I decided because I couldn’t figure out which to keep, that I would do a little comparison to see how each phone stacked up against the other.

Form factor
The Q is thin. Really thin. Even in the clip, it has an extremely small footprint. Overall, it is a nice looking phone. However, given the fact that it is wider then the Treo, when it’s in your hand it doesn’t actually feel smaller. Plus, and this is kind of weird, but the Treo’s rounded edges are more comfortable to hold on to then the Q’s sharp ones. Overall, the Q might be thinner then a RZR, but it’s just not as comfortable to use. The Q is easier to carry in your pocket, by far, but given the fact that the Treo has much more functionality, and actually feels more solid in your hands, I’ll give this round to the Treo.(bad for the Q since this is one of the main selling points)
Advantage-Treo

Reception
No question about it, the Q blows away any other hybrid phone available today. It’s not even close. I wish whatever radio antenna they used on this phone, was used on every phone.
Advantage-Q

Functionality
This is where the Treo runs away with this comparison. First off, you have to know that the Treo runs on Windows Mobile 5 PPC edition. The Q runs on WM5 Smartphone edition. The Smartphone edition is purposely scaled down, and is not supposed to do everything that the PPC edition does. However, one would think that it would carry over the phone enhancements from the PPC OS, since those are specifically designed for the phone! I just don’t get this. For example, when sending an SMS message, you can just start typing in the name of the contact and the phone will do a filter search, as you type. Once you get your contact, hit the right key, and you can add another on in the same manor. The Q however, doesn’t do this at all. To pick a contact, you have to launch your contacts list, then search through it, select the contact, which then puts you back at the main screen. If you wanted to send a message to multiple contacts, you would have to do this for each person. This is a huge pain if you send a lot of multiple recipient messages. Taking this out of the Smartphone edition makes no sense, since this is not a PPC function.
The one handed use on the Q isn’t bad, but it isn’t as good as the Treo either. There is a scroll wheel on the side, with a back button just like the Blackberry, but it’s pretty useless for everything except web browsing. Navigating through the different screens is painfully slow on the Q also. It’s like trying to navigate through your desktop computer, without a mouse. Sure, it can be done, but once you’ve used a mouse, why would you ever not? This is the touch screen/non touch screen comparison. The Q doesn’t have one, the Treo does. The Q isn’t a PDA, which is why it doesn’t have one, but it runs on an OS that was originally designed for PDA’s. For someone who has never used a PDA, this might not be an issue. But if you’ve ever used Windows Mobile, you will immediately notice something is missing. The ability to quickly navigate anywhere using the stylus.
The Q also launches everything slowly. There is always a second delay after pressing a button. Trust me, this gets really annoying. Okay, so you can only stuff a processor so big in the Q’s small frame, but there needs to be a balance of what is sacrificed, to what is gained. A small footprint is not worth it, if the phone doesn’t do what it should.
Advantage-Treo with 2 points since this is the most important

Battery Life
The Treo annihilates the Q in this department. The Treo has better battery life then my old Motorola V710 clam shell phone. I don’t know what kind of battery they used in this thing, but it’s fantastic.
Advantage-Treo

Screen
One of the biggest complaints about the Treo 700 is the crappy 240×240 screen. It’s no more apparent then when you have it side by side with a Q. The Q screen in 240×320, and brighter with higher contrast then the Treo could ever dream about. It’s not even a fair comparison. The Q wins, hands down.
Advantage-Q

Camera
First, this isn’t a big deal. I bought a Canon SD450 because I wanted a camera to carry around in my pocket. My phone will never be my only camera option. That said, no one carry’s their camera around with them all the time. So it’s nice to have a good second option built into your phone. The Q’s camera is simply the best digital camera on a phone that I’ve ever seen. It’s a 1.3mp camera, just like everything else out right now, but it takes better pics then anything available. Combine the picture quality, the amount of options (6x zoom) and the bright screen, and this phone is tops in this category, no matter what’s up against it.
Advantage-Q

Community
In this age of computer type phones, I believe that community can be important. The amount of data available to you, about your hardware can make all the difference in the world. Much like the iPod, the Treo has a cult-like following. There are multiple fan sites that have been operating for a long time already, and are not going anywhere. With this, you get a lot of options, input and information. For the Q, who knows.
Advantage-Treo

Looking at the scores, 5-3 in favor of the Treo, it appears that these phones are pretty close. However when you look at what the Treo was better in, there really is no comparison. The Treo wins hands down.

If you’ve never had a smart phone, or any convergence device, the Q might be a good solution for you. You might not notice it’s short comings. But if you’ve ever used some sort of hybrid device you will immediately recognize that the Q is lacking in a lot of areas. If you’ve never had a car, you would love it if someone gave you a Ford Escort. If you drove a Ferrari, you would hate that same Ford Escort.

I really wanted to love this phone. I wanted to replace my Treo with something smaller and lighter. After a few days, when I didn’t love the Q and I was searching for reasons to like it, I knew it wasn’t the right device. I tried to be subjective, and remember that the Q isn’t supposed to do everything that the Treo does. The problem is that what the Q does do, it doesn’t do well. This could have been a great device. Motorola got the form factor down pretty well, but Microsofts OS just killed any chance this thing had. They called this a Blackberry killer. The Blackberry, for the most part, does one thing, mobile email. It also does it very well. The Q tries to do too much, and ultimately fails. For Smartphones, Microsoft should have started from scratch instead of porting their PPC OS.

I’m returning my Q today, and going back to my Treo. I’ve actually missed it.