Motorola
Q

There were huge expectations ahead of the announcement of the Motorola Q, which was widely dubbed as the RazrBerry by the technology rumour mill. It was eventually unveiled in July 2005. Motorola’s CEO, Ed Zander, described the Moto Q as “a real must-have device that enables true seamless mobility by liberating all of us from the constraints of our offices and living rooms." The phone was super-slim compared to rival qwerty devices and at 11.5mm thick it was the thinnest qwerty device in the world when announced. It was also one of the first Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 devices running the Smartphone Edition of the operating system. To support the Smartphone variant of Windows Mobile it included a D-Pad and all the keys required for smartphone navigation as well as a thumbwheel on the side of the device optimising one-handed usage. The phone had no touchscreen. Other Microsoft features included Windows Media Player 10, synchronization with Microsoft Exchange, photo caller ID and speaker-independent voice recognition. Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, made a typically hyperbolic statement declaring "the Moto Q is amazing, blending stylish design and fast network speeds with Microsoft's powerful Windows Mobile software, empowering people to be mobile without concessions." The keyboard had electroluminescent backlighting which was previously used on the Motorola Razr V3, but unlike the Razr it had individual keys rather than a flat laser-cut aluminium keypad. Other features included a 1.3 megapixel camera and LED flash, Mini SD slot and Bluetooth support. The Moto Q was originally expected to launch in the first quarter of 2006 with exclusive mobile carrier partner Verizon for use on its EV-DO network, however the official announcement finally came in May 2006. Verizon described the device as building on “the design revolution created by the Motorola Razr, the best-selling clamshell handset in the world.” Verizon believed the Moto Q “would redefine what customers expect from a qwerty handheld, putting a "mini notebook" in Verizon Wireless customers' pockets by providing enough power to let them leave their laptop at home to check e-mail, review presentations, and stay connected for a week or a weekend. It is also stated that it had a "cool enough for Friday night" design, that delivered “multiple entertainment options.” In March 2006, at the 3GSM World Congress trade show, Motorola revealed it would offer a 3G-version of the Moto Q, but that it would not arrive until the fourth quarter of 2006 which was considered quite a disappointment given it had first been announced in July 2005. In the next few years Motorola announced several successors to the Moto Q including the Motorola Q9, and Motorola Q9h which were available in Europe and for US carrier AT&T. Other variants included the Motorola Q9m for Verizon and Motorola Q9c for US carrier Sprint.