly built, though the large, exposed screen is cause for worry.
Audio Quality - Audio quality was good overall, but the phone's side tone will make you feel like you're shouting.
Imaging - The camera isn't very good at all, either for still or video capture. Furthermore, using a large phone like the Q 9m as a camera will make you look foolish.
Making/Receiving Calls - The Q 9m is quick to make a phone call, just as long as it wasn't powered down. Call management is handled well.
Messaging - The Q 9m has surprisingly basic messaging capabilities for a smart phone. They should suit most users, but email-reliant professionals will need more.
Organizer - The organizer is typical of Windows Mobile Standard. Most users will find it more than adequate, though it isn't as good as Series 60 Symbian devices.
Multimedia - Verizon seems to be marketing the Q 9m as a music handset, but the only music-oriented feature it has is its Verizon-spawned home screen. The phone does have Windows Media Player, but so do all Windows Mobile phones.
Software - Windows Mobile Standard 6 is a very competent smart phone platform. Though it's slow -- especially so on the Q 9m -- it offers great extensibility.
Battery Life - The Q 9m's battery life was about average for a smart phone.
Connectivity - As a CDMA phone with Bluetooth 1.2, the Q 9m isn't as well-connected as most other smart phones. We would've liked to see wi-fi connectivity, or at least Bluetooth 2.0.
Hardware - We didn't care for the Q 9m's keyboard. There wasn't anything overly impressive about the rest of its physicality either.
Other Features - The Q 9m can be used as a dial-up modem, but you'll need a nod from Verizon first.
Value & Comparisons - At its listed price of $199.99, the Q 9m isn't worth it. Verizon states it comes with a $100 mail-in rebate, however, which makes the Q 9m much more viable.
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