Url: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/contro…

I’ve spent a week so far with my new phone, the Motorola Q9m.  While its touted as a multimedia phone, I mostly got it for a smartphone and a MS platform to throw some code on.  When you buy a phone its married (for the most part) to the provider and my provider is Verizon Wireless.  I picked up this phone after two years with them for only $199 + a $50 mail-in rebate.  Good deal for a phone of this quality.

Here are some pros and cons of the phone from my perspective:

Pros:

• Great size!
• Good memory.
• Keyboard feel is exceptional.
• Battery life so far is great.
• Can charge via USB 2.0!
• Screen is crisp and clear.

Cons:

• Verizon removed instant messaging.
• Can’t charge via USB 2.0 if battery is completely dead.
• Case sucks.
• Dialing phone #'s is difficult for my Shrek-sized hands.
• Hard to tell when I am consuming Broadband minutes.

Overall I am very happy with the device though when the battery ran dry in Boston and I only had the USB 2.0 cable to charge it I panicked.  Luckily I picked up a quick car charger and was good to go the next day.

Here are some things I did when I got the device that i would recommend to users:

• To alleviate the instant messaging I picked up a great little free IM app called Prelude.  To get full IM support (MSN, AOL, Yahoo, etc.) you need to download it from Handigo (its free).
• Switch to using the normal home screen.  The default one that Verizon throws up is hard to read and nasty.
• Visit and spend some time at http://www.everythingq.com - they have a great list of tips and tricks and if you look in the forums there are lots of free home screens that are just exceptional.
• Sync to your computer to get the most of out the phone.  The new Windows Mobile 6 version of contacts does a great job of syncing details (and really important to me) the images you’ve attached to contacts.  When I view them on my phone or in Outlook I get the image.