The Motorola Q boasts a sexy, ultra thin design and features a sharp display, a full QWERTY keyboard, EV-DO support, and a sharp multimedia functionality. The Windows Mobile 5 smart phone also has integrated Bluetooth, a speakerphone, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and solid call quality. It measures 2.5 inches diagonally and displays 65,536 hues at a 320×240-pixel resolution. The color output and resolution match those of the Cingular 2125 and the T-Mobile SDA, but the extra screen real estate makes it that much more impressive; colors pop, and text and images are defined and sharp. The display is even readable in direct sunlight. You can customize the home screen with a number of preinstalled background images, or you can upload your own. You also have options for changing the backlight time, the color theme, and the font size. Be aware, however, that the Q doesn’t have a touch screen, and the display’s landscape orientation takes a bit of acclimation.

Motorola also incorporates a camera and a speakerphone-activation button into the keyboard; both are located on the bottom-right side, just to the right of the spacebar. Our only complaint would be that the backlighting is dim for typing in darker environ. The back of the Motorola Q houses the camera lens, the flash, and the stereo speakers. The battery is removable, and an extended cell is available for purchase, although it will add just 0.1 inch of bulk. On the left spine, you’ll find the infrared port, a mini USB port, and a Mini SD card slot. One minor note about the last item: It’s protected by an attached cover, but the rubber is pretty inflexible, so it took us a few attempts at prying it open. It might help to have nails or to use some kind of edge to uncover the expansion slot.

The Moto Q runs Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone Edition, which means you won’t get the full Mobile Office Suite–no Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, or PowerPoint Mobile. Instead, the Q comes preloaded with Picsel Viewer so that you can view but not edit said files; the app also lets you open PDFs. The device has 128MB of flash memory and 64MB of RAM, with roughly 60MB of user-accessible memory. If you plan on carrying a lot of work documents or multimedia files, do yourself a favor and get a Micro SD card, as none are included in the box. Wireless connections come in the form of Bluetooth 1.2, EV-DO (backward compatible with 1xRTT), and infrared but no Wi-Fi. . EV-DO eliminates the need for Wi-Fi, but coverage can be limited outside of large and midsize metropolitan areas, so it would be nice to have that Wi-Fi option. Still, the support for 3G cellular technology you can enjoy broadbandlike speeds on the Q, averaging around 400Kbps to 700Kbps, so you get faster downloads of data, e-mail, and attachments. In addition, the integrated Bluetooth opens up the door for communicating with wireless headsets (including a stereo Bluetooth profile), car kits, and other peripherals, such as GPS receivers and Bluetooth-enabled laptops.

Motorola Q has a 1.3-megapixel camera with video-recording capabilities. You can take still shots in five resolutions (160×120, 176×144, 320×240, 640×480, and 1,280×1,024), and we like that the 6X digital zoom is available for use even at the highest resolution. You also get a flash, a self-timer, a burst mode, and brightness and white-balance adjustments if you would rather view other people’s videos instead of recording your own, there’s Windows Media Player 10 Mobile for all your multimedia needs. A number of popular audio and video formats–AAC, MP3, WAV, WMA, MPEG-4, and WMV, to name a few–are supported, and if you have TV shows recorded on your Windows Media Center PC, you can transfer them to the Motorola Q and enjoy it on the handset’s great screen (see Performance for more). Motorola also said the Q will work with the Sling Media Slingbox. Despite the EV-DO capability, however, the Q does not support Verizon’s multimedia V Cast service.

Some final features of the Motorola Q worth mentioning are Memory Manager, Task Manager, a preloaded help and quick-start guide, and two standard games (Bubble Breaker and Solitaire). There is, of course, a vast library of third-party apps that you can add to the Q, including Virtual Earth Mobile, AvantGo, and Fizz Traveller. The Motorola Q lives up to much of the hype by offering good call quality, an excellent multimedia experience, and the essential productivity tools, all wrapped up in a sexy little package.