Motorola Karma QA1 Review

Introduction:

AT&T hasn't seen a Motorola QWERTY device since the Windows Mobile powered Q9h, offered back in 2007. The landscape has changed for the one time great handset manufacturer with competition forcing them to limit device releases. We've seen them steer away from the popular form factor, that the RAZR series pioneered, with devices like the Krave ZN4 and the Aura. The Motorola Karma QA1 follows that same trend providing AT&T users a taste of a much-needed new styling and form factor. The QWERTY device, with it's focus on social networking, may make it enticing enough for messaging happy users to pick from AT&T's current offerings.

The package contains:

•    Motorola Karma QA1
•    Charger
•    Users Manual

Design:

It's always a pleasure seeing Motorola venture out to other form factors that don't emulate the RAZR look. The slider phone utilizes two different materials – an aluminum finish for the front and soft matte for the back. Both radiating a sense of quality materials that adds to its universal appeal. Although it's a bit wider and thicker (0.70”), it feels quite natural in the hand and provides a good grip with its rounded corners. You'll definitely notice the weight (4.97 oz) when carrying it around, but it's a welcomed thing that emits a sense of durability. However, the construction will stand up through a lot of normal wear and tear except those extreme accidental drops – thankfully the matte finish will help minimize those occurrences.



You can compare the Motorola Karma QA1 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The ample sized 2.5” LCD screen with a 320 x 240 resolution is complimented with its 262k colors brilliantly illuminating the screen. We must admit that it's quite luminous and reflects the quality that went into the creation of the handset. There's just so much room that reading text won't ever become a hindrance. The screen is reflective, which is a minor drawback, but placing the brightness to the maximum setting will make it usable in direct sunlight.

You'll find the standard set of buttons on the front; send and end, directional pad, left and right soft keys, back/clear, and a dedicated one for messaging. Besides the send and end buttons, which are raised, everything else is flush with the surface. One thing to note is that they're all somewhat stiff when pressed; requiring a second press to make sure it was registered. The Karma keeps it simple with a small-sized volume rocker on the right side with the dedicated camera key on the other – both having a sensible tactile feel. There is much to love with the microUSB port on the bottom and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack on the top edge. The 2-megapixel camera with flash is tucked away on the back with the speakerphone placed towards the bottom. Removing the rear cover will reveal the battery, SIM card slot, and microSD slot – all fitting in the cramped space.






We've seen great placement of ports (like the charging and 3.5mm port) on the Karma, but found it baffling to find the microSD slot placed behind the rear cover. If you're one for media playback, the Karma will support microSD cards up to 16GB.

The QWERTY keyboard on the Motorola Karma QA1  harks back to the golden age of Motorola with the design almost reminiscent of their once flagship smart phone; the Q. The pebble shaped buttons are raised high enough to give your fingers the differentiating feeling of each one. Additionally they have a hard plasticy feel – with some tight spacing between each. Still, people with larger hands will find the need to use the edge of their fingers to type. The numeric keypad is highlighted in light blue with a single dedicated key used to launch the web browser. We would have liked to see a brighter backlighting – which was almost faint to visualize even in dark settings. After a while, we found the QWERTY to be useful and adequate for most of our messaging needs.

Software and Features:

It might not have the flashiest looking interface, but the Motorola Karma QA1 has a simplistic one that makes navigating a breeze. The personalization is minimal with only one wallpaper and skin to choose from right out of the box. There is an option to create your own theme – giving you the ability to choose a ring tone, various alerts, wallpaper selection, screen saver, and skin. It's very limited and just does not give users enough choice without the need to pay for additional content. The home screen is pretty bare with only the clock and date being displayed. Finally, there is no hint of slowdown when navigating through the various sub-menus.



The amount of contacts that can be stored will depend on how much memory is used – only a percentage is given for the used capacity. The typical information like various phone numbers, home address, email, assigning a photo or ringtone, and birthday can be inputed.



The standard SMS application can be launched by pressing the dedicated messaging button on the front or going through the menus. There are also a good amount of SMS and MMS templates you can choose from if you're feeling lazy.

Yet again with other AT&T devices we've seen, the mobile email application is the same one. You can select popular email providers like Yahoo, Windows Live Hotmail, and AOL, butunfortunately Gmail isn't on the list. Instant Messaging is the same with AIM, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger as options. Exiting back to the home screen while logged in will keep the IM app running in the background. Unfortunately, you can only run one client at the time without the ability to simultaneously log on all three at once.  We were hoping to see something refreshing with the Karma in this department, but content in the end with keeping to the same fashion.



Social networking exploded and Motorola decided to incorporate that aspect into the Karma. There is a social networking icon on the main menu that launches the web browser to the mobile home page of Facebook, MySpace, and a dedicated app for Juicecaster. It's a nice touch, but doesn't really jump out because you can simply accomplish the same by launching the browser and typing in the web site.

Other common AT&T applications can be found like XM Radio, MusicID, Yellowpages mobile, WikiMobile, Mobile Banking, Where, MobiTV, Zuma and AT&T Navigator.



Camera:

Taking candid snapshots is probably best reserved for the Motorola Karma QA1 – with images producing somewhat  decent colors and lacking detail despite having an LED flash. You can choose between four resolutions from 320 x 240 to the maximum 1600 x 1200. The interface follows the same suit with most of the phone; simple and uncluttered. Other settings can be modified from exposure, lighting, zoom, and color style.





The maximum video resolution (320 x 240) resulted in jerky movies that were too pixelated at times to distinguish. Reducing it to a lower setting makes it more smooth with detail sacrificed. Luckily, the audio captured was audible – making it more prominent than the video itself.  Also worth noting is that it's a Video Share capable device.

Multimedia:

There's nothing pretty about the music player – it's boring with a minimal set of functions on screen. Other similar devices have set the bar a bit higher than what is found on the Karma. The time elapsed, song title, artist, and time remaining are displayed with the navigational pad corresponding to the playback options (forward, reverse, and pause/play). Thankfully, the 3.5mm headphone jack is a welcomed sight to see on the handset. Although it's nice, the speakerphone does an exceptional job of producing some audible tunes. It's loud and vibrant without the cracking ruining the serene music in the air. The stereo Bluetooth option only compliments the rich audio capability of the Karma.

With the 2.5” screen taking up almost more than half of the front surface, we were also impressed with its video playback.  We loaded up a movie trailer in MPEG4 format at a resolution of 320 x 240 and were pleased with how smooth it played. From the colors, quality, and stellar audio from the speakerphone, everything contributed to the overall experience.



Connectivity:

Performance:

Phone calls was another area that was stellar with the Karma. We were able to hear our callers quite well when the volume was placed in the middle setting. It was clear, distinct, and vibrant without any background noise. Callers went on to say that they easily understood what we spoke. Lastly, the speakerphone even lived up to the expectation we already received during media play. The experience using it was almost similar to using a wired headset. We observed audible tones without any crackling when raising it to the highest option. It's quite useful in almost any condition; whether sitting down or holding it in the hand.  

We had plenty of signal when using the Karma in the greater Philadelphia area. Bars remained steady and did not get any dropped calls during our time with it.

The luminous screen we thought could pose as an issue with battery life, but it had little effect on it. We drained the battery (1170 mAh) completely after 6 days of normal usage – mostly web surfing and phone calls. During our test, we placed the brightness to the highest setting and became impressed with its longevity.  Motorola has it rated for 3.5 hours of talk and 366 of standby.

Conclusion: 

The Motorola Karma QA1 may not bring back the once dominant phone maker back to its prime form. Luckily, it's a small step towards the right direction with an untraditional form factor that Motorola is not  accustomed to producing. From the great build quality to its performance, the Karma QA1 makes for a great messaging device while trying to jump on the social networking success. We know this is a leap to make consumers rethink their placement in the mobile world. Or will karma be on their side to reclaim their stake on AT&T?

Motorola Karma QA1 Video Review: