Motorola Q — First Look & Feel
Today, June 5, 2006 I played with the Motorola Q for a few minutes at my local Verizon. The Santa Barbara, CA store received 20 Qs on Friday, and near end of day Monday ten were already sold.
My first look and feel of the Moto Q was mainly positive, with one significant negative.
Motorola Q STRENGTHS (so far)
– Keyboard (excellent feel, wide key spacing)
– Screen (bright, highly saturated colors
– It’s so thin! (amazing…)
– Scroll wheel, a la Blackberry
– Voice quality (crisp and clear, good volume)
Motorola Q WEAKNESSES (so far)
– Uncomfortable feel (sharp edges along left and right edges)
Motorola Q UNKOWN (so far)
– Have not used email on the Q, yet. Email and IM are why I want a QWERTY phone.
– Not able to browse the web, yet.
– Have not seen enough text on the screen to know how legible emails and instant message text will be, yet.
The negative (sharp edges makes it feel uncomfortable) was a surprise to me. It took me a while to figure out what the problem is. The Q is assembled with a faceplate that extends slightly beyond the edge of the center (main) case. Ironically, the Q I played with had a nice smooth curve on the bottom end (below the keyboard).
But as I held this Moto Q work of art in my hand, it struck me that the uncomfortable feel may (repeat may) make the Q a non-starter for me.
I hate it when that happens.
June 6th, 2006 at 7:26 am
Sounds like the Q failed the Jeff Hawkins “carve one out of wood and carry it around for 3 months” test. I heard a rumor on the Internet that you had very sensitive hands… :-)
Dang. I wanted you to be happy with the Q. Now it’s time for you to check out a Treo 700P.
Regards,
Jim
June 6th, 2006 at 9:35 am
Mine has smoothed ridges along the sides, which I think help me grip it. No ridges on the bottom. They aren’t sharp — I’d give a dummy version to a baby to chew on. Maybe yours was improperly machined and should be exchanged?
June 6th, 2006 at 9:51 am
Mine has ridges but they aren’t sharp. They help grip, I think. I’d give a dummy unit to a baby to chew. I wonder if your has some machining defect and should be returned?
June 7th, 2006 at 6:29 am
Maybe I am overreacting. I will go back (a few times) so I get additional time with the Moto Q.
It is so close to the perfect QWERTY phone I can’t dismiss it out of hand. (Sorry for my terrible pun…) –ron jeffries