Comfy Fit for Mobile Internet

By Aimie Pardas

MOTOROLA’S new Moto Q 9h is designed for the Internet generation, so it’s not surprising that High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) connectivity (hence the “h”) is included.

But it’s not just fast connectivity that makes the handset a good Internet tool. It’s easy to set up POP3 Web e-mail, there’s another choice of Web browser besides Mobile Internet Explorer, and Windows Live applications are included.

Let’s start with e-mail. Up to eight mailboxes can be defined, including Hotmail, AOL, Gmail and Yahoo!. I could download e-mail from my Gmail and Yahoo! accounts just minutes after providing my e- mail address, username and password.

You don’t need to go online to look for the right configurations, although you can still manually configure the settings. But the automatic setup will configure it for POP3 settings, and not Internet Message Access Protocol.

For enterprise use, the Moto Q 9h supports thin-client secure platform to access SharePoint, corporate intranets, internal Web applications, and Direct Push Technology with Exchange Server.

And Windows Live can be automatically configured in the Moto Q 9h. Once configured, it gives you access not only to Windows Live Mail, but also to Live Search and Live Messenger. Pictures taken can be sent easily to your Windows Live Spaces in just two clicks.

For Web browsing, Motorola has included Opera 8.65 for Windows Mobile, which allows multiple Web pages to be opened at the same time. But if you still prefer Internet Explorer, it can be found in the system tools.

The company also has added mobile productivity with Docs To Go, which is for creating and editing word documents, spreadsheets and presentations on the smartphone.

Apart from all the mobile applications, one of the main features of the Moto Q 9h is its built-in Qwerty keyboard, which is covered with a material that makes it nice to touch. The keys may seem scrunched up together, but since each key feels like a little bump, they are easily distinguishable from one key to the other.

The keyboard also has shortcut buttons that take you straight to the calendar, contacts, Windows Media, camera and speakerphone/ voice recognition.

These are not the only control keys on the Moto Q 9h. Besides the five- way controller on the front, there are control keys on the sides.

Additionally, the Moto Q 9h has light sensors on the front and back that automatically adjust the keyboard and screen brightness and improve battery life.

The battery charges through universal serial bus, too, when you plug it into a USB port. On average, I could get between two and four days of usage in between battery charges.

Besides as an office and Internet tool, the Moto Q 9h comes up as your average multimedia unit. Photos taken with the camera are nice.

In terms of performance, I did not have any trouble with the unit while reviewing it. Applications weren’t slow in popping up, although it took some time to find certain commands or applications. For example, I had to refer to the manual to find out how to lock the keys.

And while HSDPA can give you a quick data connection, I still prefer to have an additional Wi-Fi built in so I can have more choices in data connectivity.

All in, the Moto Q 9h makes a nice Internet tool, mainly due to the applications that come with it. And it has just the nice size for a smartphone with a built-in keyboard, not too big or too small.

Product: Moto Q 9h

Manufacturer: Motorola Inc

Enquiries: Motorola (Toll-free: 1-800-806-008)

Price: RM1,899

SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions: 118mm by 67mm by 12mm

Weight: 132g

Operating system: Windows Mobile 6

Processor: TI OMAP 2420

Band: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS 2100

Display: 2.4-inch, 320-by-240-pixel, 65,000-colour TFT

Camera: Integrated two-megapixel camera with zoom

Memory: 256MB Flash/96MB RAM

Removable memory: MicroSD (up to 4GB)

Connectivity: GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA, MicroUSB, Bluetooth

E-mail support: POP3/IMAP4, Microsoft Exchange

Other features: Ambient light sensors, speech recognition, Opera, Windows Media Player Mobile, Outlook Mobile

OUR VERDICT *** 1/2

Physical design *** 1/2

User-friendliness ***

Performance ***

Features *** 1/2

Value for money ***

Documentation ***

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