VR-Zone.com — Motorola Q9H
| Filed Under: | Archives, Mobile Phones, Reviews |
| Posted By: | VRArchiver |
| Date Posted: | Wed January 9 2008 10:35 am |
Sizing it up.
Sleek has been the in-thing on the mobile phone scene in recent years, ever since the launch of the unbelievably slim Motorola V3 series of clamshells. In the blink of an eye, manufacturers around the globe have released incredibly slim mobile phones from then on; be it the Samsung Ultra series, LG's KG320 'Chocolate', Nokia's 8800, or Motorola continuing the trend with their SLVR and KRZR. Everyone seems to be cashing in on this rage over anorexic mobile phones. Now, if you thought that every plausible type of mobile phones have been placed on a diet at the factory, think again; because we have received a new Smartphone from Motorola, the Q9H. Forget the days of the über fat and sluggish Motorola MPx Smartphones, for the Q9H has been squashed, coming in at 11.8mm. That's hardly impressive at the first glance but once you consider that it is full-fledged Windows Mobile 6.0 Smartphone, you begin to wonder how Motorola has shaved that 1.1mm off the Nokia E61i. I'm too lazy to type anymore so Let us take a peek at what's to come.
The picture on the box is actually life-size; we tried placing the phone on it and it fits!
The actual phone itself has a nice glossy black trim. Hrmm.. Fingerprint magnet..
Let's take a look at the basic specifications before we move on to more pictures:
|
Network |
Quad-band GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE; UMTS 2100 |
|
Dimensions |
118 x 66.7 x 11.8 mm |
|
Weight |
132 g |
|
Display |
65,000 colors QVGA 320 x 240 pixels 2.4" LCD display |
|
Memory |
96 MB RAM & 256 MB internal FLASH |
|
Data |
EDGE/ GPRS Class 12 |
|
Messaging & Email |
View or Edit (Microsoft Word™, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft® Excel™ files)* |
|
Browsing |
Opera Mini browser |
|
Ringtones & Themes |
MP3/ polyphonic ringtones Photo CallerID Themes with wallpapers and screensavers |
|
Applications & Games |
Games: Bubble Breaker, Solitaire |
|
Camera |
Integrated 2.0 megapixel camera with digital zoom |
|
Battery |
1100 mAH Lithium-ion Battery 6.5 hours Talk time* 480 hours Stand-by time* * Talk time may vary depending on usage |
|
Package Items |
Motorola Q9H Smartphone Leather Pouch SPN5328A Handsfree Set SYN7456A Travel Charger SPN5328A Docking Cradle SPN5420A Motorola MicroUSB to USB cable SKN6238A Quick Start Guide Quick Start CD User Guide |
What makes it tick?
Design & Ergonomics
Yummy 2.4" large LCD screen!
Large QWERTY keypad with uniformly-sized keys.
At first glance, the Motorola Q9H seems to be an oddity. It's neither wide nor lengthy but it sure is a lot slimmer than the MPx 200 I used in the past. Once it's in the hand, the shape of the mobile starts to make sense. It fits nicely in the palm such that one would be able to comfortably access all the keys on the phone with ease. The large QWERTY keyboard makes it easy to type messages and emails, and the tactile feedback of the membrane is much better than on most other phones. A metal 5-way Navi-key provides the necessary input to access commonly used functions once inside the Windows Mobile 6.0 Operating System. Although the phone may seem large, it is not bulky, yet still has substantial weight to make it feel solid in the palm. The 2.4 inch large LCD screen makes for ease of reading, and Motorola has also armed this phone with ambient light sensors to automatically compensate the backlight for ambient lighting condition. Kudos to Motorola for that as it is a useful feature that is rarely integrated on mobile phones. As with the trend start by Nokia, the Q9H has volume control buttons on the right. These are chromed for a touch of class with the gloosy black trim surrounding it. Couple these with a thickness of only 11.8mm and the Q9H is certainly joining the sleek & slim race with it's elder brethren.
Storage & Connectivity Options
Unlike normal cradles, the phone slides into the cradle from the side.
The MicroSD card slot is on the left side of the phone alongside the MicroUSB port.
Once the rear cover is removed, both the battery and SIM card may be accessed. Unlike many other phones, the SIM card isn't hidden under the battery. We guess it's another one of those steps Motorola has taken to flatten the phone a little more. On the left of the phone, one will find a flap that covers the MicroSD card slot as well as the Motorola MicroUSB slot.
The Motorola MicroUSB port is similar to the usual mini 5-pin Mini USB port found on most portable hard disk drives except that it has been squashed just like the phone. Due to the MicroUSB port's location, the phone slides into the cradle from the side rather than top-down. I find that this makes the connection somewhat more secure than with phones that slide downwards onto the cradle. For expansion of storage, the card slot will accept MicroSD (Transflash) cards of up to 4GB in capacity so one does not need to worry about storage problems. Go ahead and use it for watching videos or listening to music whilst commuting. Did we mention that the Q9H will easily playback most videos up to 30FPS?
Give me more!
Camera & Speaker
2 MP camera with 8x digital zoom and LED lighting.
Spread the love, share some music. With a pair of larger-than-normal speakers on the rear, you CAN!
The phone features a 2 megapixel camera and uses a bright white LED for illumination which should be enough for engineers and professionals to make on-site reports via emails/ mms. Unlike the usual mobile phone cameras, the LED lights up continuously once you activate the camera function. Picture quality from the integrated camera is decent but wouldn't compare to the likes of the Nokia 6500 or Sony Ericsson K800i. Also, if you need a jukebox, look no further! While most phones feature a small piezo speaker for playing music, Motorola has squeezed a pair of larger speaker drivers in the rear for bigger sound! Please do try to be considerate on public transport though.
Some Cool Stuff
Not just any crappily coded browser!
Protect your valuable tool from infection!
There was a time when viruses specifically meant a threat to your health but in today's world, it has taken on a whole new meaning. With mobile phones boasting easy connectivity via Bluetooth and USB, viruses can easily turn one of the more essential tools of our everyday lives into a useless device. That's where the nice touch from Motorola Comes in. They have included Mcafee Antivirus on the phone to protect this valuable asset. Regardless of the medium over which viruses try to invade from, you can feel safe with having some form of protection; and we are not talking about visiting 7-11 here. Coupled with a more secure Opera Mini Browser, you can be sure of a safe internet experience on the phone. Speaking of software, if you're using Yahoo Messenger rather than MSN, the phone does come with Yahoo Go! in addition to Messenger that's part of the Windows Mobile 6 platform.
Freebies in the Box
Apart from the customary chargers, manuals and software CD, you will find a handfree set in matching glossy black. A leather pouch is also provided for protecting that piano black finish on the phone and the inclusion of the cradle eliminates problems with power cables sliding off the edge of the table once you unplug it from the phone!
Conclusion
Conclusion
I would say that the usability of a phone can be gauged by its responsiveness and ergonomics. I'm glad that the Motorola Q9H has performed admirably well in both. I did not experience any lag unless I loaded multiple applications, way more than I can possibly use. This is in spite of having Windows Mobile 6 loaded on the Q9H, understandably not the lightest operating system to run on a phone. It goes to show that the ARM processor on the phone has been chosen to have sufficient processing power unlike its older brethren. With its speed settled, the other important factor for a phone lies in its ergonomics. Here, the Motorola designers did a good job with its large QWERTY keypad, making messaging a breeze. The large screen does make for comfortable viewing from various angles too. Is it really nothing but great? Well, no. It would have been nice to see Wi-fi on the phone as well but that would probably make the phone grow further in size. Also, some would argue that the phone is fugly, and admittedly, it does have an unusual design. That said, aesthetics is a relative matter and I wouldn't front an argument with it. If you like the looks, good. If not, too bad! My personal opinion is that Motorola has done a decent job with the glossy trim and the phone is sized up nicely to fit in the breast pockets without making you look like you have a tumour hiding under your tops. In terms of software, the inclusion of Opera Mini browser and Yahoo Go! was a nice touch but Mcafee Antivirus was a real bonus to deal with the very real threats. All in all, I find that the Motorola Q9H Smartphone is a very well thought out product coming from Motorola and offers a great performance in the given price point. If you don't need the touch screen of a Pocket PC but need everything else that comes with it except the price, try giving the Motorola Q9H a shot. You may well be pleasantly surprised.
