Lets pretend for a moment that you are not already a BlackBerry fanatic. You walk into a store that carries mobile devices and you start to take a look at the smartphones. Do you think that the BlackBerry would stand out as the sweetest device on the shelf?
Before you say absolutely, we are not talking about the best device for sending secure business communications via some back-end server integrated into your corporate email system. We are talking about the “Hippest” mobile phone in the store.
Before I get slammed in the comments, let me just say that I am not saying that the Motorola Q is better than the BlackBerry. I am simply asking the question “Is the Motorola Q is more attractive to the average consumer looking for a smart phone?”
Motorola doesn’t report until Wednesday, however, the company expects to ship 1.5 million Qs in its first 180 days. Some analyst think Motorola will ship more than two million of the tiny smart smart phones that seem to be on the shopping list of every gadget freak too young to remember Jimmy Carter being president and retired Baby Boomers that want to send an receive email with their “Hip” grandkids.
I don’t think that many would argue that the BlackBerry reigns King when it comes to the business world, however, Motorola intends to ship 10 million Qs in it’s first 12 months. I think that it is fair to say that the BlackBerry has some real competition on the consumer side of things.
Can you believe that this thing shipped without MSFP / AKU 2.0? It doesn’t even support Exchange push email! That’s a feature that has been available for months.
But it is definitely hipper looking. I think it would be cool for a casual user. However I have not heard kind things about it. Even the user reviews on Amazon have not been good.
Sure it is hipper, because it can download music and ringtones. It doesn’t need extra cost (I think) on top of data plan. Oh did I mention it can play music?
Seriously though, I played with a Q for a day and it is pretty dire. Not so good as either a phone, or PDA, or email device. In fact, in trying to do everything it is not good at any. But then, I am not an average consumer either…
when its comes to being hip, yes its the sexiest good looking qwerty keyboard out right now. when it comes to pda and phone functionality…. forget about it!
I’m a long-time BB user who has used a range of mail only and phone hybrid devices. My latest was the 7130e which I’ve used on Verizon’s network since Dec ’05. My company is trying to kill BB usage internally to promot WM5 and its Exchange integration. I ordered a Q and, after using it for a week, returned it today.
I found the Q ‘theoretically’ did everything the BB would, but it simply was not reliable. It locked up frequently (requiring a battery removal to reset) and was frequently slow to respond to keystrokes.
So the Q may look neat… and be “cool.” But I prefer a stable device which simply works without being prodded.
I echo the consensus here. The Q no doubt looks more “hip” on the surface. The design and weight factor can’t be beat.
However, functionality is another thing. I’ve played with the Q in the Verizon store and it can’t hold a candle to the BB. As Brendan notes, there is this annoying response lag to your keystrokes.
The average consumer will still go for it in a big way, and many will probably really like it, having no other basis for comparison.
But the enterprise market in no way will want this device.
So on the one hand, RIM has some formidable competition on the consumer side. But on the other hand, Moto and all others have some fierce competition in the enterprise segment in RIM.
The enterprise market is a very nice one to dominate, and in many respects, preferrable to the consumer one.
Well,
being an admin. I have 55 Blackberries linked up to a BES server. I now have
a Good Server as well and 5 of the Q’s.
The difference is Mac/PC. Sexy v. Productive.
The Q has neat features: Music, Camera, Bluetooth works well. But even with
Goodlink doing realtime sync… I get more done in less time on the Blackberry.
Man oh man is it pretty though…
The real question, Robert, is what do the 5 users that have Q’s think.