Motorola Alexander gets pictured: WinMo 6.1, NVIDIA graphics, Q4 release

Surely that "last stand" Motorola handset is still burned into your memory, right? No? Anywho, said mobile was just given a face courtesy of Boy Genius, and it's an, um, interesting face at that. We'll let you be the judge on its unsightliness (or beauty, depending on inebriation level), but aside from design, we're expecting this one to include Windows Mobile 6.1, NVIDIA graphics, a 5- to 8-megapixel camera, A-GPS and a Q4 release date. As always, we'll be keeping an ear to the ground for more.

[sr1329 @ Aug 5th 2008 11:54AM]

God, they can't be serious. Why doesn't Moto just die already?

[Muhammed @ Aug 5th 2008 11:59AM]

Sorry to say it, but that is actually true, the design is awful.

[Mic2000 @ Aug 5th 2008 12:40PM]

And let's just not start talking about their interface...

[Matt M. @ Aug 5th 2008 2:36PM]

Yeah, thats a whole lotta' ugly

[g00n @ Aug 5th 2008 2:51PM]

Wow, the Moto backlash is amazing. What a fall from grace. Just a few short years ago the RAZR (and successor lines) were selling like hot cakes to kiddies across the land. How the mighty do fall...

This thing is spec'd very well. I am not a fan of the physical design aesthetic either. There are plenty of ugly phones out there with much lower specs. This thing isnt THAT much different than a Treo or a Berry. Amazing how you all fall right in line with the tone of the author. Nobody is excited about the camera or the Nvidia GPU? Since when did raw aesthetic looks alone dominate the opinion of true tech enthusiasts. You guys sound like a bunch of trendy apple fanboys... oh wait. Never mind.

[Sachin @ Aug 5th 2008 11:54AM]

I don't know...some people like simplicity, and this is a phone with a really simple design and nice specs. I'm not saying it's for me, but still.

[Colin B @ Aug 5th 2008 11:55AM]

Curved keyboard with tiny buttons == fail.

[Ray-- @ Aug 5th 2008 12:08PM]

I was thinking the same thing... why on earth did they curve the keyboard like that!?! Oh wait i see it now... it makes a smiley face! Suddenly this phone makes me happy!

[Shunnabunich @ Aug 5th 2008 12:17PM]

If it's a smiley face, it's a shark smiley face, because that's an awful lot of rows of teeth for a normal smiley face.

[Colin B @ Aug 5th 2008 11:57AM]

Curved keyboard with tiny buttons == fail.

[Hice @ Aug 5th 2008 11:59AM]

2 words. Windows Mobile...

[weg @ Aug 5th 2008 12:13PM]

I have another two: Cucumber and lettuce.
What do you want to say with "Windows Mobile..." ??

[Theo Detweiller @ Aug 5th 2008 12:24PM]

Maybe is an iPhone fan (I have one, but that doesn't make me an iTard).

[Evan @ Aug 5th 2008 12:42PM]

Good for you Theo!

[Theo Detweiller @ Aug 5th 2008 12:50PM]

Thank you, Evan.
Some people hate WinMo, some other love it (especially on a HTC).
Now, if moto pull this one off with a good price ($99 w/contract, like a Centro), they could have a winner in their hands.

[Jon @ Aug 5th 2008 12:00PM]

who are they kidding? this doesn't look like anything special and it runs on windows....shot in the foot right there.. besides you know the price is going to be 4x what other comparable devices are, one of the main reasons people don't buy motorola phones anymore!

[derX @ Aug 5th 2008 12:00PM]

I'd really love to say Engadget is just being unnecessarily critical as they've been lately but this is just...no. Aesthetic fail.

*hits Motorola on nose with newspaper*

Specs are gorgeous, but wtf is this? That square screen, so much unused space....there had better be some of those damn "invisible morphing buttons."

[iofthestorm @ Aug 6th 2008 2:45AM]

I agree, I was going to say that Engadget was bashing this unnecessarily like they bash everything non-Apple these days, but then I looked at the picture again and it really does suck. But nVidia graphics sounds nice, although I'd prefer them in an HTC Touch Pro or similar device.

[Johan S @ Aug 5th 2008 12:01PM]

Gold Medal. For QVGA screen fail.

[MilesLocMan @ Aug 5th 2008 12:02PM]

no way! not happening! im so over MOTO! i was backing them but they seem to like killing there fan base slowly i mean why is it that every time i see something i like from them i see TEN things i hate FUCK OFF MOTO

[chainstay @ Aug 5th 2008 12:02PM]

What a Q4 release date means for Motorola:

1. It will be released in Q4 with a ton of bugs in a single tiny country far away from North America.
2. It will be released in Q4 in North America. Q4 '09, that is.

[imacmatt09 @ Aug 5th 2008 12:02PM]

The specs are good but the design of the phone is terrible.

[Pochi @ Aug 5th 2008 1:20PM]

It really does look God awful.

[roach @ Aug 5th 2008 12:02PM]

F*ck design! I like the spec... specially the camera. I actually like real buttons. l had an itouch and it was not an enjoyable experience.

[sr1329 @ Aug 5th 2008 12:09PM]

Hey! You know what? I like real buttons too! Wow! Maybe I can find one of 13,768 phones produced in the last century that have buttons and manage to look decent at the same time. Hell, most rotary dial phones look less ridiculous.

[roach @ Aug 5th 2008 12:41PM]

Use your imagination. lf your slide the keyboard in, the thing look like an iphone.

[pastrychef @ Aug 5th 2008 12:02PM]

I'm still quite hung over and it still looks hideous!

[Rage @ Aug 5th 2008 12:04PM]

Hello, Moto, please go jump off a cliff.

[Ike Turner @ Aug 5th 2008 12:04PM]

Looks more like Windows Mobile 7 running on the nVidia Tegra APX 2500 chip!

[Ike Turner @ Aug 5th 2008 12:12PM]

Or maybe not. Depending on what nVidia chip is in there it could be either WM 6.1 or WM7. If it's a GoForce chip then it's WM 6.1 and MOTO is just FAIL

[Chris @ Aug 5th 2008 12:30PM]

That's what I thought. Nvidia said to start to expect tegra devices in Q4, but motorola is not releasing a good form factor for that chip (honestly, it needs to be a full touchscreen to do justice to that kind of graphics power).

Oh well, nice knowing you moto!

[Ike Turner @ Aug 5th 2008 12:38PM]

@Chris
I'm betting on a "sucky" GoForce 6600 chip with WM 6.1. Looking again a the pic it's similar to the WM6.1 pics of the MOTO Napoleon Smartphone.. sux
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/gallery/handsets/motorola-napoleon-q9/

[Alex Padilla @ Aug 5th 2008 12:05PM]

I can't say I'm impressed. Nice specs, but c'mon, change the design!

[0megapart!cle @ Aug 5th 2008 12:06PM]

The keyboard looks doubtful, but the really awful thing seems to be that screen. Is it godawful small, or is it just a perspective issue?

[XChrisX @ Aug 5th 2008 12:10PM]

Wow that thing is pug fugly!

[Varuna @ Aug 5th 2008 12:08PM]

WHAT?
IT Looks and Seems GOOD!

am I the only one who thinks Moto has a chance here ??

[sr1329 @ Aug 5th 2008 12:10PM]

Yeah if it is free with contract or $199 unlocked. That too is a stretch.

[derX @ Aug 5th 2008 12:57PM]

Ummm, considering the monster specs this thing has, it's going to be quite the costly phone. I really don't see many people pumping out money for that. It's, well, fugly.

HOWEVER, it really might be one of those cases of it looks ugly in photos but in person it's not that bad. Case and point: iPod nano 3G

[Ashvala @ Aug 7th 2008 11:48AM]

ok, Blackberry with WinMo!

[CAHLITO @ Aug 5th 2008 12:10PM]

Lmao Motorola is desperate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, and here I thought Palm was depressing.

[riggs @ Aug 5th 2008 12:13PM]

nokia norman confirmed.

[Johan S @ Aug 5th 2008 12:16PM]

What sort of a screen is on that thing? It's tiny! How is a screen that is undoubtedly QVGA useful for web browsing?

[Shinigami @ Aug 5th 2008 12:18PM]

Killer hardware with horrible looks? Thats so like Motorola...
Nope, I won't buy this crap. It has all the hardware I want it to but I never said I want qwerty and I never said I want a blackberry. If I wanted a qwerty, I'd get one by now. If I wanted blackberry, I'd get one by now. Come on, Motorola, you can do better than that!

If you can't, just die, Motorola.

[Random dude @ Aug 5th 2008 12:25PM]

Its like they took qualities from RIM and HTC . bashed them together to create an ugly mutant hybrid. humm is that taps i hear playing off in the distance .....

[Jim @ Aug 5th 2008 12:26PM]

It's an April Fools joke 7 months early (or 5 months late). Can the last employee please turn the lights out?

[Greg @ Aug 5th 2008 12:36PM]

Looks like the offspring of an iPhone and a Blackberry Bold.

[JimJam @ Aug 5th 2008 12:44PM]

Its a slider!!!! I think it looks good. The keyboard only comes out when you want to type, otherwise touch the screen. Yeah, if it was stuck in that position it would suck, but it is not!

[Phoenix @ Aug 5th 2008 1:04PM]

Touch the screen/ good luck with that.

The Start button bottom left means it's WM6.1 Standard.

[Theo Detweiller @ Aug 5th 2008 12:43PM]

Just one question: Is a Slider or a Candybar?

[Nomi @ Aug 5th 2008 12:47PM]

They took the Curve in Blackberries and ran with it....