Motorola Unveils Competitor to BlackBerry

Yesterday, Motorola announced some new products of which the highly anticipated iTunes phone was not one of them. Motorola said the ROKR line of iTunes music phones will be announced and shipped by the end of this quarter. Sounds more like an Apple-style launch where product is announced and made available at roughly the same time.

Motorola did announce its sleek Q smartphone that combines RAZR-like styling with Windows Mobile 5.0 and a keyboard for messaging capabilities. Dubbed in some quarters as the RAZRberry, the phone is being viewed as a potential threat to Research in Motion's BlackBerry products.

Deepak Chopra, analyst at National Bank Financial thinks the Q "presents both a risk and an opportunity for RIM. It's a threat in that (Q) will work on the new Microsoft system" but an opportunity in that RIM could get its mobile messaging software installed on the Q." Chopra noted "RIM and Motorola have an agreement to license RIM's e-mail software, but the pact hasn't translated into any products yet."

Charter Equity's Edward Snyder chimes in saying the Q gives the Motorola brand a new luster. "This product is all about branding, in my opinion," he said.

On his Jupiter blog, Michael Gartenberg posts his thoughts on the Q. A big smartphone fan, Gartenberg is impressed with the phone specs and design saying the "form factor is amazing, thinner than the RAZR with what looks like a very usable keyboard." He warns that the Q is expected to ship in Q1 of 2006, and Motorola doesn't have the greatest track record getting product to market in a timely manner or at all, citing the MPx as an example.

The MPx was announced to much fanfare but never made it to U.S. shores after more than a year of anticipation (hmmm, sounds like the ITunes phone). Smartphone aficionados might also want to note the plight of Motorola's MPx 220 smartphone that was riddled with problems and eventually pulled by Cingular in favor of the Audiovox SMT5600...

via Chicago Tribune (site registration required)