Verizon to carry Motorola's new Q

Verizon Wireless will be the first operator to sell Motorola's Q handset, its answer to Research in Motion's BlackBerry push e-mail device.

Powered by Good Technology's GoodLink e-mail platform, the Q phone is one in a number that vendors are proffering up to challenge RIM's market share in the enterprise space. Earlier this month, Nokia released its own push e-mail handset, the E61, which supports multiple messaging vendors' e-mail platforms, including BlackBerry Connect and GoodLink.

Motorola is hoping to ride the success of its RAZR and other stylish consumer handset lines into the enterprise space where RIM remains dominant as a messaging provider. The phone is definitely different than anything Motorola has offered in the past, having a full Qwerty keyboard like those used on Palm Treos and the BlackBerrys themselves. The phone is also one of the few Windows Mobile-powered devices released since Motorola struck its partnership with Microsoft in 2003, selling its stake in the Microsoft rival Symbian to the venture's other backers.

The Q device runs on Verizon's EV-DO high-speed networks and contains the wireless authentication, security and synchronization features to match the e-mail system provided by RIM. It also has advanced PDA and data features common in RIM's devices. While both GoodLink and BlackBerry support Microsoft's ActiveSync, necessary to bridge Outlook Exchange servers with the devices, GoodLink and Q don't yet offer support for the other major enterprise platform, IBM's Domino and Lotus Notes. RIM last week announced direct support of IBM's solution and a partnership with the business giant to optimize their solutions. Good Technology, however, said it plans to bring Domino/Lotus support to GoodLink this summer.