Motorola Q Cell Phone Review - Organizer
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Richard Baguley Published on March 08, 2007 Comment on this |
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Synchronization (6.0)
Synchronizing the Q is a simple process: just plug in the USB cable and ActiveSynch kicks off on the PC and synchronizes the data between the phone and the PC. Setting up which data to synch is a bit of a clumsy process in ActiveSynch, though: you have to create a relationship between the PC and the phone, then select the individual criteria for synching different types of data.
The Q uses Microsoft’s ActiveSync to synchronize data with the PC (or the Windows Mobile Device Center if you’ve upgraded to Windows Vista. Once it is set up and configured, synchronizing data between the Q and a PC is pretty simple: just connect the USB cable and let ActiveSync run. The same program also allows you to copy files to or from the cell phone and memory card manually by dragging and dropping either way.
ActiveSync does not directly support synching over a Bluetooth, although it is possible to make it work. It does, however, support automatically synchronizing data such as photos and music as well as the more mundane calendar and to-do tasks
Given that the Q runs Windows Mobile 5.0, it’s no surprise that the synching software uses Outlook as the default client to synch email and other data with. There is no support for other email or PIM programs: if you use another email and agenda program, you’ll need to invest in a separate program to synchronize this data.
Alerts (2.0)
The alarm functions of the Q are very basic: you can set an alarm to go off at a specific time of the day, but can’t set it to go off on certain days (such as weekdays). If you need something more complex, you have to use the calendar application, and this is pretty simplistic as well. You can set an appointment to repeat on a regular basis (such as every Sunday, every 18th of the month, etc), but you can’t set a specific set of days; for our example of an alarm that goes off every weekday, you have to set different appointments for every day. There is also no way to attach an alert to a to-do task.
OTA PIM Sync (2.0)
Microsoft’s Exchange is the only PIM server that is supported out of the box; the Q can be set to synchronize appointments or tasks with an Exchange server.
Address BookAdding A Contact Speed (5.88)
Adding a new contact to the contacts application took an average of 17 seconds; a little slower than the Palm Treo 700p. This was due to the fact that getting to the new contact screen involved a lot of button pushing. However, once again the contacts application is added to the list of commonly used applications at the top of the home screen once you use it a few times, and this shaves a few seconds off the process.
Sorting/Search (6.0)
Locating a specific contact in the contacts list can be done by either typing in the name (the contacts application selects records until you find the right one) or by scrolling through the list. Filters are also present, so you can see only contacts in a particular category or only those you have entered recently.
Fields (5.5)
An impressive 55 fields of data can be entered on each contact, including some oddities such as “government ID”. However, the labels for these fields cannot be altered or edited, so it’s a good job that there are plenty of them. There is a free-form notes field that can be used for pretty much anything.
Speed Dial/Voice tags/Voice command (5.0)
Up to 9 contacts can be added to speed dial (with voicemail getting one spot by default). Any of these can be dialed by holding down the appropriate number button. There is no option for voice tags, but a reasonable voice command system is included. This managed to recognize four out of five of our sample contacts, which is a reasonable hit rate.
Calendar
Adding Calendar Item Speed (5.88)
Adding a simple appointment to the calendar application took an average of 19.1 seconds, a little longer than most. It’s not that the process is difficult; it just involves a lot of scrolling through the entry screen.
Calendar Views (4.0)
Three simple views are available in the calendar application of the Q: week, moth and agenda. Although these present the basic information, they don’t do so particularly well: the week view, for instance, only shows that you have an appointment by a block of color: it doesn’t show any of the details.
Fields (8.0)
Appointments in the Q calendar application have the basic fields: titles, start and end dates and times, etc. But they can’t be categorized beyond something called “sensitivity”; there’s no way to label appointments as being for one business, and others for a separate company, for one.
To-Do/Tasks
Adding ToDo Speed (0.0)
The tasks application of the Q running on Verizon is extremely basic: you can add tasks and mark them as incomplete or complete, but that’s it: there is no way to prioritize, attach due dates or set priorities. You can do this on your PC in Outlook and then view the details on the Q task application, but you can’t change these details on the Q. This means that the Q was unable to perform our tests for tasks; even the simplest test involves creating an task with a due date. So, the Q gets 0 points on this test.
ToDo Sorting and Prioritizing (3.5)
As described above, the tasks application on the Q allows you to sort tasks based on their priority or due date, but you can’t change any of this data on the Q itself.
Fields (2.0)
Tasks entered directly into the Q have only two fields: the title and a complete/non complete flag. That’s a pretty poor selection for a product aimed at business users.
Notes (4 Scores)
Adding A Note Speed (0.0)
The Q has no specific notes application, so this section does not apply. Some of the applications do allow you to attach notes (such as appointments), though
Note Interface (0.0)
Not supported.
Note Formatting (0.0)
Not supported.
Voice Memo (3.0)
Although there is no dedicated notes application, there is one for recording voice notes. However, it’s pretty basic; voice notes can be recorded (for a maximum of 30 seconds) and renamed, but they can’t be categorized or otherwise organized. They can, however, be used as ring tones, so you can replace the default ring tone with your own beautiful voice if required.
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