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Thu, Aug 2, 2007 15:19 EDT
The Fate of Motorola's Now-Defunct Moto Q Pro Smartphone (or How Motorola Promised Me a Moto Q Pro for Months and Then Bailed)
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Posted by: Al Sacco in Soapbox Topic: InfrastructureBlog: Mobile WorkHorse
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You've no doubt heard of Motorola's ultra popular Moto Q smartphone. Perhaps you're also familiar with the handset maker's Q 9h phone. But did you ever hear of the now-defunct Moto Q Pro, which Motorola released briefly at the start of 2007 only to discontinue production two months later?
After weeks and weeks and bundles of assurances from Motorola that it would be happy to provide CIO.com with Moto Q Pro phones for a review I was putting together, as well as an in-person visit and Q Pro demonstration from a product manager, I was told in April that the device would no longer be available. (And, no, the company wasn't willing to provide me with a review copy anyway.)
Why should you, the IT executive, care? Assuming you're not a phone geek like I am and don't pay much attention to smartphone industry news, you should take note because the Moto Q Pro was an evolution of the Moto Q—a fine, Windows Mobile-based smartphone—and it was aimed specifically at corporate users just like you.
So why would Motorola take the time and effort to develop and test a high-end smartphone, as well as send PR folks around to promote it, and then take the device off the market two months after launch? Well, I've spoken with the company on numerous occasions over the past six months, and I've gathered bits and pieces of the puzzle. But most of them feel tainted with public relations spin, and I don't think I'm getting "the whole story."
That's where you come in. I'm hoping this blog post will reach some folks who have experience with the Moto Q Pro. It was on sale in the United States for almost two months, so perhaps you or someone you know purchased one. Maybe your enterprise had planned to deploy the phones, and you were in talks with Motorola. If so, please tell me about it. When I found out that the Moto Q Pro was no more, I asked the company how many units they'd sold and whether or not they were still supporting them but these were two questions they chose to ignore. If you can answer them, or any of the others mentioned in this post, I'd be much obliged if you'd share with me
cellular, handheld, mobile, Moto Q Pro, Motorola, smartphone
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I don't understand why the author is so curious. It's a very moot issue at this point. The Q pro was nothing but a Q with some enterprise support features. The device didn't catch on in the corporate market like Moto had hoped, so they killed the device. Look, with the Q9 in production now, it just didn't make sense for them to keep beating a dead horse. The Q was a nice intro to the PDA market for Moto, but its flaky. That's why the q9 will make a much better BB alternative candidate, *hopefully*
Thanks for the comment. And I agree that the Q Pro "was nothing but a Q with some enterprise support features." Some VERY valuable enterprise support features. Features like improved security software, enterprise call center support, document editing capabilities, remote data wiping and remote camera disablement. Features that CIOs would surely value in a business phone. (Plus the cool black casing.)
The Q 9h will indeed be a device that CIOs should take note of; however, it's still not available in the United States. The Q Pro was available in January 2007, so CIOs and their users could have been employing the device for the last seven months. And far as the Q Pro not catching on in the corporate market, is two months really enough time to say it wouldn't have been popular? I think not, especially with the poor Q Pro marketing effort Motorola put forth.
AS
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"At that point, all I wanted was the *@#*@$ phones I'd requested, but I was willing to do whatever it took to get my hands on the Moto Q Pros"
"willing to do whatever it took" but not buy one. The whole post sounds like sour grapes over not getting his cool Q
FYI: Today Motorola and Verizon Wireless released the Moto Q music 9m.
And it's about time. There have been rumors circulating around the Web about this device for some time...
AS
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I was able to purchase a discontinued Motorola Q Pro from AT&T for a whopping $49.99 as an upgrade phone. I am eagerly awaiting its arrival. It should be in my hands tomorrow. Let me know what information to want to know about it.
J
Al Sacco writes about (and drools over) anything and everything mobile or wireless as it applies to the global workforce--with a focus on BlackBerry smartphones.
Got tips? Send 'em Al's way.
Follow this blog on Twitter: @MobileWorkHorse.
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