Sprint MOTO Q

Sprint customers who have been lusting after the MOTO Q can finally get their hands on this sleek and affordable smart phone. Other than a different paint job and one especially convenient app, this edition (available online mid-January and in stores mid-February) doesn't really stand out. However, you get plenty of features-if not much speed-for the price.
  
Just like Verizon Wireless' silver and black versions, Sprint's MOTO Q measures a very slim 0.5 inches thin and weighs a mere 4.1 ounces, but it sports a dark-gray color scheme. We prefer Verizon's black MOTO Q, which has more of a rubberized feel, but this device is still attractive. Unfortunately, the keyboard on the Sprint version does not offer a backlight, a feature we came to appreciate on the Verizon version. You do get the same scroll wheel and back button on the right side, as well as the miniSD Card slot, IR port, and USB charging/syncing port on the left.
  
Too bad Motorola didn't tweak the design for this launch. There are still no dedicated volume controls (which the BlackJack has), and the backspace button is still above the keyboard. Otherwise, the Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system on the Sprint MOTO Q is easy to navigate. With the exception of a Sprint-themed skin on the Today screen, the interface has not changed. We had no problems syncing our contacts, calendar, and tasks via Outlook.
   
Other features the Sprint and Verizon Qs share include a bright 2.4-inch screen, a 312-MHz XScale processor, 64MB of RAM, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and Bluetooth 1.2 (with stereo support). The Sprint version also runs the latest version of Motorola's software, which addresses some bugs and helps better manage battery life. The MOTO Q ostensibly supports e-mail-attachment viewing, but as with all other Smartphone Edition WM5 devices, you must zoom in and pan around to read documents.
   
Sprint ships its device with the wonderful Pocket Express application from Handmark (rebranded as On Demand here), which quickly delivers news, weather, directions, and other information optimized for the MOTO Q's screen. Within a few seconds, On Demand had updated all of the day's top headlines in nine categories.
   
Another unique feature of the Sprint MOTO Q is NFL Mobile, accesible through the Favorites menu in Interent Explorer Mobile. We like that you can customize the page so that it delivers the latest news for your favorite team, and we're sure fantasy league fans will dig it, but overall the service felt like a watered-down version of Mobile ESPN's more polished app--without video clips.
   
Surfing the the Web using Internet Explorer Mobile was about as fast on the Sprint and Verizon verisons of the Q. Both devices took approximately 15 seconds to begin loading the New York Times homepage, and around 50 seconds to fill in all the graphics and pictures.
  
 In terms of voice quality and battery life, the Qs are nearly equal. We noticed a bit more fuzziness on the line with the Sprint version, but overall our calls sounded clear, and people on the other end of the line didn't complain. With infrequent use over a three-day weekend, the Sprint MOTO Q ran out of juice at 11:00 p.m. on the third day, but with regular use we found we needed to charge the device every other day.
   
We wish Sprint would have added support for its Sprint TV and Sprint Music services to help sweeten the deal. Those enhancements would have made this device an attractive alternative to both the Verizon MOTO Q (which doesn't support V CAST) and the Samsung BlackJack (which taps into Cingular Music and Cingular Video). At least Sprint charges the least amount for unlimited data: $15 per month versus $40 for Verizon and $39 for Cingular.
   
Sprint customers looking for a smart phone won't find a better option for the money. If your contract is up, however, look at the better designed and more fun BlackJack.

 

This review has been updated based on our tests of a final production unit. The pre-production Sprint MOTO Q we had previously tested delivered slower data throughput.


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