The Motorola Q: A Field Report

At my last company, everyone in the startup had a Blackberry email device.  At first, I wasn’t sure of its value, but soon after, I found it indispensable (often to my wife’s dismay, as I’d click away on it while out for the evening).  So, when I moved to my current position at Microsoft, I immediately found myself longing for easy, reliable, mobile corporate email access.

Of course, Microsoft doesn’t run Blackberry support for anyone in the company (being that we make competing offerings)¹.  Alas, I loved the Blackberry form factor and device/software elegance, and there were no Windows Mobile devices that even approached the same package.

When the Motorola Q came onto the scene, it was widely trumpeted as a “Blackberry killer”.  Finally, a Windows Mobile device that had a QWERTY keyboard, was the same form factor, and even had a scroll wheel for one handed use.  Upon it’s launch, I eagerly and optimistically switched wireless services (the Q was to only be available on Verizon for the first six months of its launch, due to an exclusivity agreement between the two companies) and picked up a Q.

That was back in June of this year.  I’ve since been using the device for about 6 months, on a daily basis, for corporate email, calendaring, contact management, and – of course – phone calls.  What follows are my impressions from that use, with email and corporate groupware as my primary focus.  What you won’t fine here are my opinions about the “consumer” oriented features of the phone – media players, games, even the camera (this is supposed to be a device that gives the Blackberry a run for its money, remember?).

For those not interested in reading too much before getting to my conclusion, let me provide it to you here: The Q is an “OK” product, but folks at RIM have nothing to worry about when it comes to knocking them from the top of the corporate email ladder.  If it were an option for me, I’d gladly give it up in exchange for an admittedly larger Blackberry any day.

The Good

While most of my comments here are criticisms, there are some points of praise merited.  Here is my brief list in no particular order:

• Excellent Call Quality ² – The voice quality on this phone is as good as any I’ve ever had.  And, in contrast to prior generations of Windows Mobile phones I’ve seen in action, this one seems to have none of the “software freak out” issues of not being able to answer the call, etc. that its earlier siblings had.
• Bluetooth Works - Not something to be assumed (even in these later days of Bluetooth support).  I’ve had no issue joining this device to my PC, my headsets, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and my Mac.
• Home Screen – This is something that the Blackberry really doesn’t have and is pretty nice on the Q.  If you know what you’re doing you can customize the hell out of this (it’s just XML), but even if you don’t want to dink with such things, the out of the box settings are pretty useful.  I enjoy the ability to see my next meetings at the top of the main screen.
• EVDO Modem - While not the reason I bought the device (and not anything related directly to the criteria for this review), I thought it important to mention that when using this device as an EVDO modem for my laptop it works very well.  Mind you, I’m not using Verizon’s software for this.  Instead, I use a program called PDA Net.  It’s worth the money.

You’d may be thinking “that’s kinda a short list”.  You’d be right.

Cut ‘n’ Paste: Where for Art Thou?

Let’s just get this out there right away, the Motorola Q does not have any facility for Copy/Cut and Paste.  This is an issue that has been written about quite a bit already, so I won’t waste too much text on it here.

For various complicated and unimportant reasons to the end consumer, the version of Windows Mobile that the Q is based on doesn’t support this key feature.  This should be true for any Windows Mobile device that doesn’t support stylus input or have a touch screen (a key difference between Windows Mobile PocketPC – which devices like the Palm Treo run on – and Windows Mobile Smartphone – which the Moto Q uses).

WM Smartphone was originally designed for phone form factors and some Program Manager must have decided somewhere along the history of that sub-platform’s development that “no one would ever want copy/paste on a phone, I mean this isn’t a ‘PDA’” – I can almost imagine the meeting that this decision was made.  This same type of thinking is also why the Q and Smartphone platform devices don’t read Office documents out of the box today (though this may change in the future).

To the WM team, I realize I’m probably simplifying the “decision” to cut this – in my mind – key feature, but there you go.  To those that would argue “you can’t do copy/paste right without a touch screen”, I direct your attention to the Blackberry, which has done it since its inception just fine.

The lack of this feature makes a number of the other software shortcomings (I mention below) more glaring.  Instead of being able to work around a bad UI flow by copy/pasting someone’s number/name/whatever you’re left to just bitch and try to remember it in your head – or worse write it down on a piece of paper.

Hardware: Better Looking From Across the Room

“This hardware design, by the way, is the bright side of this particular coin: the Q’s hardware positively clobbers everything else out there.”

~ David Pogue – June 8, 2006

Many, including David Pogue, claimed that the hardware was the the best part of the Moto Q package (while the software came up short).  While I agree that the software is not even close to “buttoned down”, I’m not sure I’d bestow much praise on the hardware either. 

At first blush, it’s a fantastic hardware design.  It has the keyboard so many of us have been wanting on a Windows device,  a scroll wheel for single handed use, no need for a stylus³, and it’s wondrously thin.

Unfortunately, my initial joy gave way to disappointment.  Here’s a quick listing of hardware issues, large and small:

• Keyboard Disappoints - By my criteria, arguably the keyboard is the most important part of the device. Unfortunately, I have little positive to say about it – aside from it actually being a QWERTY layout.

  First, who thought it was a good idea to put the backspace key someplace other than in the main keyboard?  Instead, it’s located in the softkey bar, next to the call-hang-up/power button.  Why not locate something like the dedicated mail, or speaker phone, or camera buttons (all of which get their own main keyboard buttons) up there?  It’s enough of a reach, that it makes thumb typing a hassle (at least for those of us who make mistakes).

  Second, a blend of plastic choice and resistance combine to make the keyboard very difficult to type on at any significant speed.  The force required to make key presses reliably register, and the hard rounded plastic keys conspire to leave your fingers feeling like you’ve been playing too much Nintendo DS after a day of heavy email composition.

  Net, the keyboard, where I’d argue the most industrial design should’ve been concentrated, falls far short of a full Blackberry keyboard for comfort and ease of use. 

• Battery Great for 1995 - This is something that’s been commented on before, but it’s painfully true.  If you’re using your Q for corporate email sync and using it to make a call or two (I’m talking short couple minute calls) and work with email all day, you’ll be lucky if it makes it 12 hours without a charge.  If you’re in on/off coverage, then you can count on it being even shorter (as the device seems to really chew through the battery as it searches high and low for a network to do its email sync-ing on).

  I’ve had days, more than one, where I started at 8:30am with work, and ended the day at a bar, and the Q couldn’t make it past 8pm.  Not impressive (and thanks to the software, there’s no easy way to switch off email sync and keep text and voice working to conserve battery).

• Painted Plastic: Brilliant! - This may seem a silly criticism, but who makes a device that’s going to be knocked around out of painted plastic? In an effort to align the Q with the look of the metal RAZR, Motorola chose to paint the plastic case of the Q.  While it’s not holding up terribly, it’s definitely wearing (and I haven’t even had it for a full year).  Dumb.
• Holster? Who Uses Those? - The holster seems to me to be one of those always ignored pieces of industrial design.  I’ve heard it all before, “the holster is a geek accessory”, “no one uses those anyway”.  The reality is that lots of people use a holster when it’s useful. 

  I don’t wear one when I’m out socially, but I’ve found one very useful when at work (where you’re getting email constantly and having to look at the device as it buzzes the arrival of new messages).  It’s just easier to pull it from a well designed holster than from your pocket.

  Alas, if you just look at the Q’s holster on its own, it’s clearly an after thought.  If you compare it to a Blackberry holster, it’s not even in the same league.

  First, the holster is impossible to single handedly get the device in and out of.  Motorola chose to make it more of a clip than a holster (the Blackberry holster is something you can actually drop in the device to, and follow with a satisfying single-finger “click” into place).  It requires the owner to slide it in at an angle then click into place with a tension clip.  Not very easy to do – I’ve dropped my Q on the floor more than once when removing or returning it to the holster.

  Second, on the Q, the holster is just a holder.  This is in sharp contrast to a Blackberry holster which is more than just something that holds the device on your belt.  Instead, it has a little magnet that the device is aware of and can sense, thus the device can tell when it’s in the holster (or out of it).  This leads to all kinds of clever software optimizations.  A simple example is that a Blackberry immediately turns off its screen when placed in a holster (rather than having to rely on a timeout).  A more elegant example is that when you receive a new email, the Blackberry buzzes (or beeps).  When you remove the device from its holster within a certain period of time after it alerts you to a new message, the Blackberry accurately assumes that you probably want to look right at that message.  Presto! As soon as you pull the device from the holster your new message is showing.  Without knowledge of being in/out of a holster, this isn’t really an option for other devices.

  Thus, with the Blackberry, a new message comes in, you pull it out of the holster, you read the message.  With the Q, a new message comes in, you pull it out of the holster, you scroll down or click the message button, you find the new message in the message list, highlight it, click to view it, and read the message.

All this adds up to a fairly disappointing device, but not an unusable one.  If the software were prime time ready, then this device could be redeemed, alas, it is not.

Rock Solid Stability: On Opposite Day

As the heading implies, the stability and predictability of the device can leave something to be desired.  It started out a bit hinky at times, and then seems to get only worse after I upgraded the device with the service pack that allowed it to actually get “push” email (this allowing it to actually act like a Blackberry – I know that I’m not the only one that thinks it was criminal that it didn’t ship with this to start with, after claiming to be a “Blackberry killer”).

The device almost never crashes entirely.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that flakes out with extended use, always.  Example, I’ve yet to finish a multi-page email (yes I write those on this sized device) without something weird happening.

The “weird” can range from random typing which could never happen (i.e. “p” or “q” being typed when my thumbs are far away from the softkeys or that area of the keyboard) to cancellation of a message (love that one) to starting of a different application entirely.  It seems to be totally non-deterministic, which is just spiffy, and thus makes my use of the device a constant daily frustration.

Windows Mobile Software: Lacks Fit ‘n’ Finish

Almost immediately after I started using the Q I started getting frustrated.  While reviews like David Pogue’s (I mention above) highlight some of the incredibly inefficient UI decisions of the platform, it also shows a lack of extended use – some of Pogue’s multi-click criticisms aren’t true if you know “other” ways to do the same action⁴.

 Here is an unordered list of my own frustrations:

• Predictive text is poor and slows typing.  If you want to be able to type at any serious speed, you’ll end up turning it off (to be honest I didn’t really want it anyway as I have a full keyboard that lets me type what I want, but still, then don’t make it the default).
• Complete lack of “quick typing” automation.  A Blackberry has amazingly elegant optimizations for two fingered typists, this includes things like guessing “dont” is really “don’t” (without any pop up distracting UI – it just does it) and allowing for capitalization by just holding down the letter for half a second extra.  This stuff isn’t available on the Q.
• Keyboard shortcuts for common actions like “reply” don’t exist.  When viewing a message on a Blackberry, you can just type “r” and a reply beings.  No such luck on the Q.  Instead the platform relies on the softkeys to provide this behavior.  While it seems like a minor thing, the extra extension for your fingers to hit that top softkey slows you down.

  Of course, there are no quick access keys to “move” (“m” on the Blackberry) or “delete” (“d” on the Blackberry).  Instead you must use the “menu” softkey, then scroll, then select. 

  As with so much in the mobile platform from Microsoft, little thought is given to removing your fingers from the keyboard and forcing a “mousing” like paradigm on you.  For a corporate email device, never make the user remove their hands from the keyboard.  Enough said.

• One of the touted “playing field leveling” features – the scroll wheel – is obviously an after thought.  The software rarely makes use of it for more than doing vertical scrolling (anytime there is horizontal scrolling, the D-pad must be employed).  Features like click-combo to bring up a context menu are totally unsupported (instead you must again go to the softkeys).  This makes quick incoming email triage impossible. 

  Example: Mail comes in, you’re reading it, using the scroll wheel to move up and down.  You want to move it to a folder, you need to hit the upper right softkey (“menu”), then use the scroll wheel to move to “move” on the menu”.  This means that my right thumb is on the scroll wheel, then off the scroll wheel, then on the scroll wheel.

• Task support is a joke.  While I’m not saying I need Outlook equivalent richness of fields for a task item (recent studies by the Outlook team have shown that people rarely use them anyway and would just rather have easier to use more simplistic tasks) the ability to edit a task would be awfully nice.

  That’s right, you can see tasks (sorta – just the title), you can create a task (again just the title), you can’t edit a task.  WTF?  Now, add in the fact that categories aren’t supported, and that you cannot see/edit/sort-by due dates and you have successfully made Tasks useless.

  • If you’re a user of Outlook 2007 (I know it’s new, but you may be) and you love the quick creation of tasks by flagging email messages, you’re out of luck.  The Q (and for that matter no Windows Mobile device) supports this type of task – e.g. they don’t show up on your task list.  It’s a long story, but I get the vibe that they may never.  This, obviously, seriously hurts the value of this feature.  What do you want to bet that Blackberry figures out how to support this before Microsoft?
• No Outlook notes support.  The Blackberry does this, why not Microsoft’s own solution?  Your guess is as good as mine – probably another victim of the Program Manager cut meeting. 

  I’d argue that extending the support of notes to the mobile device would make this admittedly lesser used Outlook feature far more valuable (you find yourself needing make short notes on the move a lot more than you do when your laptop is open).  Alas, tough luck.  Instead, the Q offers a “voice notes” applet that let’s you create voice clips that don’t sync to Outlook.  Wow, thanks.  I end up using these or draft email messages as notes – but both work arounds are pretty lame.

• The “get more” for messages that have been truncated during transmission works fine.  However, what’s surprising is that there isn’t a way to be notified when these messages are eventually downloaded.  The Blackberry, in contrast, can be configured to “alert” that a message has been downloaded, just as it does when a new message arrives – combine this with the go-to-message-causing-alert feature of the device + holster (noted above) and its much more usable.
• In the message list, there is no concept of multi-select for deleting & filing messages. This is, put simply, ridiculous.  Combine it with the lack of quick keys for action (as I note above) and deleting or moving a bulk of messages takes some serious time.
• When you choose to “send an SMS message” from a contact (in various parts of the UI) the compose SMS message view comes up.  However, the cursor defaults to the pre-populated “to” field.  Why?  This field already has the person you were working with before in it.  Why would I want to type anything more here?

  This results in every SMS message that you create (that isn’t a reply – oddly that UI path doesn’t do this) requiring you to scroll down to the next field (the message field) before you can begin typing.

• The “quick contact look up” feature works well – this is my name for the feature that shows you a narrowing list of possible contacts as you type them when starting from the home screen.  However, why doesn’t the spacebar work?  I have a handful of businesses, not people, in my contact list and they have spaces in their business name.
• While I’m on a call, don’t turn off the screen, sometimes I actually want to look at the info its displaying. I’m clearly “using” the device.
• The dedicated messaging button isn’t so speedy.  I can buy the idea of having a dedicated message button on the keyboard/face (though at the expense of a well placed backspace I’m not sold).  However, this feature’s potential value is completely lost by the inclusion of an intermediary screen/step.  When you click on the button, you’re shown the “messaging” inbox folder list (on mine this consists of “Text Messages”, “Outlook E-mail” and “MMS”).  This forces me to click again before I see my inbox.

  This has to be the result of the kind of a planning conversation that starts something like this: “well, the device supports multiple ‘inboxes’ so we can’t possibly just go to one of them directly”.  Sure you can, ask the user to configure it for godsake, or just assume that the “first class” email account is the main messaging method.

• You can’t see the organizer info on a meeting. This is a real bummer, as I often want to just “reply” to a meeting on my calendar (after I’ve accepted it) and ask the organizer a question, or let them know in email that I’m running behind. As many of the folks I meet with aren’t in my contact list, this is kind of a key feature. Yes, if MSFP was available, I could use GAL lookup, but – believe it or not – many times I don’t even know the person’s full name that I’m meeting with (or more accurately I don’t remember it). I’m not asking for full attendee status/propose new time/etc. behaviors here, but treating an appointment (something I create for myself only) and a meeting invite as the same in the UI is pretty poor.
• You cannot just “view” a message sender’s information (if they’re not in your contact list).  Instead, when you highlight a name in an email header and click, the device asks if you want to add it to your contact list.  Er, no, I just wanted to see their email address or Outlook property info.  Sorry, can’t be done.
• You can’t create a new meeting invite.  This is as stupid a limitation as the task issues.
• UI Inconsistencies abound and are too numerous to mention.
  • Example: there is a ”send SMS”, with no MMS option, to a contact in one view (when quick typing a name from the home screen) and a “send MMS”, with no SMS option, when in the contact main view.
  • Example: You can configure the camera to put all photos to the memory card (instead of internal memory) which is nice. However, when you go to the view pictures view, you are shown an empty list of photos (as it defaults to show the local store only) until you use the menu-ing system to get to go to “folders” > “my storage card”. Why doesn’t the starting point go to where the camera is configured to dump photos?

Conclusion

In short, as I said in the opening, the Q is not a true contender for anyone who’s using a Blackberry today or who has the option of a Blackberry as their mobile mail device.  I’m intrigued by the new Samsung Blackjack, but even if the hardware issues are fewer, I’m still suspicious of the software (there hasn’t been a major revision of the software since the Q upgrade).

I find myself wondering if anyone who designs these “Blackberry killers” has ever used a Blackberry for any amount of time.  A good friend of mine has a Windows Mobile based Treo, which he uses to sync to his own corporate Exchange system.  When speaking of the dissatisfaction that he had with that device, and the same displeasure his wife had with her Q, he suggested that “those guys in your company’s Windows Mobile group need to (1) have their desktop Outlook turned off; (2) be issued Blackberry devices and have to use them for 30 days; (3) have the their Blackberries taken away and issued Treo or Moto Q devices for 30 more days.  If that doesn’t cause a light bulb to go off in their heads, then nothing will.”

I couldn’t agree more.  The only thing I can hope is that this type of exercise will happen before the next round of devices hit the scene and that Microsoft will hold their ODM partners to a higher standard before allowing them to ship with a Windows Mobile device.

1 Yes, you can run Blackberry desktop redirection software without the help of your local IT staff (usually).  However, in my prior experience with it and contrasting it to the BES solution, I found it lacking a bit.  That said, I have considered it seriously.

2 I’ve heard anecdotal reports that the voice quality on the Q was not good at all (or that the inability to answer calls, etc. had still persisted).  However, I’ve also read that this may be a result of a set of “bad batches” of the early Q which have since been fixed.  I, myself, have had no such problems.

3 I acknowledge that some folks find this as a liability.  However, in my mind, if that’s your opinion, then you’re a Treo user.  For those of us who have been indoctrinated into the crack-berry world, the idea of having to use a stylus to click on “too small to finger click” UI elements is repugnant.  I argue that triaging my inbox with a single hand is a trademark feature of a Blackberry and its something that you cannot have with a stylus based interface.

4 I totally agree that a good UI design wouldn’t allow a casual user like Pogue to even make such a mistake.  If the “easier” way to do an action is buried so deep, then it’s not very discoverable.