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q9 posts

Motorola's worldly Q9: "Napoleon" breaks cover for Verizon

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 6:14PM

It looks like Motorola and Verizon are getting ready to take a third crack at the Q9 form factor, following up the Q9m and Q9c -- and this time around, there's a little something extra in store. On top of the EV-DO Rev. A radio, the so-called "Napoleon" (codename, of course) features GSM, because -- surprise, surprise -- businesspeople who use Windows Mobile devices tend to do just a bit of traveling. It looks like Moto has taken this opportunity to give the Q9 meme a little nip-tuck job, too, with a rounded body and a tastefully-applied ring of chrome around the top edge. They've even tossed in a fingerprint scanner for good measure, a tip o' the hat to the suits who'll undoubtedly populate the upper 90 percent of this sucker's client base. No word on a release date or price, but can we cautiously submit a thumbs-up for the design direction here?

Sprint's Motorola Q9 / Q9c gone for good?

by Darren Murph posted Jun 23rd 2008 at 8:28AM

First things first: this isn't the first time (in the past quarter) that we've seen a handset vanish from Sprint's website, only to get fanboys riled up and it reappear days later when stock refreshed. That being said, quite a few Q9 / Q9c users are thinking the smartphone may be gone for good from The Now Network. For starters, neither phone is listed on Sprint's website. Furthermore, we're hearing reports that "discontinuation" has been confirmed by a number of Sprint representatives, though no official word seems to have leaked out just yet. Curiously enough, the carrier just posted the Windows Mobile 6.1 update for the Q9c earlier this month, giving us at least a reason to believe the lights aren't shut out entirely just yet.

[Via GearDiary]

Verizon XV6900, Motorola Q9c, and LG enV(2) out on verizon

by Ryan Block posted Apr 1st 2008 at 12:21AM

Just in case you missed it, the Verizon XV6900, Motorola Q9c, and LG enV(2) are all finally launched on Verizon. Head on over to Engadget Mobile for the full details.

Motorola to unveil a slew of new handsets at CTIA?

by Nilay Patel posted Mar 11th 2008 at 11:52AM

It's been a rough couple months for Motorola's handset division -- rumors of a sale, two high-profile executive departures, layoffs, and that pathetic showing at Mobile World Congress -- but today it looks like the company might have some tricks left up its sleeve for CTIA. We're not sure where it came from, but this supposed marketing video popped up on YouTube with shots of several new handsets, all of which jive with rumors we've heard about Moto's upcoming devices, like the Linux-based Ming 2 and the 5 megapixel cameraphone developed with Kodak (pictured above). Other notables are a Q variant running Windows Mobile 6.1 and an odd new music slider that could be the ROKR E10. Of course, none of this is official (and Moto did release a hype-laden video just before MWC only to fall totally flat), but we'd be lying if we said we weren't hoping to see Moto try and come back around at CTIA -- we'll see what happens. Video after the break.

[Via Unwired View]

Continue reading Motorola to unveil a slew of new handsets at CTIA?

Video walkthrough of Windows Mobile 6.1

by Nilay Patel posted Dec 7th 2007 at 11:10PM

Man, that goofy Moto Q9 over Boy Genius Report is just the gift that keeps on giving -- now we've got a five and a half minute video walkthrough of WinMo 6.1, showing off all the new features, including long-awaited threaded text messaging and new "Vista" theme, which looks pretty slick in action. No sense in talking about it when the whole vid is waiting after the break, get to it!

Continue reading Video walkthrough of Windows Mobile 6.1

Windows Mobile 6.1 gets pictured, detailed

by Chris Ziegler posted Dec 3rd 2007 at 2:07PM

So this weird Motorola Q9 that Boy Genius Report came across is turning into quite a gold mine. First it revealed AT&T's apparent intention to let its guard down just a tad and start bringing more devices into the WiFi fold -- despite the obvious risk to data revenue -- and now it turns out that she's dressed to the nines with none other than Windows Mobile 6.1. A fleeting glance at most of the screens doesn't indicate any obvious changes from 6 (it is a .1 release, after all), but the devil's in the details: goodies like threaded SMS (Yahtzee!) and cut-and-freaking-paste on Standard (double Yahtzee!) alone should make it a worthwhile upgrade. 'Course, it's up to the carriers and manufacturers as usual to ultimately decide whether to push updates to existing devices, but it would be pure, unadulterated torture if the lion's share of devices didn't see official releases. Seriously, we'd cry.

Motorola day: Verizon gets Q9m, Sprint gets V9m

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 22nd 2007 at 2:14AM

As expected, Verizon and Sprint have given Motorola a venue for its latest and greatest hardware today, releasing the Q9m Windows Mobile smartphone and RAZR 2 V9m flip respectively. Though the media centric Q9m's $350 price on a two-year contract ain't exactly pocket change, it's interesting to note that it whittles right down to a more manageable $250 after rebate -- a mere $20 more than you'll pay for an old school Q Black. Meanwhile, minions from the other side of the CDMA camp (yes, we mean Sprint) have prepped the V9m for launch today at the same $250 price point after rebate, making it the first of several US carriers committed to a RAZR 2 launch to actually get it out of the door. If everything goes the way we expect it to, both of these devices will land on the other carrier in the next few weeks, so the "grass is greener on the other side" effect should be kept to a bare minimum here.

[Thanks, Dan and Boy Genius]

Read - Verizon Motorola Q9m
Read - Sprint Motorola V9m

Motorola Q9m in the wild

by Sean Cooper posted Jun 18th 2007 at 4:05PM

Well, it seems the Motorola Q9m has picked Verizon as its first CDMA home in the States and not Sprint as we had previously suggested -- though we aren't counting out this landing at Sprint yet. Our favorite early adopter The Boy Genius has gotten his mitts all over one of Motorola's newest and it is sporting Verizon livery (replete with lovely red accents) as proof of its new home. He seems pretty enthused about the keyboard on the Q9m and goes as far as calling it "fantastic" -- it adds a scroll wheel sorely missing from its GSM cousin and the rubberized back apparently really helps it stay planted in the hands. Of course, this ain't the final word on the handset previously known as "Nelson," but the moment we have the big picture on release date, pricing and all that other good stuff, we'll post it up here.

Motorola "Nelson," CDMA version of the Q9h?

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 11th 2007 at 5:22PM

Seeing how the original Q came to CDMA first, it'd only make sense that the updated version of the now-ubiquitous QWERTY smartphone -- currently announced only in GSM / HSDPA form as the Q9h -- would return to its roots. Morning Paper (the folks that brought us the Palm Gandolf) is reporting that the Motorola "Nelson" is getting prepped as we speak, offering up Windows Mobile 6, a 2 megapixel cam, miniSD expansion, Bluetooth, and EV-DO data in an "ultra thin" package. As you might recall, the Q9h originally got passed around as the "Norman," so "Nelson" would be a totally appropriate name for a CDMA counterpart. Sprint's getting passed around as a potential carrier for this one (seems logical enough to us) but we'll have to wait this one out for a little more detail before calling it a done deal.

Early review round-up of the Motorola Q9

by Conrad Quilty-Harper posted Jun 2nd 2007 at 12:02PM

We know you like to hear the good stuff first when it comes to reviews -- in this case of the Motorola Q9 -- so we'll start there: the Q9's keyboard is probably the best advocate for "good," with reviewers from CNET, Phonescoop, and Trusted Reviews all digging its tactility (even if we didn't). The only site to test battery life was CNET, which discovered an acceptable and now pretty much standard "lasts all day without recharge" ability. The main negative aspect of the phone is its chunkiness, which we noticed in our hands-on. Unfortunately that's something you'll have to deal with, along with the lack of WiFi, a slightly small screen, and yet another style of USB port (this time it's micro-USB). Other quirks include a default install of the Opera web browser over Pocket Internet Explorer (to each their own we suppose), an eschewing of MobileOffice in favour of DocumentsToGo, and a strange flash that blinks at random in viewfinder mode. It seems as if Moto made an attempt at the basics and got somewhere, but let themselves down in the details. As always, it's up to you whether you can put yourself above them.

[Thanks, Thomas]

Read - CNET
Read - Phone Scoop
Read - Trusted Reviews

Hands-on with a Motorola Q9 in the wild

by Ryan Block posted May 3rd 2007 at 5:47PM

Well lookey lookey, the cellphone fairy dropped us off an unbranded Motorola Q9 to fool around with. Cut to the chase: we're not going to lie: the fact that it's larger than the Q is somewhat unacceptable in our eyes -- we really don't care that it has HSDPA, 3G is no longer an excuse for a big ass phone. Also unfortunate: no more scroll wheel, you're now stuck with the usual up/down rocker buttons. The keyboard, which looks especially tactile, isn't really all that fantastic, and kind of reminded us of a grid of slick, round hard-candies. Basically, we're not super stoked for the Q9, but hey, it ain't over until it's out, and this thing hasn't shown any signs of US release in the near future, so maybe they'll have time to work out some kinks.

Gallery: Hands-on with the Motorola Q9 in the wild

Motorola Q q9 coming to AT&T?

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 9th 2007 at 10:44AM

Is this depiction of the redundantly-named Moto Q q9 in AT&T livery utterly Photoshoppable? Yes; but is the idea of the q9 coming to AT&T completely believable, too? Yeah, we'd say so. This hot little image, while grainy, clearly shows that stylized new-style "globe" logo we've been seeing as of late on its rear and bottom -- and with support for 3.6Mbps HSDPA data, GPS navigation, Windows Mobile 6, and Opera out of the box, we're just fine with this turning out to be legit. The tipster tells us that it won't be called the Q when it comes to the US' largest GSM network, though whether it retains the "q9" branding remains to be seen -- as does a release date. We suppose we can bide our time with an Amoi-sourced SMT5700 while we wait.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]