The Motorola MotoQ smartphone is an example of the fact that most everyone is getting in on the smartphone PDA game. The MotoQ is a QWERTY smartphone that borrows some design features from the industry's top players and improves on them.

The MotoQ claims to be the thinnest QWERTY smartphone around, and we'd be hard-pressed to argue with them. The device is less than half an inch thick so it's easy to wrap a hand around, and at just over four ounces it fits nicely into a shirt pocket.

Its keyboard is large enough to allow fast thumb typing for instant messaging or e-mail replies. The rubber-coated keys are very responsive and easy to hit. In addition, there's a D-pad surrounded by four programmable buttons and a handy thumb-accessible scroll wheel on the side of the smartphone for scrolling through documents and Web pages.

Motorola has built a 1.3-megapixel digital camera, complete with flash, into this to capture still images as well as video clips even in low-light environments. The MotoQ also features built-in stereo speakers, so you get full sound when you're listening to video clips or audio files through the PDA.

For connectivity, the MotoQ offers both IrDA and Bluetooth so you can synch your contacts and schedule with a compatible PC without wires. Bluetooth technology also provides support for wireless headsets, including a large selection of Motorola's own. This smartphone offers a speakerphone and supports voice-activated dialing, so you can use it completely hands-free, even without a headset.

But there's no WiFi connectivity built in, so the only way to browse the Web is via the cellular network: which means you'll be using data minutes unless you have an unlimited plan for this phone. The 2-2/5-inch display is smaller than what you'll find on a traditional PDA, but the resolution depth of 320x240 is the same, so images and text look quite crisp on screen.

The MotoQ ships with Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0, although it's the smartphone edition which lets you view but not edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. There's only about 64MB of user-accessible memory, so you'll probably want to pick up a miniSD card to expand the storage space

You get around four hours of talk time and 212 hours of standby time with the MotoQ--not bad for smartphones. If you're looking for a Windows Mobile QWERTY smartphone PDA, the Motorola MotoQ offers a sleek design that covers all the basics you need.

Pro: Sharp screen, good price
Con: No 802.11 wireless

Warranty
1 year, limited