UPDATE Sept. 12th 2006

Motorola.com recently released an update for the Motorola Q, it will completely wipe your memory (not storage card) and update a lot of little quirks I've noticed such as Ring Tone Preview (Boy, was that annoying!), the addition of Wireless Manager, better Exchange Support, etc. Actually I am still in the midst of uncovering all of these updates seeing as I was unable to locate any documents on the Motorola site stating new features and bug fixes.

One definate feature it did take away was the ability to do the ##342587 hack I so eloquently describe in my original entry.

To my surprise the Bluetooth profile for DUN (Dial-Up Networking) was now enabled! Woot Woot! I won't have to carry a USB cable around with my laptop!

Wrong! 

I made numerous attempts to connect to Verizon through my Windows XP laptop using my bag o' tricks, but, no go. I broke down and decided to contact Verizon. Argh, why must it be such a pain to get decent customer service from a company you pay damn good money to each and every month? Anyways, I'm told by a Technical Support supervisor that there is an additional $15 monthly fee to use my Motorola Q as a modem either USB tethered or using Bluetooth. She stated that they charge a different fee depending on the device. I'm sorry, my contract states "Unlimited Data Usage" which I pay $47.99 per month; why should I pay even more to use that Unlimited Data through my laptop? Why?

I've yet to re-install PDANET, although I'm fairly certain it'll work.

I'll update.

Original Post Aug. 23rd 2006

Having recently acquired a new toy, my handy dandy Motorola Q, I was hell bent on squeezing every ounce of functionality from this technological little wonder. This puppy is chock full of neat features, least of which is the BT Remote control feature, which allows me to remote control my PC through my Q! One of the features I expected, which was communicated to me by the Verizon salesman, was the ability to use my Q as a modem to connect to Verizon Wireless Internet service, functionality I plan to abuse since needing to add a $50 a month unlimited data fee (A data plan is necessary when using a PDA\Smart Phone with Verizon, unless you want to pay some outrageous per KB charges).

When I finally got around to setting up DUN(Dial-up Networking, or Dial-up NOT working as some would say) on my laptop, I realized that Bluetooth connection would not be an option, as Verizon disables the Bluetooth DUN Profile (I am still unclear why Verizon, amongst other national cellular services insist on disabling or crippling functionality of these ultra cool devices they so vehemently promote), so I attempted to connect using the USB cable. To my surprise, I did not have a Motorola USB Modem in my Device Manager. I previously owned a Motorola RAZR, so I am familiar with connecting a Motorola device to use as a modem (In order to use the RAZR as a modem, you must make some modifications which require more detail that mentioned, this site offers complete tutorials). I wondered if might be doing something wrong, well, I decided I would just call Verizon and get the step-by-step on how to set this up. After the litany of menus and transfers, I was speaking with an Internet specialist. He informed me that currently Verizon has released the Q minus the ability to tether the device via USB for Internet access.

What ?? Great, there goes my unlimited data access. I mean the Q is fine for looking up an address or a phone number real quick, but it certainly lacks the screen real estate to do any worthwhile browsing. What's a geek to do?

So I began my search, and after hours of hit and misses, I figured out how to get my Q connected and working as an amazingly quick broadband modem, around 950kbps downstream and around 90kbps upstream.

Here are the steps for the Q:

1. Dial ##342587 and press TALK (Green Circle)
2. Select 'Enable' Click 'OK' and then click 'EXIT'
3. Press 'START', select Accessories, and select the new item, 'Modem Link'
4. Select USB (Only Option) and click 'Activate'

On your PC:

1. Plug in the Q using the USB cable
2. When 'New Device Found' wizard comes up, use this inf as the driver.
3. Complete driver installation
4. Add a new Dial Up Connection, select the Motorola Q USB as the modem
5. For phone number use '#777', for username enter 'XXXXXXXXXX@vzw3g.com' (Replace the X's with your 10 digit phone number), for password enter 'vzw'

You now have a working dial-up connection!

A couple of things to note:

1. Sometimes you may receive 'Hardware error' from Windows when attempting to connect, a quick fix for this: On your Q, press and hold your 'Home' button until the menu appears, Select flight mode, wait 1 minute, then bring up the menu and turn Flight Mode off. The connection will work now

2. ActiveSync will not work when 'Modem Link' is set to active, it must be deactivated in order to sync. I recommend that you leave 'Modem Link' disabled whenever you are not using the Q as a modem. I locked up my phone a couple of time when using Bluetooth or other features. If this happens, just remove the battery and reinsert, then re-power.

Note: Anytime the phone is power cycled you will have to repeat steps 1 and 2 above on the Q to re-enable dial up networking.

So, until Verizon decides to stand behind their feature rich mobile devices, this will at least keep you connected when you most need it. 

Motorola Q Specifications:

• Modes: CDMA 850 / CDMA 1900
• Weight: 4.06 oz (115g)
• Form Factor: 4.57" x 2.52" x 0.47"   (116 x 64 x 12 mm)
• Battery Life: Talk: 4.00 hours   (240 minutes) Standby: 192 hours   (8 days)
• Display: Type: LCD (Color TFT/TFD) Colors: 65,536 (16-bit) Size: 320 x 240 pixels
• Platform / OS: Windows Mobile for Smartphones version 5
• Phone Book Capacity: Shared memory
• FCC ID: IHDT56FQ1

UPDATE (8/28/2006):

For those of us who would rather not have to go through all of this when needing you SmartPhone / PDA to act as a modem, I found this great little program that will do it for you - PDANet cost $35(one-time) and definately takes care of the hard work for you. I've tried the trial and will update once I have purchased as well.