Motorola Gives Social Users a Hint

Motorola's new Hint QA30 offers a full QWERTY keypad, 2.5-inch display, and a compact design aimed to keep constant-texters and mobile media fiends happy.

Motorola has officially taken the wraps off its new Hint QA30 mobile phone, a messaging- and media-friendly device with a somewhat squat form factor, but a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard. 2.5-inch screen, and mobile media features meant to keep on-the-go users happy.

"Staying in touch with friends and family, keeping networks updated and ensuring constant access to social circles are top priorities for many consumers," said Motorola Mobile Devices’ president and general manager Mark Shockley, in a statement. "Motorola Hint is the stylish solution for those multitaskers who are used to having several conversations at once."

The Hint QA30 features a 2 megapixel camera, a 2.5-inch display, support for up to 8 GB of microSD storage, and dedicated media playback keys. Users can transfer video and music to the phone using USB 2.0 (the QA30 supports MPEG-4 video playback), and the QA30 is GPS-enabled for using location-based services. Motorola also promises the phone offers a "PC-like" Web experience…and, having used PCs, we’re still trying to figure out if that’s a compliment.

Motorola says the QA30 should be available in the fourth quarter of 2008, but hasn’t announced pricing information or any carrier partnerships yet. However, the phone is CDMA/EVDO 1700/2100/800/1900, so Verizon and Sprint would be likely nationwide partners in the United States.