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Rumors have been rampant about a Motorola Smartphone in the RAZR form factor designed to take on the Treo 650 and BlackBerry devices head on. Well it's official now, the Motorola Q will start shipping first quarter 2006.

From the release:

The first no-compromises QWERTY is here: the new Q from Motorola. Smart, powerful, and devastatingly good-looking, the Moto Q is the ultimate power player. The world's thinnest, lightest QWERTY phone is a seamless fusion of QWERTY and phone delivering a fully-loaded package of email, voice, and entertainment in one amazingly rich but thin device. Like its cousin the RAZR, the Q's superior voice quality makes it a stand out from the competition.

Boasting flexible mobile email featuring Microsoft's Windows Mobile software, advanced cellular phone technology, rich multimedia capabilities and an easy-to-use one-handed navigation thumbwheel, the Moto Q is unique. An all-in-one handheld designed to deliver true seamless connectivity, the Q will help mobile professionals improve productivity through the power of seamless mobility.

"Wickedly cool when's the last time you heard those words used to describe a QWERTY device?" said Ron Garriques, president mobile devices business, Motorola. "Probably never. At least until now. With the Moto Q, we've combined the best voice, data and design technology in one ultra-thin, intelligent, hard-working, and incredibly must-have device. Today's office space has the potential to be any place you want it to be with Q."

Truly Flexible Email
The uber-intelligent Q leverages Microsoft's familiar and trusted Windows Mobile software and is one of the first devices to operate on the latest release, Windows Mobile 5.0. Motorola Q delivers scalable and cost-effective mobile messaging support out of the box with Exchange 2003, and is also optimized for a variety of third party email solutions that enable an even broader set of corporate email capabilities. This provides a cost-effective alternative for businesses looking to leverage their existing infrastructure, training and support systems, while reducing the need for additional IT investment.

RAZR-Sharp Looks & Entertainment
Fifty percent thinner than its top competitors, the lightweight Q features Motorola's renown RAZR-thin design including electro-luminescent keys and a compact "antenna-inside" shape. Moto Q also hosts a large, vibrant, color screen, Net surfing capabilities, a 1.3 mega pixel camera with flash to help you take advantage of any downtime with fun, entertainment options. No need to grab another device on the weekend when you can leverage digital video and audio capabilities, along with cool new Bluetooth -enabled accessories like RAZRWIRE eyewear, to balance work and play.

Best Phone Experience
But great email and good looks aren't enough. True productivity demands superior voice quality too something not always found in QWERTY devices. Leveraging Motorola's expertise in RF technology, the new Moto Q delivers the best phone experience you can get on a QWERTY. Featuring a high-quality speakerphone perfect for conference calls, voice-activated dialing, and Bluetooth functionality the Q enables hands-free multi-tasking for today's busy work environment.

So it looks like we're going to have to wait for this new device, but it certainly holds a lot of promise and with the success of the RAZR and the Treo 650, we should see it on multiple carriers, though it's expected to support EDGE, giving Cingular a clear lead as the premier carrier.

Related News:

Motorola Franklin - RAZR-type Windows Mobile PDA Coming (6/26/2005 5:28:40 PM) - Motorola has scrapped as many Smartphone designs as they've released, but if the Franklin comes through, it could be the biggest, or thinnest, of them all. A PowerPoint presentation is circulating that shows a super-thin Smartphone with integrated keyboard, GSM/EDGE, Bluetooth and a 1.3 megapixel camera.

Thanks to Dave's PDA for the tip