Byond Q99 - Blackberry-style QWERTY smartphone [Review]

Byond Q99 - 360 degree view
The Q99 body is well built with harder than normal plastic and it still does not feel too heavy, weighing just under 90 grams. The QWERTY keypad incorporates a bevelled key structure to enhance its usability and comfort to some extent. However, the function modifier key (Fn) is faulty and fails to register the user input with 7,8 and 9 number keys while keeping the Fn-key pressed. So, one has to enter the input individually for each of these keys by pressing and releasing the Fn-key after each input. Even though the keypad build quality is quite satisfactory, this technical flaw takes a major hit on the keypad ergonomics by affecting the overall usability and comfort. The optical trackpad is quite sluggish and lacks precision while navigating the menu interface. We found it irritable at times, as it was not registering the input correctly or erred in directions while selecting the intended icons on the screen. The lack of usability and comfort with the trackpad once again takes a hit for the overall ergonomics.

We came across another tricky situation with the SIM two slot. Inserting and removing the SIM two card is a difficult task, as there is no proper latch mechanism for smooth operation. The only way to insert the SIM two card is to bend it a little at a certain angle & slide it inside. Similarly, while removing the SIM two card, we need to follow the same trick; but, slide it out instead.

The menu interface is simple and well-organised. The home screen incorporates six customisable quick launch icons, also known as the toolbar icons: phonebook, SMS, Facebook, FM radio, audio player and camera. The user has the option to enable or disable the toolbar icons on the home screen. In addition, the display properties enable the user to choose either an analog clock or the regular digital clock for the home screen.