On-The-Move Data Sprints Ahead With The Motorola Q

After some essential firmware upgrades, enabling push-email support for one thing, Motorola's Q finally became not just an attractive but a viable proposition for the mobile executive. With its super-sharp 2.4-inch screen, ultra-thin casing and relatively spacious QWERTY keyboard, it won the hearts of both fashionistas and professionals alike. Still, the success – or failure – of a cellphone is dependent on the network backbone it relies up; enter Sprint.

Fielding a swish black variant of the Q that now counts amongst its strengths dual-band CDMA support, Sprint have blessed the handset with EV-DO and 1XRTT mobile broadband. And lest the anacronyms escape you, what they really mean is an average data speed of 400-700 kbps and peaks of 2 Mbps when accessing Sprint Power Vision content and services.

So it's fast... but what exactly is "Power Vision" content? Well, via a suite of links and shortcuts in Internet Explorer that they're calling "Powerdeck" users have access to featured content that has been optimised for the mobile screen, as well as an online, searchable database of user instructions, hints & tips and troubleshooting. More of a sports fan? Well, how about exclusive interactive NFL content, with team information, real-time scores and stats and a whole range of league-related downloads. If that whets your appetite, you might be tempted to check out the "On Demand" service, where topics like news, weather, sports, movie and money can be incorporated into a customised personal info stream.

"Life today goes beyond the home or office. The Motorola Q operating on the Sprint Power Vision Network gives our customers the power of information that moves with them in a sleek, ultra-thin form factor" Danny Bowman, Vice President of Customer Equipment, Sprint

Of course the usual features on the Q rollcall are all present – 1.3-megapixel camera and flash with support for images and video, push-email via Exchange 2003 or Good Mobile Messenging, and the standard bevy of Microsoft Mobile 5.0 Smartphone software like Media Player 10 Mobile and wireless Outlook syncronisation. But should this not be enough, one of the boons of the OS is the ever-growing array of aftermarket software, available for high-speed download from the Handmark-powered Sprint Software Store.

With the number of smartphones available, often sharing the same OS and hence dependent on design and network backbone to distinguish them, it's increasingly important to take into account the value added content and services your carrier can provide. Out-of-the-box experience is one thing, but each user is different and makes different demands of their handset; rather than try to facilitate every possibility and useage scenario, Sprint have made the wise choice of instead enabling simple, straightforward device customisation so that the phone becomes descriptive of the individual's needs, rather than prescriptive.

The Sprint Motorola Q will be available in-store and online in mid-February, with price dependent on contract. The Power Vision data pack starts from $15 a month, with exclusive NFL content featuring throughout. SlashPhone is looking forward to getting its hands on one, and you can be sure that we'll bring you every last juicy detail when we do!