Motorola and Verizon announce Q: $199

We were (then weren't) expecting it any day now, but it looks like Motorola and Verizon have finally done the deed and made the Q official. Final specs include EV-DO (duh), Bluetooth 1.2, stereo speakers, and the rest of the spread we've come to know all too well about this thing. The best part, however, is that you'll be able to order online starting May 31 or buy in store June 5th for a paltry $199 (after $100 instant rebate and two year plan, of course), with EV-DO enabled data plans to run between $80 and $170 per month, depending on your usage. And don't you even think about tethering this thing, mister.

[Big Ice D @ May 22nd 2006 10:19AM]

If only cingular would drop it.

[MacroEQ @ May 22nd 2006 10:32AM]

$199 (�105.78) seems too cheap to me. I'm sure it will be double that when it's launched in the UK.

[Bryan Hughes @ May 22nd 2006 10:33AM]

Cingular has dropped the ball.

They're soo far behind on the 3G race and probably won't release these phones (i.e. Treo 700, Q, etc. ) until they get their HSPDA in position in more markets, which they say by the end of the year.

Think they've been too busy wasting time on marketing ringtones and downloadable music (nicke-and-dime) services to their customers than pumping resources into getting real VA services into production.

[Lord of My Pants @ May 22nd 2006 10:33AM]

$80 to $170 for data???? I get unlimited EVDO on Sprint for $39 a month, and use it as a high speed connection for my laptop (excuse me, "portable") at home. What kind of suckers are Verizon targeting with that price plan?

[Karl @ May 22nd 2006 10:35AM]

Cingular will be third to sprint only becuase its cdma... We have to wait for the gsm version. I'm not holding my breath though it will probably be a while.

[theattack @ May 22nd 2006 10:38AM]

the $80 is for unlimited data and 450 minutes of cell phone usage, not just data.

[brian @ May 22nd 2006 10:42AM]

BAD Cingular, BAD phone company!

*swat*

[murph @ May 22nd 2006 10:43AM]

wow. that's pretty aggressive pricing. any early adopters on the fence probably just jumped on board. i'm going to go down to Verizon and check it out when it finally gets there, but i don't think i can make the change from Pocket PC (touchscreen) to Smartphone (no touchscreen).

[Brandon G @ May 22nd 2006 10:45AM]

Is this thing touch screen as well?

[duerra @ May 22nd 2006 10:46AM]

No WiFi = deal breaker

That is all.

[Jaxulls @ May 22nd 2006 10:48AM]

It has Pocket Outlook not Pocket Office. Unless they provide 3rd party software I'm not sure if you can even view Office Documents on here. Nevertheless I'm getting one the day it comes out. Good price all around for features and data/minutes.

[Wind-In-His-Pants @ May 22nd 2006 10:50AM]

So I guess cingular isn't going to come out with this until.... Never? Or maybe next year? This sucks. I hate that exclusive crap. And whats up with the "$80 to $170 for data" crap. Way too expensive. I will just haft to stick with my bulky 8125 until next year.

[Jordan @ May 22nd 2006 10:50AM]

What you are really getting is a $399 device that Verizon has taken $200 worth of features out of.

[Orneta @ May 22nd 2006 10:50AM]

Nice at twice the price. Can't wait to get one.

[b @ May 22nd 2006 10:52AM]

"No WiFi = deal breaker"

wtf?, it has EV-DO, why would you need wifi?...if anything, having EV-DO would (if it was tetherable) allow me to drop my home broadband connection

[jnoel @ May 22nd 2006 10:55AM]

Post 12 is probably right on!

[Wind-In-His-Pants @ May 22nd 2006 10:57AM]

Will this thing have the capabilties to be a modem link for my laptop?

[Jeff @ May 22nd 2006 10:58AM]

"wtf?, it has EV-DO, why would you need wifi?..."

Because I don't have to pay extra for a data plan to use wi-fi.

[John Stracke @ May 22nd 2006 11:15AM]

What is the point of stereo speakers three inches apart?

[cs @ May 22nd 2006 11:20AM]

Cingular has a similar Samsung model coming out very shortly that IMO looks to be a better product.

But WOW $200 bucks! Verizon/Moto have a winner.

Sprint cannot be compared, they simply suck!

[Mischa Lockton @ May 22nd 2006 11:22AM]

Sorry, but this is just taking FOREVER, isn't it? Meanwhile the 700w looks better to me... or that new Nokia...

The screen is too small, looks like they could have made that bigger, and I am sick of all the hype on this "razrBerry"

[jiggs @ May 22nd 2006 11:24AM]

Will this thing have the capabilties to be a modem link for my laptop?

Possibly, but you'll have to sign away the rights to your first born child to actually use it.

[not lazy @ May 22nd 2006 11:25AM]

CS:

Sprint has a fantastic unlimited data plan that blows every other carrier out of the water. Because it is much much cheaper... and fast. So no, sprint does not suck. You suck.

[Korey @ May 22nd 2006 11:25AM]

WOW 80 bucks for unlimted EV-DO and 450 minutes isnt bad at all almost makes me wanna switch back to verizon ohh wait no i dont verison coverage blows CINGULAR!! is way better i love my L6 so slim so sleek though yall are right cingualr needs to get on the highspeed train instead of marketing ringers

[jg @ May 22nd 2006 11:43AM]

Decisons...what should i get the treo 700w or the Q. And no I want no part of the 700P, I like the MS OS the best. Any suggestions?

[Brian @ May 22nd 2006 11:46AM]

HAHAHAH I laugh at the thought of an $80 phone bill, my wife and I have Sprint, 500 minutes a piece, unlimited nights and weekends @7, unlimited Sprint to Sprint, Roaming, Unlimited EVDO, for $30 a month a piece, with my corp. discount and 10% loyalty discount, I pay 50 bucks a month for both of us...have fun with that 80 bucks guys..that is NOT a good deal.

[Excuse me for my terrible grammar @ May 22nd 2006 11:52AM]

I am going to wait for Nokia E61 to see what's up.

[Bryan Hughes @ May 22nd 2006 11:53AM]

cs

What is this Samsung phone you speak of that is coming to Cingular?

[EvanWasHere @ May 22nd 2006 11:56AM]

LOYALTY DISCOUNT??? WHat is that? I've been a Sprint subscriber for over 10 years (about a month or 2 when their cell service came out). I have the $80 free and clear plan, but after all the addons and taxes, I pay about $130 a month (with no overages). That includes: 1,400 minutes, unlimited 7 p.m. nights and weekends, Sprint to Spring, insurance, Power Vision Plus Pack, and first incoming minute free (grandfathered). I wish I could get my bill lower.

[Ominx @ May 22nd 2006 12:00PM]

#23 Brian:

As far as Sprint is concerned with their cheap data plans, I can't find them. Looking at the Sprint website I see $40 for 40MB and $80 for Unlimited Plans for Laptop/PDAs. The Business page shows BlackBerry Unlimited as $50. Am I missing something here? Verizon's Unlimited plan with tethering is $55.

[kawai @ May 22nd 2006 12:13PM]

the sprint unlimited plan for just your phone (evdo) is $15/month. it doesn't list it on their website unless you click on to buy the phone, then it is an add-on option. power vision $15. i believe the $80 is if you want to use it as a tether modem or if you have a evdo modem card.

also if you are switching to sprint, read any cellphone message board and search for SERO plans. they are amazing.

[Big Ice D @ May 22nd 2006 12:13PM]

When it does get to cingular it'll be outdated. It kind of is already compared to those sweet korean/jp only phones. If it would have dropped this spring/early summer on cingular w/o HSPDA I would have bought one outright.I wanted it to carry during the day and swap my SIM into my razr for when I'm on the prowl @ night. HSPDA will be just for my next notebook card, I don't really plan on DL torrents to my cell. Edge would have been sufficient to stream media from my servers.

[Mike @ May 22nd 2006 12:21PM]

One reason why Sprint keeps me as a customer: They don't charge an arm-and-a-leg for data service.

When you consider how badly Verizon throttles EV-DO, I wouldn't waste my money.

Verizon went from market leader to overpriced also-ran in a hurry.

I'll try one out at the Verizon store to see if I like it... if I do, I'll buy one from Sprint.

[Bradly @ May 22nd 2006 12:40PM]

Yeah, the Sprint Sero plans rock! I have the 500 minute w/ 6pm nights/weekends -25% corporate discount and -$5 loyality discount. Bill comes to $18 month with unlimited EVDO included. I can currently tether my phone without getting zapped by Sprint by disabling NAI on my A900. I don't tether much though.

Back on topic: I'm all over thie Q when it gets to Sprint in the next month or so. Hope someone sells these out right for $300.

[Motoman @ May 22nd 2006 12:40PM]

excellent smartphone... motorola rocks!

[Charlie @ May 22nd 2006 12:41PM]

So...$199, less my "New Every 2" and I can get this thing for $99 bucks??? Was considering the 700p or 700w but it may be time to rethink...

[Lord of My Pants @ May 22nd 2006 12:52PM]

To clarify, Sprint charges $15 a month for Power Vision, which is EVDO for your phone only. $39 gets you Power Vision plus laptop access (ask about "phone-as-modem"). Sprint has an application that you install that manages your connection to the EVDO network from your laptop. I regularly click about 650KBps on the network using the 2Wire speed checker. I use a Sanyo MM-9000.

[Tim @ May 22nd 2006 1:18PM]

#11 - My guess is that Westtek will offer the same thing the offered Cingular when the SMT5600 rolled out-a free copy of ClearVue Suite to customers which normally retails for 30 bucks.

#33 - No, Motorola does not rock. Don't you remember the last time they made smartphones? Remember the mpx200 and the mpx220? Yeah, my guess is that this phone will probably have the same issues. I suspect the handset's speaker will be crap, Bluetooth will be crippled (like the rest of them) and the phone will be slow as a mofo. That's Motorola for you, always hyping up a product, and then dropping the ball when the release date comes closer.

I think the last "smart" phone they made was the StarTAC. Thanks moto, but no thanks.

[Nichi Lemei @ May 22nd 2006 1:23PM]

That is way too much to spend on any data plan. They (Verizon) are trying to get you on the old razor blade trick. Give away the handles, that device, and charge a lot of the razor blades (the data plans).
I'm sticking to my Nokia E61. GSM all the way.

[Tim @ May 22nd 2006 1:33PM]

I don't even see why people pay for phones anymore. If the NSA wants all consumers to converse on networks that they all ready control, why should I pay for an antiquated phone that does less on a network that had been developed with tax payers money in the first place? Seems like these businesses are just around to reuse old technology that they know is less secure than ground lines, rather than actually using their profits to maximize their so called innovation and technological superiority as their product ads depict. No one wants to put wifi into cellphone because who would then use the actual compromised phone distributors to connect to the internet. Cellphones would be as useless as these throw aways with regards to the war against a free America....er...I mean war on terror.

[Dolemite @ May 22nd 2006 1:53PM]

It's all about the Sidekick II and it's $20 a month unlimited data plan maaaan. Sidekick III comes out June 26 - oh yeahhh.

[Rick S @ May 22nd 2006 1:54PM]

Does anybody have any info on the release of the H5 miniblue? (the butt-plug looking bluetooth earpiece) I noticed in the bottom right hand corner of the vzwshop Q page, if you click on Bluetooth accessories, it says the crippled bluetooth is compatible with the h500, h820, H5, etc (vzwshop(dot)com/q/)

I'm interested in giving this thing a try to hopefully cut down on wind noise when on the golf course.

Thanks,

[rougou @ May 22nd 2006 1:55PM]

#10 - People keep complaining about lack of wifi built into the Q... it has a mini-SD slot. From what I understand, the Q will support wifi through a mini-SD wifi card. Though not built in, it is a quick and easy sol'n to this problem. Would be great to connect to my home and work network via wifi to get easy access to my files.

In any case, I'll be using skype and soonr.com to do a lot of calling through my Q when I get it with unlimited data and EVDO worst case. I was considering the Treo 700w or p before the Q was coming out. But from everything I am hearing from people who have gotten a pre-release version of the Q, it'll rock. Its got a be a ton better than my Treo 600 which used to rock... 18 months ago.

#34 - That's exactly what I am going to try to do: 2 year renewal to get the $199 price, and then use my NE2 $100 credit. I'll let you know in about 2 weeks if it works. Anyone else tried this in the past with other verizon fones?

PS (no, not a callout to Princess Sophie) - I love the fact they call the bottom of the Q the "Jay Leno Chin." Perfect.

[Jason @ May 22nd 2006 1:57PM]

Charlie #34, this is the same question I had and the answer is yes judging by current info available. The Moto Q will be $99 with the new every 2 discount. Using the Verizon Wireless XV6700 as an example, if a new customer buys it, they pay $399.99 w/ a 2-year contract vs. $449.99 with a 1-year. If I purchase this device (with new every 2 discount) it is $299.99. This tells me that the retail $199 (with standard 2-year contract discount) -$100 new every two = $99. This is all straight off VW's site.

[Ted @ May 22nd 2006 2:10PM]

rougou:

>>In any case, I'll be using skype and soonr.com
>>to do a lot of calling through my Q when I get
>>it with unlimited data and EVDO worst case.

Why would you want to do that? Even thought Skype out is now free, Soonr STILL uses your voice minutes, it simply forwards the skype call to your Cell phone...it's not using the data connection to do anything other than inititate the Skype call. I can't see how this solution does anything more than add an unecessary layer of crap to your device. The real solution is a native Smartphone Skype client that will work through EVDO. THEN it's worth it.

[Mark Johnstone @ May 22nd 2006 2:32PM]

Need battery sucking Wi-Fi? Just pick up a Spectec MiniSD card. Qusers.com has all the details on that, plus it's a pretty cool place to talk about the device.

[rougou @ May 22nd 2006 2:41PM]

#44 - Ted: A ton of people on my network (not Verizon, but my social network) now use Skype. This is people around the world - India, China, UK. I can use soonr.com to get directly to them without any fees other than airtime when I am on the road. A LOT cheaper when I am not at my PC.

[Ted @ May 22nd 2006 2:48PM]

rougou,

good point on the international, didn't think about that!

Ted

[Marc Mayor @ May 22nd 2006 2:58PM]

Yeah, the thing looks quite good actually.

[Rick S @ May 22nd 2006 3:24PM]

I bought a xv6700 a few months ago - they WOULD NOT let me use the $100 data credit and my new every 2 credit - I was able to get them to use my company discount, but I'd be shocked if you can pick this up for $99 - that said, $199 doesn't look too bad