Smartphone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"As you know, Windows 6 series is available in 2009 and as compared to Android, we believe in 2009 Android is more competitive; more of our effort and focus in 2009 is going to Android, but in 2010 when Windows 7 will become available, we will then participate in a more focused way in Windows Mobile 7 in 2010."

If I were Microsoft, I'd be more than a little ticked off that my partners were blabbing to the media about the release dates of my products. On the other hand, I guess now we know that we won't see Windows Mobile 7 for at least a year - not surprising given than Windows Mobile 6.5 has yet to be officially announced.

"Sources are repudiating earlier rumors that indicated bad news for Motorola's handset division... Also dispelled is a rumor that Motorola would stop manufacturing Windows Mobile-based smartphones in favor of Google's Android operating system. In an interview with Computerworld.com, Brian Viscount, Motorola's Vice President of Marketing for Mobile Enterprise Computing said that the handset division, 'remains 100 percent committed to Windows Mobile.'"

This is good news to hear as the previous Motorola rumors seemed suspect to me. Not too long ago we heard reports of Motorola opening up an office in Seattle to work closer with the Windows Mobile team. To have them just drop Windows Mobile would seem like a foolish business move to make after dumping all of that money into opening new offices and relocating staff there. Good to hear these rumors are not true. Motorola might not be the most fun Windows Mobile handset maker in the lot, but the Motorola Q and Q9 variants are all solid devices.

"Phone Scoop has learned that Motorola's handset division is expecting a large round of layoffs as soon as this week, according to someone familiar with Motorola's plans. The layoffs are confirmed to be significant and may amount to 50% of the entire handset operation... Motorola is prepared to trim the number of new phones it brings to market down to just a dozen per year, and the only smartphones it will produce will be based on Google's Android platform."

I always hate to hear of layoffs like this, and in this economy, I am getting especially tired of it as another large one seems to come every few days. I am not surprised to hear they are going to use only one platform for their smartphones. Their success with Windows Mobile has been sporadic, though it would be hard to argue that the Moto Q is a device loved by many. Will you miss Motorola as a Windows Mobile handset maker?

"Compal Communications has received orders for two Windows Mobile-based PDA phones, codenamed the Alexander and Attila, from Motorola, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report. While both PDA phones are supporting 3.5G and Wi-Fi technologies, the Alexander features a sliding-out QWERTY keyboard and the Attila features an iPhone-like touch panel, said the paper, which also noted that shipments of the two PDA phones are now set in the first quarter of 2009 instead of the fourth quarter of 2008 as originally planned."

According to a Commercial Times report, Motorola's Alexander and Attila won't make an appearance until Q1 2009. Leaks suggest the two aren't blessed with amazing features, so unless there are some hidden extras, Motorola will probably have a tough time pitting these against the competition.

"Microsoft Mobile Communications Group Manager Scott Rockfeld was on Fox Business chatting up quite a lot of Windows Mobile devices. The context of the discussion is basically 'competitors to the iPhone,' which is a little aggravating because, let's face it, the iPhone and Windows Mobile aren't always going for the same demographic. Some of the smartphones shown off: HTC Diamond, HTC Touch Pro, and the BlackJack II."

I've watched this video several times, mostly because the Touch Diamond looked so swanky in it, but also because I thought Scott Rockfeld, Microsoft Mobile Communications Group Manager, handled himself brilliantly. Scott came out swinging showing off some of the more popular Windows Mobile 6.1 devices on the market, including the HTC touch Diamond, and was really hammering home that the Windows Mobile platform is all about choice. This seems to tie in exactly with all of the recent talk on the Internet of Microsoft’s new "Windows Not Walls" campaign. On top of that you throw in the fact that every device featured in this segment has sold over a million or more devices it starts to make a lot of the recent Apple sales hype start to look a little sad.

Microsoft builds fantastic products but unfortunately they're not the best when it comes to feeding the publicity machine. One of the biggest hurdles for Windows Mobile has always been lack of visibility in the public’s eye. All of us as Smartphone and Pocket PC fans have heard the pitch that Scott gave in this video dozens of times over but I think Microsoft is finally understanding that we are not the ones that need to be told this over and over again but instead the general populous needs to know. I just hope Microsoft does more of these segments on other news networks. So what did you guys think of the video?

"Motorola and AT&T Inc. today announced the availability of the MOTO Q Global with Windows Mobile 6.1, one of the first devices featuring the latest mobile software on sale to the public. Available exclusively to AT&T customers, the new MOTO Q Global has a bold pinstripe design with eye-catching metallic edging and a robust feature set, including Motorola’s patented CrystalTalk technology for clear calls, assisted GPS via the AT&T network for quick, accurate location fixes, and threaded SMS for chat-like texting."

If you read this site regularly then you probably know how I feel about Motorola constantly rehashing the same design and making a big hoopla about the handset like it is the first time we have ever seen it. They did this with the Motorola RAZR for years and now they are doing it once again to the Motorola Q9 Global. The only difference between every other time that Motorola has done this and today is that I actually like this new handset! Sure it is the same exact Motorola Q9 variant we have all grown to know and love but now it is up to date with the latest version of Microsoft's mobile platform - Windows Mobile 6.1 - and the new silver and pinstripe design is actually pretty snazzy. Mix this together with the already incredibly QWERT keyboard, 1.3MP camera, aGPS, Opera browser and Documents To Go and you have yourself one incredibly powerful device in a tiny sleek form factor. Thumbs up to Motorola! Read the full press release after the jump. Read more...

"Mike, who'd previously let us know about that leaked out 6.1 update has been watching Motorola's site like a ravenous hawk hovering over a field mouse. That mouse has finally popped out of its hole: head on over to Motorola's site for the official Motorola Q9h 6.1 Update. You're going to need the standard complement of update tools before you get going: Windows XP or Vista, internet connectivity (the software just might be calling home to check to see if your Q9h is legit), and a full backup before you update. Like all ROM updates, this one will wipe your device, so get prepared."

It is time to start backing up all of your data! Motorola has finally come around to giving the Q9h the old update treatment. For those that have not had a chance to use the sliding panels before, they are actually quite fun. Light years ahead of the incredibly plain coma inducing default homescreen that came equipped with Windows Mobile 6 and below.

"Man, Motorola just can’t keep a lid on anything anymore can they? We’ve got a hold of a phone codenamed the “Napolean” and it’s a CDMA EV-DO Rev. A Q9 with full GSM world roaming capabilities. This even includes the U.S. 850MHz/1900MHz bands! Even though it’s Verizon branded and will launch on Verizon, we loaded in our AT&T SIM and away we went. We’ve found the following specs on the phone so far: fingerprint scanner (seriously, on the back), Windows Mobile 6.1, EV-DO Rev. A, quad-band EDGE, 2 megapixel camera with flash, stereo speakers, 320×240 resolution screen, Wi-Fi, and a 1500mAh battery. The keyboard isn’t as good as the first Q9 or Q9m, and the d-pad is incredibly stiff and difficult to use. Sound sounded good though, and the screen seems to be the same as the original Q9s. We’ll keep diggin’, but in the meantime, take a look at a gallery, ok?"

Motorola is set to release an interesting new Q9h variant on Verizon's CDMA network. As you read above this new handset will come equipped with a finger print scanner, which is cool no matter which gadget it is placed in! While it is always great to see a new Windows Mobile Standard device on the market I am severally disappointed to see yet another Q9h clone from Motorola! I mean seriously, how many different models of the same device do we need?!

Would it really be that much more difficult or expensive to just place the insides in a brand spanking new shell to at least give us the impression that they put some effort into this new handset? Maybe I'm just over reacting but it is a bit frustrating to see Motorola pulling the same yawn worthy stunt with their model Q handsets as they did the RAZR. Someone should seriously sit the board of directors of Motorola down and force them to watch Multiplicity so they can finally understand that popping out sub-par clones of the same product, while amusing, isn't always a good thing.

"There's been a lot of chatter the past few days that the Motorola Q9c, a Windows Mobile phone launched on Sprint to little fanfare late last year, has gone up to that great Windows Mobile 6.1 build in the sky now that it's disappeared off Sprint's online store. That'd really be something, considering that Verizon and others have just launched it in the past couple months -- but not entirely out of the question, particularly if it's a dead-slow seller or is earning more than its fair share of tech support calls. For what it's worth, though, we touched base with Sprint on the matter and were informed that it's just "out of stock for direct ship" -- that's the stuff you see on Sprint's site -- but that it should still be readily available in retail stores."



It is nice to see Sprint clearing the air and letting us the Motorola Q9c is alive and well... and from the looks of it, popular! Well it might not be super popular but it is popular enough to out of stock in the Sprint warehouses and that has to say something. In the meantime if you are looking to pick up a Motorola Q9c your best bet would probably be to grab one from your local Sprint store.

"The Everything Q forums have been buzzing for the last two days about the disappearance of both the Motorola Q and the Motorola Q9C from the Sprint web site. Some forum members have speculated that both phones are just out of stock or have been pulled to apply a WM 6.1 refresh. However more than a few forum regulars have chimed in to say that their local stores are telling them that the Sprint Motorola Q and Q9C are discontinued. Additionally a couple members of the forum have gotten the same 'discontinued' explanation upon calling into Sprint’s customer service desk. So as of now the Sprint Motorola Q and Q9C are not on their web site. Whether they re-appear or are replaced with another model is anyone’s guess. Until then at least we can look forward to the Treo 800W which seems ready to launch on Sprint July 13."



Obviously the phone is an important enough piece of Sprint's and Motorola's profile that it was the first of Motorola's Windows Mobile Standard devices to receive an official Window Mobile 6.1 update. It would just seem silly to discontinue the handset after doing this. I wouldn't be too surprised if this happened though; with the recent rumors of Motorola pulling the Q9h from AT&T sometime soon, and now Sprints Smartphones pulling a vanishing act, it could just mean that Motorola is stepping back from the Windows Mobile business. Hopefully someone from Motorola clears this up soon.

"I've been rocking the Windows Mobile 6.1 Update on my Motorola Q9h for some weeks now and I can tell you in no uncertain terms: you want it. That said, you'll have to wait a bit before it arrives. Perhaps not too long, though. Hot on the heels of the 6.1 update for the Sprint Q9c, Motorola appears to be prepping it for the Q9h."



An eagle eyed member of the EverythingQ forums has spotted a placeholder on Motorola's website for the Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade for the Motorola Q9h. At the moment there are no signs of the update coming anytime soon on AT&T's website but this now gives us hope that within the coming weeks we can have yet another WM6.1 upgrade from Motorola. All of the other manufactures are going to start having to play catch up if good ol' Moto continues at this pace!

"The Motorola Q9h is still one of our all-time faves here at WMExperts HQ... between the Q9h and the BlackJack II: the Q9h is more expensive. Looks like that last part is getting slightly better, as we're seeing the after-contract price on AT&T's site down to $149 after rebate compared to the BJII's post-rebate price of $99. What about that first downfall? Well, we're hearing a funny little rumor courtesy of Eric: apparently some AT&T stores are not only running out of stock on the Q9h, the manager is actually telling folks that it's been discontinued. It's a long shot, but we know that the Q9h has appeared before with WiFi: supposedly some pre-release models had it and BGR's Q9h has it for sure. So dare to dream this Monday morning, but don't dare too much, we don't see this happening quite yet."



As someone who has worked on the floor slinging phones for many years, you can most likely chop this one up to the rumor heap. I wouldn't expect to see the Motorola Q9h discontinued anytime soon and more often than not the less ethical individuals on the sales floor will tell you whatever pops in their pretty little heads so you will purchase one of the phones in their store and not run off to another store to buy your new handset. This is one of the sad dirty little facts of the cellular world in the United States. Almost all sales associates are paid on commission so if you do not purchase something from them it can directly affect how much they make.

Now if AT&T suddenly drops the price of the Motorola Q9h to about $49.99 after mail-in rebate or lower then I would suggest worrying as that was Cingular's old mantra for getting rid of handsets that were going to be discontinued. At the current price we are seeing for this handset indicates that they are not expecting to push these out the door as quickly as possible or make room for an upgraded model… Though a Wi-Fi enabled Motorola Q9h would be most appreciated.

"A new reference site launched by Motorola in the UK will allow Bluetooth users to check their devices for compatibility and help with a 'plain English' guide to the pairing up of devices. The website lets you do a compatibility search from either your mobile device or with the designated accessory. According to the manufacturer, 'Motorola’s Bluetooth headsets are designed to be compatible with over 200 Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones from more than 15 manufacturers, including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG and Samsung, as well as Motorola devices.' 'The intention is to provide some much needed clarity to the market by creating the ultimate Bluetooth compatibility reference point,' said Steve Gaskell, General Manager, Accessories, Motorola EMEAI."



It is about time someone created a site such as this. During my time slinging handsets the most frequently asked customer question was "Can you help me pair my headset?" I guess one of the downsides of creating incredibly small and useful products is that they can be a bit hard to manage and figure out. If you have an urge to learn more about the magic known as Bluetooth, than check out Motorola's new site here.

"The Good Housekeeping Research Institute study engineers and a consumer panel compared 11 new QWERTY phones under $300 (suggested retail price with a two-year service) along with the iPhone ($400 suggested retail) and evaluated the phones for simplicity of text-messaging, text delivery speed, battery life, as well as ease of placing calls and voice quality. The Moto Q 9h came in second for ease of texting, beating Apple's iPhone. The Moto Q 9h's screen drew rave reviews for being large and easy to read. Not suprisingly, the phone also earned top marks on voice quality during calls."

Ah-ha! Take that Apple! Looks like a fancy user interface, incredible Web browser, and lots of storage aren't everything in the eyes of consumers! Sometimes all you need is a comfortable QWERTY keyboard to make your users happy. Now if only Windows Mobile devices would add all of the other things mentioned above, then our handsets might actually trump Apple in other categories besides texting.

"Verizon Wireless today revealed its spring lineup of smartphones and messaging phones...

• XV6900: Verizon's version of the HTC Touch. Available in April.
• Motorola Q9c: Similar to the Q9m, but with more business-friendly styling, plus support for location-based services. Available in April."

There's also a new Blackberry and a LG device. These two aren't exactly new or revolutionary, but it's good to see Verizon is finally carrying them, only a few months after everyone else. ;) If you're curious as to what the Touch will look like on Verizon, Engadget's got pics of both it and the Touch Dual. As they put it, the front is "bleached". What do you think of the look?

"The latest Windows Mobile upgrade brings minor, but very welcome additions to the platform. In this article, we'll cover both the Standard (non-touchscreen) and Professional (touchscreen) editions and show you what's to love about the Windows Mobile 6.1 update. Now, you'll notice this is not a full version upgrade, but just a ".1" upgrade so you know you can't expect a full overhaul. It really feels like just a quick update intended to fill in a couple of gaps between the Windows Mobile and Apple iPhone functionality. You'll notice some similarities between the Standard and Professional operating systems (such as the Internet Explorer and Text Messaging updates), but you'll also notice some odd differences. Read on for our thorough rundown of the next version of Windows Mobile to hit your phone!"


[Windows Mobile 6.1 in the flesh! From left to right - Standard and Professional]

Pocketnow.com has brought us a quick review of Windows Mobile 6.1. This review contains a ton of screenshots and two videos of WM 6.1 in action on both the Standard and Professional handsets! All in all, I'm really excited to get my hands on either a device that is equipped with this new update or a Windows Mobile 6.1 ROM image for my Emulator. Oh man, good times! You guys have no idea how relieved I am that this didn't turn out to be a huge April fool’s joke from Microsoft!

You can see the videos (I promise it isn't another Rick Roll) for the Standard platform here and the Professional platform here. Enjoy!

"The rumors that Windows Mobile 6.1 is going to make its long-awaited official debut next week are flying fast and furious, but if you can't stand the wait, it looks like Boy Genius has managed to score yet another Moto Q9 running the update and he's posted up some deets and a bunch of screenshots. There's nothing too earth-shattering in this latest rev, but there are some minor tweaks from what we've seen before: AT&T's Video Share is now supported, as is TV out, the camera UI and home screen have been refined, there's a new Albums feature in the media player, and photos and videos can now be uploaded to your Windows Live account. Right, nothing major, but that's fine -- the smaller the changes, the sooner the ship date, right? Hit up the read link for tons more shots."



I step away from my computer for two seconds to get a fresh cup of coffee and BAM - even more Windows Mobile 6.1 goodness. It appears that the Boy Genius was nice enough to give us a slew of new screenshots from the much anticipated upgrade of our favorite mobile operating system. Personally, I think being able to upgrade photos and videos directly to your Windows Live account from your handset is a really cool feature and I am glad that Microsoft is starting to integrate more of their services and platforms. As stated above there is nothing earth shattering with this recent tidbit of information but all of the tiny updated features are a huge breath of fresh air for the Windows Mobile platform. Hopefully Microsoft can keep up this momentum and excitement up!

You can check out the Boy Genius Review images by following this link!

Motorola, Inc. today announced that the Company's Board of Directors has commenced a process to create two independent, publicly-traded companies. Today's decision follows the Company's January 31, 2008 announced evaluation of the structural and strategic realignment of its businesses and represents affirmative steps to position its Mobile Devices and Broadband & Mobility Solutions businesses for success, while creating value for all Motorola shareholders.

Both the Mobile Devices company and the Broadband & Mobility Solutions company will be publicly traded. The Mobile Devices company will obviously focus on the devices while the Broadband & Mobility Solutions company will handle voice and data network solutions for governments, enterprises and consumers. The transaction is expected to be completed in 2009.

"Pocket-lint has learnt from sources close to the matter that Microsoft will announce the much-rumoured refresh to its mobile phone operating system, Windows Mobile, on 1 April 2008. An improvement over Windows Mobile 6 released in February 2007 the new version, unsurprisingly named 6.1, will be a stop-gap measure to keep both consumers and industry happy until the launch of Windows Mobile 7. Leaked screenshots of 6.1 have already done the rounds in the blogosphere, and show the system has been simplified with the screens displaying less mess than the Vista-inspired version 6. A new look with new fonts, new homescreen and new features such as a task manager and copying and pasting in Internet Explorer all bode well for users of Microsoft's OS for handhelds."


[Image courtesy of Boy Genius Review]

Late last year we brought you news and images from BGR's uncovering of a Motorola Q9h running Windows Mobile 6.1. It appears that Microsoft will finally be releasing this Windows Mobile upgrade on April 1st, 2008... Which also happens to be April Fools Day, so heres hoping this isn't some early Internet prank!

"Since its inception, the Motorola Q has been successful. Versions of the popular slim handheld—originally billed as the "RAZR smartphone" at just 0.4 inches thick—can now be found on three carriers, with the device available in both CDMA and GSM versions. When Motorola revamped the Q, Verizon saw the new model first and branded it the Q9m. AT&T followed with its upgraded version, the Q9h, which bested the Verizon model with its excellent software bundle. Now Sprint finally has a new Q, and I'm pleased to report that the Q9c is a highly capable, inexpensive ($99.99 with a two-year contract, after a $100 mail-in rebate) smartphone, even if a few flaws hold it back from true greatness."



PC Magazine has reviewed Sprints Motorola Q9c handset. Though I'm sure Jerry probably cringed as much as I did at the sheer mentioning of the RAZR, this is still a good read! If you are a Sprint user who is looking for an inexpensive and sleek looking Windows Mobile Standard device, than head on down to your local Sprint-Nextel shop to pick up this bad boy!