Motorola Q Phone & Partnering w/ Sprint for WiMax

[PSkinny121]

ROSEMONT, Illinois (Reuters) - Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT - news), the world's second biggest mobile phone maker, on Monday unveiled an ultra thin mobile phone that includes a keyboard, taking aim at business people have become addicted to Blackberry e-mail and messaging devices.

Motorola said the latest device, dubbed the "Q," is based on the ultra-thin design of its popular Razr phone -- which has become a design icon and status symbol. The phone introduced on Monday is about 50 percent thinner than the top rival phones that have tiny keyboards built into them, Motorola said.

The "Q" pits Motorola, which trails only Finland's Nokia (NOK1V.HE) in the mobile phone market, directly against Research In Motion Ltd. (Toronto:RIM.TO - news) and Palm Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM - news), which make some of the most popular keyboard phones for business users.

Shares of Motorola closed up almost 3 percent and Research In Motion closed down almost 5 percent on Monday after reports that Motorola would unveil a competing product at an event here in Rosemont, a Chicago suburb, on Monday.

"Given the success of Motorola's Razr ... in the market right now, its understandable that some people are worrying about that," Kona Shio, an analyst with research firm Conscius Captial Partners said.

Motorola's Q is based on software from Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) and can support e-mail from a variety of third party applications, including Microsoft's, Motorola said. It expects the device to go on sale in the first quarter of 2006.

The company said it also plans on Monday to reveal details about its long-awaited music phones, which are expected to include elements of the Razr's design and the capability to download and store digital music. Those phones are expected to sell under the brand name ROKR.

Motorola delayed showing off the first of the ROKR phones, which is expected to support the iTunes music service from Apple Computer Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL - news), a few times this year amid rumors it is having trouble convincing operators to sell the phones.

Cingular Wireless, a venture of SBC Communications (NYSE:SBC - news) and BellSouth (NYSE:BLS - news), has had talks about the possibility of selling a phone with iTunes, Reuters recently reported.

Motorola also said on Monday it would build network equipment based on WiMax, a technology standard that is being developed to cover entire cities with high-speed wireless Internet access to home computers and eventually mobile phones.

The company, which said recently it would work with No. 3 U.S. wireless operator Sprint (NYSE:FON - news) on the development of WiMax, said it would increase the amount of research and development resources devoted to the technology.

It did not say when it expects to sell products based on WiMax, which is expected to have a much wider reach than WiFi, a technology that is in most new laptops and provides wireless Internet access in small venues such as coffee shops.

Motorola also introduced a version of its home video phone that can support video messages as an alternative to more traditional voicemail messages. The phone, which it is bringing to market with WorldGate Communications (Nasdaq:WGAT - news), will go on sale later this summer.

Motorola plans to hold its annual analyst day here on Tuesday. Its shares closed up 54 cents at $20.54 on the New York Stock Exchange. Rim's U.S. shares closed down $3.38 at $68 on Nasdaq. (Additional reporting by Jeffrey Hodgson in Toronto)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/telecoms_motorola_dc;_ylt=ArGbwE7sCe0MGNPON2AhyURk 24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTA4ZnRnZjhkBHNlYwMxNjk1

[KevC84]

Good article but what I want to know is what carrier is going to carry this Q phone? On the press release they have no information regarding carrier and no information and wether its a GSM or CDMA device. Phonescoop.com doens't even have that information. I hope it comes to CDMA and has EV-DO. I am hoping to see some Motorola phones in Sprint's line-up either Q4 or Q1 2006.

[Mierop20]

Motorola tonight announced the Q, the smartphone that has long been rumored as the RAZRberry. This super thin, extremely small device only measures ; 4.6 x 2.5 x 0.45 inches despite its 240 x 320 widescreen display and full QWERTY keyboard. The Q will be one of the first Windows Mobile 5.0 devices, and will be running the Smartphone version. Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smartphone features Windows Media Player 10, advanced synchronization with Exchange, photo caller ID and speaker independent voice recognition.

In addition to the QWERTY keyboard, the Q features a D-Pad and all the keys required for Smartphone navigation as well as a thumbwheel to ease one-handed operation. The keyboard has EL backlighting like the RAZR, however it features raised individual keys. The Q also has a 1.3 MP camera and LED flash, Mini SD slot and Bluetooth. It is expected in Q1 of 2006.

[PSkinny121]

Motorola tonight announced the Q, the smartphone that has long been rumored as the RAZRberry. This super thin, extremely small device only measures ; 4.6 x 2.5 x 0.45 inches despite its 240 x 320 widescreen display and full QWERTY keyboard. The Q will be one of the first Windows Mobile 5.0 devices, and will be running the Smartphone version. Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smartphone features Windows Media Player 10, advanced synchronization with Exchange, photo caller ID and speaker independent voice recognition.

In addition to the QWERTY keyboard, the Q features a D-Pad and all the keys required for Smartphone navigation as well as a thumbwheel to ease one-handed operation. The keyboard has EL backlighting like the RAZR, however it features raised individual keys. The Q also has a 1.3 MP camera and LED flash, Mini SD slot and Bluetooth. It is expected in Q1 of 2006.

Would doubt we will see this in Sprint's lineup, but who knows, may be the first step towards the Moto invasion everyone seems to be buzzing about.

BTW, nice quote, is that the Reparations skit episode w/ Tron?

[Mierop20]

Would doubt we will see this in Sprint's lineup, but who knows, may be the first step towards the Moto invasion everyone seems to be buzzing about.

BTW, nice quote, is that the Reparations skit episode w/ Tron?
Yep, The best Chappelle Show episode by far.....

[PSkinny121]

Yep, The best Chappelle Show episode by far.....

And how funny was it that he was one of the roomates on the Real World skit too, that was great.

[Quill]

According to engadget - or was it gizmodo? - the intial specs show this as a GSM/GPRS/EDGE device ... so expect it first quarter 2007 CDMA peeps. Heh. I'm just playin', ya know.
But, there's going to be some other sweet stuff coming out at the end of this year for Sprint ... just you wait. Y'all will be surprised.

[Mierop20]

According to engadget - or was it gizmodo? - the intial specs show this as a GSM/GPRS/EDGE device ... so expect it first quarter 2007 CDMA peeps. Heh. I'm just playin', ya know.
But, there's going to be some other sweet stuff coming out at the end of this year for Sprint ... just you wait. Y'all will be surprised.
I hope you are right!!!

[KevC84]

the Moto Press release says nothing regarding to networks or carriers and mobile burn said that Moto did not comment on that so I am still crossing my fingers that it will to CDMA carriers, mainly Sprint. BTW its as thin as the RAZR and comes in Black!!!! No touch screen though. :(

[CoreyTheGent]

Motorola promised to create CDMA variants of the entire Razr lineup, but I'm not sure if that includes what was already in the pipeline/released when they made the statement or all future Razr products as well. Probably depends on how successful they are.

I can tell you that the handset above is going to Cingular, though.

And Rich Brome over at Phonescoop stated the following:

"It's GSM for now, but they did promise similar versions for EV-DO and UMTS as well."

[KevC84]

Figures it GSM. I should have known. Well let's hope we get this sometime next year with EV-DO. Add PTT and i'll be in heaven! But its gonna come along with a heft price tag. $600 the least! Oh well. I will only get it if it has all I want/need.

[KevC84]

Whats the difference between Pocket PC OS and Windows Mobile OS? Does one have an advantage over the other?

[PSkinny121]

Whats the difference between Pocket PC OS and Windows Mobile OS? Does one have an advantage over the other?

Yeah, one is run by a giant monopolist and basically looks just like almost every PC in the world, so it has that going for it, which is nice.

[FloorMatt]

Whats the difference between Pocket PC OS and Windows Mobile OS? Does one have an advantage over the other?

Some people don't understand this.....and that's alright.

Now...

Windows Mobile Pocket PC Edition (or Pocket PC Phone Edition, in the case of the 6600 and related phones)

Windows Mobile Smartphone Edition (The i600 is an example. It's somewhere in between a regular phone OS and Windows.)

[bluecoyote]

Apparently, the ROKR phones are not the iTunes phones (although who the hell knows- they should be)

That said, the Motorola Q... Windows Mobile? No thanks. I can't think of a "Smartphone" OS I'd rather not use. Motorola should've gone with Linux, Symbian UIQ, or Symbian Series 60 (the current superior Smartphone OS.) Anyone expecting to get work done does not use a Windows Mobile smartphone, as the OS offers horrendous navigation, poor screen efficiency, and a limited selection of applications that are compatible (or work correctly)

It is a brilliant design with crummy guts. If it was CDMA, where Series 60 is nonexistent, I could understand the appeal. But GSM has better smartphone OS's.

And a good OS is 50% of the battle.


Windows Mobile and Pocket PC Differences:
-While I like to think of them as being quite similar, it's important to note that they're a little different.

-Windows Mobile is intended for devices WITHOUT a touch screen (and with smaller screens.) Windows Mobile goes up against S60. In theory, Windows Mobile would be much easier to navigate because it is intended for one-handed operation. However, it's very frustrating to use due to the overall clunkiness of the menus that try to imitate Pocket PC. It actually had me wishing it DID have a touch screen. Look to Series 60 instead.

-Pocket PC is similar to the Palm OS in that it offers a touch screen, and has a much larger application library. Pocket PC is almost impossible to operate one-handed (as is the Palm OS) Unlike the Palm OS, Pocket PC can Multitask natively, but it can't do it very well. In fact, Pocket PC's can't do anything well from my experience. Look to the Palm OS instead.

Both are a complete pain to use. I cannot imagine anyone using Windows Mobile or Pocket PC efficiently until both are completely overhauled. It's as if they were given the task of "Hey, let's recreate the experience of using Windows XP on a cell phone or PDA!" and then compiled a list of errors, inexplicably long waits, inefficient menu structures, and worked on a way to include them into a condescending OS that assumes you're stupid and there's no easy way to do something without it 'helping' you.

[Quill]

But, bluecoyote, who cares about the OS? The Moto Q 'looks wicked cool.'

Hahaha.

Yeah, you could get a Nokia 6682, for example, or a 6638 someday on CDMA networks, with the S60 and that would be pretty compact, too.

[jaytv]

Wirelessly posted (MM-7400: Mozilla/4.0 (MobilePhone MM-7400/US/1.0) NetFront/3.1 MMP/2.0)

Q phone eh? I wonder what Qualcomm thinks of that name. Seems to me they already made a Q phone. LOL. BTW BC, the Pocket Pc CE 4.2 and above is a great platform and OS and I and my clients get a lot done on them. Palm is dying a slow death in everything but Treos.

[Deval]

and from what I read about the upcoming windows mobile 5, with support for active sync over BT...thats really cool :tu:

[bluecoyote]

Wow, what... my 2 year old Nokia supports iSync over Bluetooth!

OMG!

[Deval]

Wow, what... my 2 year old Nokia supports iSync over Bluetooth!

OMG!

forgive my ignorance but that 2 year old Nokia doesnt work on Sprint, now does it?

[KevC84]

Ok well thanks on the information. I kinda figured Windows Mobile was for non-touchscreen devices. They both look very similar but you're saying that Pocket PC has a larger application library than Windows Mobile? I think for a device like the Q, it should have had a touchscreen and Pocket PC OS. I would'nt know what to do with the touchscreen. I have never seen or used a S60 phone. Is that Symbian or Series 60? Does S60 have lots of apps? S60 is mostly Nokia right? I wonder what Danger Hiptop is considered. Sprint should pick that up.

[FloorMatt]

KevC84: Take a look at this; it might clear some things up: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/devices/compare.mspx

Windows Mobile is the term for all of Microsoft's portable OS's, as a whole.

Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone, Smartphone, and Portable Media Center are all editions of Windows Mobile.

[bluecoyote]

Series 60 is mostly Nokia, but has been most notably implemented in such phones as the Panasonic X700 and Sendo X.

[vporter]

I'm thinking I shouldn't hold my breath for this one. I don't want to think about the price for this one. If the razr was over 500 this has got to be well over mid 600's to 700 range, if not more.

[FloorMatt]

Exactly; if the 6600 is $629.......and the i600 (which is another Smartphone, like the Q) is $649.......I'd say we'd be getting a VERY pricey phone.