Tech Phone

The QWERTY-equipped Motorola Hint is now officially part of Bell’s mobile phone line-up.

The Motorola Hint first debuted late last year, and while we’ve come to expect Windows Mobile being part of Motorola’s QWERTY-equipped mobile phones, the QA30 is an exception with its proprietary operating system. It features a 2-megapixel camera, 1x EVDO connectivity, Bluetooth, access to Facebook, 3.5mm headphone jack, and microSD card expansion slot with support of up to 32GB in capacity. It’ll become available starting tomorrow and costs $79.95 on a 3-yr contract and $329.95 contract-free.

In conjunction with the launch, Motorola Canada has come out with a study on how Canadians use technology to pass along hints to other people. It might do little to convince you into buying the Moto Hint, but nonetheless, it’s an interesting piece to read.

Take a Hint: Canadians use technology to get closer to that special someone

Motorola Hint(TM) QA30 to help Canadians manage their relationships on-the-go

TORONTO, April 8 /CNW/ - To support the launch of the Motorola Hint QA30, the ultra-sleek black and red handset that allows users to enjoy conversations on a full QWERTY slider keypad, Motorola Canada partnered with Angus Reid Strategies to find out how Canadians are using technology to pass along ‘hints’ when it comes to making or breaking relationships. Sweaty palms and awkward first calls are now apparently a thing of the past.

According to the survey, relationships often blossom thanks to technology. Two in five (42%) of Canadians aged 18-34 would send a flirtatious text to hint they have a crush. Youth are also significantly more inclined to flirt with their crush using Facebook wall posts or gifts (35%) and instant messaging (32%). On the other hand, just over one in ten Canadians aged 55+ would use Facebook (15%) and instant messaging (12%).

“The Hint is built for life on the go and managing relationships,” said Carly Biggart, Director of Marketing, Motorola Canada. “We wanted to look at the role technology plays in Canadians’ lives and how we’re using it to give someone a ‘hint’ that might be hard to give face-to-face. Results show Canadians are doing everything from flirting to breaking up, all using technology.”

Surprisingly, a full 10 per cent of Canadians would give someone the hint that their relationship is over by changing their Facebook status. When it comes to breaking up the old fashioned way, 35 per cent of Canadians would choose to break up with someone over the phone or in person and only 10 per cent would opt not to use technology to get this message across.

Whether you’re flirting, breaking up, making up, or just calling to say hello, Motorola and Bell Mobility understand you need to stay connected.
That’s why they’re announcing today the new Motorola Hint(TM) QA30. The fashionable device, with the integrated Bell user interface, lets clients access popular features directly from the home screen with just one click(1).

From the main interface clients can browse the Internet between social engagements or entertain themselves during a down moment by quickly accessing over 25 icons (referred to as bubbles) including headline sports, news, weather, horoscopes, email and more, providing quick access to content and services from their home screen(1). The Bell user interface also offers easy personalization (with over 60 ways to personalize) and fast access to live information feeds(1).

Canadians turn to technology to hint what they can’t say face-to-face

Canadians of all ages are opting to use technology to get their point across. Interestingly, more Canadians aged 18-34 (15%) would opt not to use technology to give someone the hint their relationship is over, than those aged 35-54 (9%) and 55+ (8%).

“The survey shows that some Canadians are so accustomed to using technology for every-day interactions with people that they would use texting, Facebook and e-mail to hint to someone that they either want to start or end a relationship,” said Mandy D’Autremont, Research Associate at Angus Reid Strategies.

Other highlights from the study:
——————————–
- French-speaking Canadians are most likely to show they have a crush
by sending a flirtatious text message, 16 per cent compared to only 9
per cent of English-speaking Canadians.
- French-speaking Canadians are significantly more likely to use email
to give someone a hint they have a crush on them - 70 per cent
compared to 50 per cent of English-speaking Canadians.
- English-speaking Canadians are more likely to use Facebook and
texting to give someone a hint they have a crush (28 per cent,
compared to 14 per cent of French-speaking Canadians).
- Females are more likely to send flirtatious text messages (12 per
cent compared to 8 per cent of males)
- Canadians aged 18-34 are most likely to use text messaging as a
hinting medium - 17 per cent would use texting to hint they have a
crush and 3 per cent to hint that someone has food in their teeth or
their fly is down.

Hint(TM) QA30 Key Features

With message manager on Motorola Hint users can keep track of conversations with an intuitive dashboard interface. A full HTML browser and high-speed connectivity ensures instant access with one touch access - at the idle screen - to messaging, and email(1).

Moving beyond the basic flip phone, Motorola Hint’s unique sleek design is an optimal size for those who desire power and style. The innovative vertical slider design, unique home screen, and full QWERTY slider keypad make texting and online access easy for anyone. The Motorola Hint features a full-colour 2.5″ widescreen display and provides an excellent messaging experience combined with optimized predictive text capabilities, making it easy to read, create and send text messages and e-mail on-the-go(1).

Never miss a beat with an integrated MP3 player on Motorola Hint. It supports Bell’s Full Track Download service that lets users access the largest mobile music catalog in Canada featuring two million songs, 1 up to 8GB optional microSD card storage and has a 3.5mm headset jack for a powerful music experience. Consumers can even navigate through Motorola Hint and listen to their favorite beats with the slider open or closed. Hint’s media player even allows access to Live TV, TV clips, commercial-free radio and Facebook(1).

Hint also features a 2.0 megapixel fixed-focus, digital zoom camera to capture shots wherever you are. Add fun clip art to photos to personalize your favourite shots of you and your crush or use GPS Nav to find out where you’re meeting up. Hint has it all in one small, stylish package(1).

Pricing & Availability

For more information about the Motorola Hint(TM) QA30, please visit www.motorola.ca/hint

About the Study

These are the findings of two Angus Reid Strategies polls conducted on behalf of Motorola Canada. The first poll was conducted from March 6 to March 7. For the poll, an online survey among 1,000 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error - which measures sampling variability - is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a representative sample. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

The second poll was conducted from March 13 to 14. For the poll, an online survey was conducted among 1,004 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error - which measures sampling variability - is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a representative sample. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.