Motorola's Hint QA30 gets official

We weren't particularly impressed when we got our first peek at MOTO's QWERTY-sliding Hint QA30 yesterday morning, finding the form factor to be a little too squat for our tastes whether open or closed. Today the phone has been given the official treatment and, while things look a little better in a new set of glamor shots from Motorola (no more Alltel branding on the UI), the "innovative" design still doesn't look particularly comfortable to carry or to use. Now that we can make out the buttons on the front we see that they'll serve as controls for the media player when closed, again making us think this should be a good choice for your family's texting-addict rocker. The specs we got before are confirmed, the one exception being that the microSD support tops out at 8GB, not 32GB -- better turn down that bitrate, son.

[Esat Dedezade @ Nov 25th 2008 10:03AM]

I kind of feel sorry for it. Clearly a person of above avereage stature sat on its head. Poor thing...

[Boarderwoot @ Nov 25th 2008 10:04AM]

Hmm, I think I'd have difficulty communicating with this phone considering the microphone looks like it'd get burried in my elvis style sideburns.

[Saico @ Nov 25th 2008 10:06AM]

google sms? what the hell is that? can somebody explain this, please?

[balthazar @ Nov 25th 2008 10:07AM]

www.google.com/sms

[Saad Rabia @ Nov 25th 2008 10:19AM]

http://letmegooglethatforyou.com/?q=google+sms

[Thi mam(kris120890) @ Nov 25th 2008 10:08AM]

No than you. Motorola are targeting women like most of their non business phones.It makes you wonder why Motorola are failing.

[Steven M @ Nov 25th 2008 10:10AM]

sad...

[holycow @ Nov 25th 2008 10:10AM]

Good Job Moto, you are getting there. Just get there a little faster, before you go bankrupt.

Google SMS and XM Radio sound like cool features.

[Satan_L5 @ Nov 25th 2008 10:14AM]

哈哈。™

[Aaron @ Nov 25th 2008 10:16AM]

So this is the saviour of Moto's cell phone division?

[Ryan @ Nov 25th 2008 10:42AM]

Pretty much....

[iEye @ Nov 25th 2008 11:38AM]

Yea, just like GM banking on the Volt to save them when gasoline is at $0.75/L...

You see the smiles on the people driving the gas guzzlers?

[gad get @ Nov 26th 2008 4:40AM]

@ iEye

You don't think gas prices are gonna stay that low, do you? By the time GM releases the Volt (assuming they last long enough), I bet people will be begging for a plug-in hybrid again.

[AlekZander @ Nov 25th 2008 10:16AM]

Meanwhile, at Motorola headquarters

"What do we need to regain our #1 status as a smartphone manufacturer?"
"Make a phone that's... square?"
"................. BRILLIANT!"

[y3k.nik @ Nov 25th 2008 10:24AM]

2 years of research and production later..

oh snap! We forgot, squares are supposed to have equal width and height! oh well.. whatever.

[zinXcore @ Dec 2nd 2008 11:00PM]

^^
ahaha
i lol'd at that comment.

[Dude @ Nov 25th 2008 10:29AM]

If only Apple had released it, then it would be hailed as the "new standard by which all slider phones must live up to", but it's not, so it's ridiculed.

To the phones credit, it looks to be the same size as a regular qwerty/candybar phone when opened. Too bad the buttons are a little odd.

[tom @ Nov 25th 2008 10:51AM]

Look at Apple TV, it is square. Jobs tried to promo it, but never took off. Stop making up sh!t.

[Homeboy @ Nov 25th 2008 10:38AM]

Have I set the wrong aspect ratio for my screen or is the device really wide?

[kidcanuck @ Nov 26th 2008 4:16AM]

That's what I thought, but apparently it's just like that. I would hate to run into that thing in real life, and have my entire existence questioned.

... Real life can't have an aspect ratio! while the same cat walks behind me twice.

[Major4Play @ Nov 25th 2008 10:51AM]

Where the hell do you buy a 32GB micro SD card ?

[wodheila @ Nov 25th 2008 12:21PM]

Search on Amazon, they're there. Might pricey though.

[Anthony @ Nov 25th 2008 10:52AM]

I'm surprised everyone hates this phone. It's like a candybar in size that get small enough to disappear in you pocket when closed.

Seems like a pretty good idea to me.

[iofthestorm @ Nov 25th 2008 2:16PM]

Yeah, it looks like they sort of shrunk the Moto Q which isn't a bad design.

[iEye @ Nov 25th 2008 11:04AM]

Well I guess the iPod nano fatty worked, so can this.

I'd say this is an imitation BB bold...

[Félix @ Nov 25th 2008 12:07PM]

Hum, I'm more inclined into thinking this probably is a iPhone copy..
Just, you know the Moto way.

[Fernando @ Nov 25th 2008 11:08AM]

Well, if it supports 8gb microsd, it supports SDHC, therefore it could support a 32gb one if you get your hands in one (read: if you're eldar from mobile-review.com)

[Mic2000 @ Nov 25th 2008 11:20AM]

It doesn't even has a browser :S

[rockatalic @ Nov 25th 2008 11:38AM]

I don't see any price info on here...any guesses what this might go for?

[ian @ Nov 25th 2008 12:09PM]

Motorola Hint Question Answer 30

[Chris @ Nov 25th 2008 12:25PM]

any word on this coming to canada, be nice to check it out in person..

[TareX @ Nov 25th 2008 12:34PM]

Permission to throw up?

[Travis @ Nov 25th 2008 1:55PM]

Way too wide, way too boxy. It looks really awkward.

[Edward Green @ Nov 25th 2008 3:14PM]

I will be honest I rather like the look of this as a design. Strikes me as a good middle ground between Treo / Bold form factor and Touch Pro slide out form factor. I can see it having the advantages of both.

If it had a nice touch screen and a decent OS on it I might consider one.

But for now I will just have to do with the Touch Pro.

[wuzy @ Nov 25th 2008 3:28PM]

Yep, definitely need a decent OS.
WinMo Smartphone (w/o touchscreen) should fit its form factor.

[phail @ Nov 25th 2008 6:13PM]

im loving these new square phones

[rektide @ Nov 25th 2008 8:58PM]

It would be better if they just focused on small instead of cramming in an extra display. A bluetooth-only phone would be kick ass and novel.

[dervheid @ Nov 26th 2008 3:12AM]

That phone is uglier than yo mama!

[Rick Roberts @ Dec 4th 2008 2:47PM]

I just got a Hint and I love it! You need to see all the cool apps it has on the home screen like email, IM and Navigation. Also, it supports IM style SMS (ala iphone), which is really cool. I must have sent over 100 google SMS messages this weekend alone for football score updates. This phone RULES!

[Rachel @ Dec 9th 2008 3:15PM]

I just watched some videos on the Hint...i think it looks pretty cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nx1Mvh2IC8

[Dani @ Dec 14th 2008 9:50PM]

I just bought this phone. I've only had for about 3 days, but I love it.
The key board looks small in the pictures, and does take some getting used it, but it's very nice.
It has a good camera, better then any other cell phone I've seen. Very good phone, I highly suggest getting one.

[LJ @ Dec 21st 2008 8:16PM]

I just got this phone and I love it!! The boxy feature isn't so bad, I was alittle taken back when I saw the phone, but it really works great. And the large screen is great, specially for pictures, which it takes great pics..............take a look at it........

[Ed @ Dec 22nd 2008 12:58PM]

Can you text pics or do you have to email them like BB & iphone?

[Alonzo @ Jan 9th 2009 9:24AM]

I just purchased the phone last night. While it is different the form and function really work for me.. Also, I am not tied down to that stupid data package that other phones and providers require of their phones (like an iPhone).

Don't get me wrong, the iPhone is nice, really nice but I could see the novelty wearing off after a couple of months and then you're stuck with the high-cost rate plan for life!!

As far as options go, you will have to search long and hard to find a phone with more features than this phone has. And, it HAS a browser.
Since Alltel is the only game in town for me since Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint provide very weak to no coverage where I live Alltel is the only game in town. And I live less than 2 miles from the largest mall in NC!!

[greg @ Feb 21st 2009 11:45PM]

i got this phone for Christmas... i really like it, BIG step up from my Razr, but it does have its short-comings. it's just too slow... sending texts is a little faster, but pictures take ages, and so does going from one menu to the other. deleting my texts, also, takes soo much longer than it did before, it's ridiculous... the camera, too, is located in a very bad spot.

but, the screen is nice,
full keyboard is fantastic, not quite like the Blackberry's, but better than most other full keyboards i've played with.
slider is nice, it's nice and small in my pocket, then slides open to become slightly larger than a blackberry
camera has quality pictures, they're rarely blurry
good colors and finish
easy to navigate through menus with some of the menu buttons on the keyboard

so, overall, i say 7/10., maybe 8/10.