Motorola Q 9m Cell Phone Review - Organizer
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Mark Brezinski Published on December 31, 2007 Comment on this |
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Synchronization (6.67)
Synchronization will be handled by by ActiveSync on a Windows XP PC, or Windows Mobile Device Manager if you're using Vista. If you don't happen to have these programs installed, a software CD is included. Once everything is installed and the phone is connected to your PC, the software will help you through the process. It's very straight-forward and easy to use.
You can synchronize your contacts (with photos), calendar appointments, tasks, and any other file. Most synchronization programs only encompass PIM information. As a Windows Mobile Standard handset, you'll be using Outlook or the Windows PIM manager. If you don't like either of these options, there are plentiful surrogates available for download.
Alerts (2.0)
The alerts on the Q 9m aren't very good. The gray pop-up reminder is about as eye-catching as sidewalk. If your screen was already on, there's a very slim chance you'd notice. Also, the phone gives up a bit too easy, ringing once, after which point it won't be bothered.
Over the Air PIM Sync (2.0)
Over the air PIM synchronization is done via Exchange, meaning you'll need access to such a server. Assuming you do find one, you'll only be able to sync up contacts and calendar info. Anything else just wouldn't be professional.
Address Book
Adding Contacts (7.94)
We were able to plug in contacts in an average of 12.59 seconds. This isn't the best time we've achieved, but it's one of the better timing test performances the Q 9m has to offer. We did run into lag, but the process was a bit easier, the QWERTY made the name input easy, and the whole process involved less extraneous navigation.
When we perform this test, we use different sample contacts each trial. We do this in order to get a more accurate average, something closer to the actual user experience than typing in the same number and name over and over.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| Motorola Q 9m | 12.59 | 7.94 |
| Palm Centro | 12.22 | 8.18 |
| Motorola Q | 17 | 5.88 |
| Pantech Duo | 11.72 | 8.53 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 14.1 | 7.09 |
| Nokia N95 with 3G | 25.42 | 3.93 |
Looking/Sorting/Search (6.0)
You can search through contacts by typing with the QWERTY, but it will only pick up on name, not company or email address. You can also choose to filter your contacts by name or company.
Fields (8.5)
The standard list of Windows Mobile fields are available on the Q 9m .There are a total of 43 fields, capable of holding multiple addresses, emails, or numbers. You can also plug in anniversaries or birthdays, though these dates aren't entered into the calendar app. We would've liked some user-defined fields like Series 60 Symbian phones have.
Speed Dial/Voice tags/Voice command (6.0)
We found the voice command software was really good. It recognized all our sample contacts, which was great since it makes the absence of voice tags more palateable. There are over 90 speed dial options available. You can also choose to assign any program to a speed dial, which is a great way to extend the functionality of this feature.
Calendar
Adding Calendar Items (10.50)
The Q 9m ran into a spot of luck on this timing test, squeezing out a calendar entry in 9.52 seconds. Two of the criteria we normally input ended up being defaults (appointment at noon, 15 minute reminder) and we therefore only had to input the title and day of the event. In general, however, the process is relatively easy, though not quite so easy as on BlackBerry or Palm devices. Compared to the old Q and normal phones, however, the Q 9m sets a blistering pace.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| Motorola Q 9m | 9.52 | 10.50 |
| Palm Centro | 4.8 | 20.83 |
| Motorola Q | 19.1 | 5.24 |
| Pantech Duo | 9.28 | 10.78 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 6.04 | 16.56 |
| Nokia N95 with 3G | 18.64 | 5.36 |
Calendar Views (4.67)
If you've used a Windows Mobile calendar before, you can skip this section. The three calendar views you can choose from are month, week, and agenda. You can switch between them with the left soft key.
Month view insn't very good, because selecting a busy day won't reveal any information about its appointments. Each little square will get a notch if it has appointments, but it won't even tell you how many are on each day. If you click on a day, it'll zoom to that day's agenda view.
The week view is the same week view you'll see on virtually every cell phone these days: times down the left, dates across the top. The grid in the middle is where your appointments will be represented as rectangles of purple, spanning their duration. If you highlight an appointment you can see its start time, end time, and title. Clicking will, again, bring you to the agenda view.
Fields (10.0)
There are ten fields for calendar item customization. Title, location, start/end time, and a customizable reminder are all there. Advanced options involve setting a recurrence, inviting attendees, and jotting notes. Events can be set as all day events, which makes anniversaries, birthdays, and holidays easier to input. There are also fields for status and sensitivity which don't really add a significant value. We would've liked categories instead, preferably implemented as an aid in filtering events.
ToDo/Tasks
Adding ToDo/Task (6.28)
We were able to add our simple sample task in 15.93 seconds. This is slightly better than average. It's also a big improvement over the original Q which didn't have this functionality. The most difficult part of the process is browsing to the task application to begin with, as it's stuck in the middle of the Start menu.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| Motorola Q 9m | 15.93 | 6.28 |
| Palm Centro | 11.52 | 8.68 |
| Motorola Q | N/A | 0.0 |
| Pantech Duo | 19.37 | 5.16 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 14.80 | 6.76 |
| Nokia N95 with 3G | 12.38 | 8.08 |
ToDo/Task Sorting and Prioritizing (7.0)
You can give your tasks a low, normal, or high priority. They can be sorted by their priority, as well as by their subject, start date, or due date. Tasks can also be filtered by their category.
Fields (10.0)
Tasks aren't the most complicated of the PIM applications, but the Q 9m handles them well. You'll be able to set the name, start/due date, and priority. You can also assign a category, set up recurrence, check tasks off as completed, or add some notes.
Notes
Adding Notes (2.33)
It took 21.49 seconds to enter in our quick sample note, which is a lot longer than it should've taken. Navigation was absurdly slow. There was about a second of lag after we clicked on the Accessories icon in the Start menu, and opening up the Memo application actually called up the "please wait" pinwheel. Notes applications are very basic, and this one is no different. The Q 9m definitely has some issues with responsiveness.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| Motorola Q 9m | 21.49 | 2.33 |
| Palm Centro | 8.46 | 5.91 |
| Motorola Q | N/A | 0.0 |
| Pantech Duo | 9.82 | 5.09 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 12.2 | 4.10 |
| Nokia N95 with 3G | 17.7 | 2.82 |
Note Interface (4.0)
Notes are very basic. When you're writing them, there aren't any options, just the large text field. The notes application does a good job managing notes, though. There are actually sorting options, which is a rarity. You can sort them by when they were last modified, when they were created, or by name, in either ascending or descending order. Highlighting a note will display the date they were last modified at the bottom of the screen. There is no way to search through your notes, however.
Note Formatting (0.0)
Without an options menu, it was hard for the Q 9m didn't have a place to store its formatting capabilities.
Voice Memo (5.0)
The voice memo application is basically a huge timer in 00:00 format. There aren't many options other than record and stop, but notes aren't limited to just 60 seconds. You can rename recordings after they've been made. There aren't sorting options. Getting to voice notes is actually far easier than the text notes application, because voice notes are included in the Start menu proper.
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