Motorola Q Cell Phone Review - Tour & Design
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Richard Baguley Published on March 08, 2007 Comment on this |
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The Motorola Q is a slim, svelte phone that eschews the usual brick-like design of smart phones: at just 0.45 inches thick (not including the keyboard), it’s thinner than most; event the Motorola Razr is a little thicker at 0.54 inches. But it’s not lacking in the features department: it has a decent sized keyboard, large, clear screen and a miniSD slot.Front
Working from the top down of the case, we have the speaker, the screen (a reasonable sized 2.4-inch TFT screen with a resolution of 320 by 240), the controls and the keyboard. The controls are composed of two soft buttons (which have different features, which are shown on the bottom of the screen), the green call/answer key, the home key (which takes you back to the home screen of the phone), the 4-way navigation pad and center key, the undo/back key and the power button. The power button also doubles as the key to hang up calls.
The keyboard has good sized, angled keys and a decent sized space bar. On the bottom row of the keyboard are keys for (from left to right the messaging application, the 0 key, the space bar, the camera and the speakerphone. Right below the keyboard on the left hand side is the small hole for the microphone.
LeftOn the left side of the Q is the opaque cover of the IRDA port and the plastic cover of the MiniSD port. This provides a good seal: although it is not waterproof, it fits well enough to protect from dust and dirt, and sits flush with the side of the case, so it isn’t likely to get caught on anything. It is a little awkward to remove the cover, though; you have to pick at the edge of the cover with your nail to lift it. At the bottom of the case is the mini USB port, which is also where the power adapter plugs in. This also means that the Q can be charged from any powered USB port on a computer with the included USB data lead: a useful feature if you’re traveling light.
The top of the Q is home to additional vents for the speaker and the headset socket, which is a standard 2.5mm type. This means you can’t plug your headphones in without an adapter, but you can use most standard stereo headsets.
Bottom
There are no major features on the bottom of the Q: no docking ports, no power sockets and no other interesting ports or buttons.
Right
On the right hand side, we have the thumb wheel and the undo/back key. The jog dial thumb wheel controls a number of options, such as volume in calls and scrolling through menus. It can also double as a select button: pushing the wheel in selects the currently chosen option; a boon for one-handed dialing. Below this is a button which duplicates the action of the back key on the front of the
On the right hand side, we have the thumb wheel and the undo/back key. The jog dial thumb wheel controls a number of options, such as volume in calls and scrolling through menus. It can also double as a select button: pushing the wheel in selects the currently chosen option; a boon for one-handed dialing. Below this is a button which duplicates the action of the back key on the front of the
Back
The back of the Q is the home of the camera, which is underneath the small window with the orange ring around it. Below this is the window for the single LED light which Motorola describes as a flash. This is something of a misnomer as it doesn’t flash: the LED goes on when you select the option from the camera menu, and stays on until you select the option again. Below the flash is a Motorola logo and the catch for the battery cover, and at the bottom are the vents for two small stereo speakers for playing music and the speakerphone.
Battery
The battery of the Q is a rather slim 3.7 volt lithium ion battery which holds 1130mAh of charge. That’s somewhat smaller than the 1600 to 1800 mAh batteries that we see in other smart phones, and there’s a price to pay for that in the battery life.
In The Box (2.0)
Motorola only supplies two accessories with the Q: a power supply and a USB cable. There are no headsets or memory cards included, so don’t forget to factor those into the cost.
Handling (7.0)
The Q fits comfortably in the hand, and the thumb dial makes it easy to change the volume (important if you are making calls while walking, so you can adjust the volume for your location) and the large keyboard makes entering data easy. However, the glossy screen does pick up makeup or grease from your ear and face, as both are flat against the face when you’re calling.
Portability (8.0)
At 4 ounces, the Q won’t be a problem to carry around.It’s much lighter than bulkier phones like the 700p. And the thin profile means that it will fit easily into a shirt or trouser pocket.
Aesthetic (8.0)
The Q is a stylish, sleek phone that combines form with function well. It provides a large keyboard, good sized screen and other features in a package that remains small and sleek.
Durability (7.0)
The case of the Q is made of plastic, but it doesn’t have any obvious gaps that could be a problem for dust or moisture getting into the inner workings. The MiniSD card slot is also well sealed; the plastic grommet fits well over the slot and should keep the nasties out.
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