Motorola Q9m / Q9c
Phone Scoop Review
Sep 20, 2007 by Eric M. Zeman
The Motorola Q9M is the next evolution of the Moto Q. But did it evolve enough? With video tour. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
The Review: Motorola Q9c!
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Tryin' to keep it Plain and Simple... Let's Begin...
PRO'S
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+ Best QWERTY keyboard ever.
+ Battery life is phenomenal.
+ Windows LIVE Search is amazing!
+ Speakerphone is great.
+ MiniSD slot.
+ Supports SDIO.
+ 1.3mp camera w/flash.
+ Bluetooth.
+ Light sensor.
+ Threaded TXT messages.
CON'S
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- No WiFi.
- The phone lags.
- PIC messages are a hassle.
- Extended battery makes it bulky.
When I got the phone from Sprint, it had Windows Mobile 6.0, but later updated to 6.1 which fixed those minor bugs. You can't send PIC messages directly, must send it as an email.
I highly recommend to get unlimited data when purchasing this phone, b/c without it, the phone features won't shine.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Excellent.
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Due to Sprint's historically poor phone selection, I've used durable, high quality but somewhat limited Sanyo handsets in the past. For me, the upgrade to a second generation Motorola smartphone has definitely been worth it.
PROS
Great call quality and voice recognition.
Long battery life.
Sturdy keyboard and feedback.
Quality screen and speakers.
Unlocked GPS.. great with Gmaps for the directionally challenged.
IMAP email.. very nice being able to quickly and easily scan and DELETE emails while on the go. Keeps me from having to waste precious time in front of the home/office computer later on.
Strong Bluetooth performance (stereo). And I've had success using an IGo bluetooth keyboard (Sierra).
Can load mini-SD card with favorite lectures, music or video. And it seems that mini-SD is cheaper than micro-SD.
(Or you can choose a Wi-fi mini-SD card instead of extra storage.)
Accomplish simple web-surfing tasks away from home/office.
Ability to read and edit office documents.
Has an elegant, streamlined look, imo.
CONS
Wish it were lighter, but then I'd have to sacrifice the long battery life.
And additional 50-100% more RAM might make it snappier.
No built-in WiFi. Not important to me as I have coverage everywhere I go and have a generous allotment of minutes. But I see hat this could change, making WiFi more important in the future.
Slight lag when compared to, say, a Palm Centro, which sells for $50 less.. But then I'm more comfortable with Windows Mobile than with the Palm OS. Plus the Palm looks and feels less substantial than the Q9c.
Thought I might dislike the extended battery shape. But that's not been the case. Perhaps even ergonomic in terms of how it rests against the palm/hand while talking. And I'd never give up any battery life, even if it meant I could reduce the form factor.
FINAL COMMENT
Best cell phone I've ever had. I would buy it again without hesitation.
Excellent smartphone
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Excellent phone for the small business owner. I do my weely scheduling on mine and it rocks. Tried the BB 8830 first but could not deal with the low ring volume (otherwise awesome phone). It might not be as good for the serious business man on the go as the BB 830 but for thr average user it has a better form and more features.
Pros:
-Best keyboard I have ever used on a smart phone
-Slick appearance
-Great screen
-SDIO capabale
-External speakers are top notch
-Works great as a phone only
-3rd party application availability
-etc.
Cons:
-Disabled GPS and absence of maps (Verizon's fault)
-Plays videos a bit small
-Screen hard to see in brightest sunlight
_processor could be faster (CDMA problems)
My Q 9m has been so so...
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My phone was great. It was all fine & dandy until I started noticing dust on the right hand side of screen. Near the thumb wheel and return button. It goes about halfway through my screen and fills up about the whole right side. It effects my smart-backlight sensor on the front also. Unfortunately, I caught it AFTER my 30 day "do-whatever-you-want period" was up... So the first VZW clerk would not replace, but the second did. And within 2 days of receive of my brand-new, replacement Q, it ALREADY had dust in the screen. But other than the dust & the slowing down & freezing of the phone, works great.
PROS
- Windows Mobile
- Smart Backlight
- Profile Options
- The Personalization
- Window's Media Player Mobile
- Documents To Go
- Games
CONS
- Dust in Screen
- Slowness
- Freezing up
- Keyboard not Lighting up in a Dark Room
- Internet occasionally takes a long time
Sprint Q9
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Sprint Specific Review-
Okay, a lot of things good and bad said about the VZ Q9, but very little so far about the Sprint version, so wanted to note several stand out pros/cons.
Pros
Sprint TV - works great, as fast or faster than the touch at almost 1/2 the cost
Screen - Big, bright, easy to read, several preloaded themes, ambient light sensor
Build Quality - Moto has stepped it up again to match RAZR2. Solid, quality feel, no pops or squeaks like 1st gen Q, and no ugly red
Voice - excellent
Navigator - First WINMO with stand alone nav that I have used. Worked flawlessly, even through poor/no coverage areas
Processor - I used to loathe Moto on Sprint, but I am becoming a believer. No processor lag, synced up my exchange server with email/contacts in about 3 min.
Keyboard - probably best one out now. Sized like the 8830, with less spongy feel (good feedback)
Docs to go - ready to roll out of the box
Camera - Photo quality good enough
Cons
Weight - Build quality=pocket anchor. Feels like it weighs more than my Mogul
Battery - only included the extended life batt in the box - come sprint, don't be tightwads
Music - No sprint Music Store - not necessarily a con for everybody, but I like the direct download capability
Pictures - no picture mail
Customization - not an option
Summary
Overall, a greatphone. Not for everyone, but a great entry/mid level PDA, and much better than the 1st gen. Obviously Moto bought a case of 8830s and used that as inspiration, but hey, they improved on it, and that is what Honda and Toyota have built their reputation on - tech borrowed from innovators that they then improve upon.
Not for everyone, but email setup and windows integration is a snap, processor is quick, not buggy like previous version, and the keyboard is unbeatable. Get this phone if you need email/PDA functionality, but are concerned about style and not so much about putting an iPhone theme on your windows phone.
Not Bad, Better than the original
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I had the black Q that I won from Verizon for about a month. Here are my thoughts comparing the two.
Pros:
Better looking phone, the red stipe is more of a deep red color. Handed both phones to my wife, she immediately said wow the new one looks great.
Screen seems to have been upgraded from the original q. Screen was noticeably brighter.
Bluetooth actually works with my jawbone headset, unlike the original which would work about 5% of the time.
Internal speakers are amazing for a PDA phone. Rich sound and it actually has some bass.
Calendar updates seem to be an improvement.
Saving items between phone and memory card is a breeze. Someone was thinking, when you download music or install software, it asks where you want to store it. My boss has a IPAQ 325 with mobile 6 and it doesn't have that option at all. Have to move them from internal memory to the card. Pain in the butt!
Keyboard is much improved, feel better and is really easy to type with.
Memory slot is SDIO
Music store from Verizon seems nice, I wont be buying music from it, but download the new Prince track for free to see how it worked. Very easy to use.
Cons:
Its still laggy sometimes, the lag the original had is here with the new phone. OS 6 doesn't seemed to be the problem, just think the should have put a faster processor in it. I can live with it.
No wifi, but can get a microsd sdio from ebay for about $40.
Verizon data plans are way to expensive.
No belt clip included. This makes no sense, the original comes with one, now I get a piece of junk sleve.
Love it... its a nice phone!
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Have had the phone for a week or so now.. have the Q9m beautiful phone.. great keyboard.. its very easy to get used to the keypad and numbers. Looked at the Pearl but just didnt like the trackball thing. The 5way key is very useful.
Battery life is decent (love Motorola phones so used to charging daily).
Reception is good.. actually happy with phone.
Lots of room for improvement
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First, the good news. The Bluetooth support on the Q9m is very good. When paired with the Motorola S9 wireless headset, it worked as advertised for making phone calls and listening to music. Call quality was generally good; the speakerphone works well and calls were clear on the earpiece. The new "sticky" finish is quite nice; it gives the phone an expensive feel and you don't worry about it sliding out of your hands when talking on the phone. The "sticky" coating also applies to the Q's keypad, which was easy to use and confidence inspiring (by thumbboard standards). Also, the VoiceSignal voice dialing works well.
Now, the bad news. The Q9m is S-L-O-W. Launched applications keep running "in the background" like they would on a desktop, sapping precious CPU cycles and RAM. The Q9m runs "Windows Mobile 6 Smartphone Edition", which limits software choices; certain WM6-Smartphone applications specifically exclude the Q9m anyway. Windows Media Player severely distorts high frequencies during MP3 playback. WMP also "forgets" which song was playing when you "sync" music to the phone. (This is especially annoying for Podcast listeners!)
The 2.5mm jack at the top is recessed in such a way that may headsets or car adapters can't be plugged in.
In addition, while the mini-USB jack SHOULD be great, providing a way to charge and sync the phone at the same time, it complained that the USB ports on my computers didn't provide enough power to charge it, meaning you're stuck dragging the wall charger AND the USB cable around on trips with you. The small reward here is that the Q9m does charge quickly with the wall adapter. Of course, you'll be charging it a lot due to a tiny battery that barely makes three days on standby.
Adding insult to injury is Verizon's $45/month data service, which comes on top of your regular voice service and text message packages. Pocket IE is clumsy and slow, so it's probably not worth it.
Very nice, when it works
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I've wanted to upgrade my phone to a SmartPhone for quite a while and I love what the Q9m does when it is working. Nice usage of WM6, nice phone body, nice form factor, nice price. Good stuff when it is working.
However, in 5 weeks of use, I am getting my 2nd replacement phone. The first phone had one of the two external speaker die so the volume was half of what it should be after about 2 weeks. Now the second phone is also broken as a media player. This time, both speaker still work, but the volume on both the external speakers or the headset are only a quarter the volume it was when it was new.
In addition to the big issues, I've had the phones lock up and need the battery pulled 4-6 times. Not in any way a model of stability.
I've never had a phone die on me before (except me dropping them or leaving one in the rain) in a decade of cell phone ownership. Having two of the same model die within 5 weeks is horrible. I hope my next replacement doesn't have the same behaviors, because I do like the phone (when it works).
Great so far
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I have had the moto Q9m for 48 hrs now and I am amazed at how much I love it. The processor could be a little faster but it is still pretty damn good. The screens and menus are brilliant and clear, the phone itself is very hip and high end looking, the ohone is loaded with more features than I will ever use, etc.
Pros:
Very Stylish
Solidly built
Tons of features
Very advanced web browser for a smart phone (much better the RIM)
Excellent sound quality for earpiece
Amazing external stereo speakers
By fat the best keypad on a smartphone period
Easy to use e-mail
Fully customizable (is that a word?)
Bluetooth works flawlessly with my trucks built in Bluetooth
Data plan cheaper the Blackberry alternative
Excellent price-I threatened to cancell my family plan and switch to AT&T and they arranged for me to pic up this phone for $99 at the retail store.
Cons:
Could use a delete key on the keypad (nit-picky)
Battery could be stronger
Processor could be a bit faster
