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Well, sorry! I didn't have a camera handy as I played around with the new Motorola Moto Q running on Verizon Wireless' network.

My general impression of it was - cool! However, that quickly subsided as I actually picked up the phone and played around with it some more.



Why? Well, first off, the build quality of this phone isn't quite what I'd expected from Motorola...

Don't get me wrong, it's neither a cheap plastic casing nor is it something that has the "feel" of even its Razr. Still, it lacked something. Anyway, I pick up the device and the first impression was how thin and flat and wide and tall this device is. When I look at it I get the feeling that it's intended as a plate or face cover to some car stereo or something like that. Even if you had big hands you may be surprised to find that you'd have to have extended-length fingers in order to use it as a one-handed unit - something you could still do with a BlackBerry 8700.

Navigation and hard keys are nicely positioned underneath the screen. However, it lacks the tactile feel that normal phones exhibit with their rubber membrane-backed keys. The QWERTY keypad was usable, though awkward (again with only one hand). With two hands, the phone felt better balanced - something that is not too common with top-heavy devices such as the BlackBerries and even the MDA with its keyboard slid-out.

If you own a MDA, you'll find the specs close to the Moto Q. After all, it's just another WM5 (Windows Mobile 5.0) device, which means that many of the hacks you find here are applicable, though some would be specific to the Q.

Call quality was fine as was its stereo speakers and speakerphone. Not as loud as say the Sprint VM4500 phone that was all the rage a few years back. It definitely won't blast at high volumes like many Nextel phones either, but I suspect that's not what we're looking for in this device.

If you're looking for something cool and exclusive in the US carrier market, the Q is the device that'll get wows! But if you wanted a more "practical" device for holding with that one free hand or have a tendency to slide your phone in your pants pockets, this device not be for you.

I'd say that if BlackBerry takes some of the design/functionality ques from the Q, the BlackBerry would be one tough device to beat and would extend beyond its current userbase of financial institution/law firm users.

Would I trade the MDA for the Q? Short answer: no. (Sorry!)

Design Rating: 3 of 5
Cool Factor: 4 of 4
Real World Functionality: 3 of 5

From the Motorola Website:

Summary of Key Features
• One of the first devices to run on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0; Optimized for Microsoft Exchange 2003 and a variety of third party email solutions that enable a broad set of corporate email capabilities*
• Thinnest QWERTY device in the world – 11.5mm
• Full, ergonomic QWERTY keyboard, 5-way navigation button and thumb wheel
• Video clip capture and playback
• Connectivity via Bluetooth, IrDA and mini-USB; compatible with Motorola H500, HT820, H5, H600, H700 Bluetooth wireless headsets
• Multi-Media Messaging (MMS)
• Dual, stereo-quality speakers
• Audio formats supported: iMelody, MIDI, MP3, AAC, WAV, WMA, WAX, QCELP
• Image formats supported: GIF87a, GIF89a, JPEG, WBMP, BMP, PNG
• Video formats supported: H.263, MPEG-4, GSM-AMR, AAC, WMV
• Mini-SD removable memory card slot
• Large, high-resolution display (320 x 240 pixels, 65K TFT)
• 1.3 mega pixel camera with photo lighting
• PIM functionality with Picture Caller ID
• Advanced speech recognition and speakerphone