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Since its unveiling last year at Motorola’s MOTONOW event in Chicago, people have been hot to get their hands on Motorola’s answer to the RIM BlackBerry. In fact, while it was still under wraps, rumors swirled around the internet of what people commonly called the “RAZRberry”, which while less than original, turns out to have been reasonably accurate.

Now that it has finally been released on Verizon Wireless’ CDMA EV-DO network, people have been going wild for the Q. And with good reason, it seems. It has the full QWERTY keyboard of its competitors, yet is lighter and thinner than any of them. In fact, Motorola touts the Q as the thinnest QWERTY device on the market.

Physically, the Motorola Q is much like a traditional RIM BlackBerry that has been stretched a bit longer, narrower, and thinner. It measures 116mm x 66mm x 12mm (4.6″ x 2.6″ x .5″) in size. When compared to the Palm Treo 700p we just reviewed, the Q is 3mm longer (if you ignore the 700p’s stub antenna), 6mm wider, and about half as thick. When you consider that the Q weighs only 122g (4.3oz) with a miniSD card inserted, you end up with a very pocketable device that weighs 15 to 50g less than the competition. That’s something that Motorola can be proud of.

Conclusion

I adore the Motorola Q, even with its somewhat limited battery life and few random blemishes. In fact, this is the first non-camera oriented device that I have wanted to use as my day to day phone in a very, very long time. It is that good. With a bit more polish and a few updates to the OS (in addition to that heavy duty battery), this device will be truly fantastic.

The Motorola Q has a lot of competitors out there that are equally capable, like the Palm Treo 700p and 700w, and the 8700 series of RIM BlackBerry devices, to name but a few, but I think that the Q’s RAZR inspired good looks and relatively low purchase price ($199 with 2yr EV-DO agreement on Verizon) will make it a very hot seller that is going to put a lot of pressure on the other players. It may not be as big for Moto as the RAZR series, but I think this one is going to make them proud. I give it a "Highly Recommended" rating. Motorola Q Review (MobileBurn)