Perceived vs. Realized Usability

In this post, we use a real-world example to test the theory that perceived product capabilities and usability differ before and after product purchase. In our example, we look at the new Motorola Q smartphone from Verizon. It's a sexy new smartphone that Motorola hopes will engage business/prosumer just like the Razr product engaged mass consumers.

Here are some pics of the device fresh out of the box, before I even try to turn it on.



Sexy, right?



Sleek and thin ..



So far so good.

Trying to be as objective as I can, I'm excited about this product. It has a QWERTY, it's thin, it handles wireless web + email. My first impressions are that it is sexy. Sure, it runs Windows Mobile 5.0 and isn't going to be 100% error-free ... and it's the first rev of a Motorola device which isn't always a good idea ... but it hits my sweet spot in terms of lots of power for little money.

In my next series of postings, I'll go through a set of tasks based on my normal usage behavior and dedicate a post to each task. My theory is that my perceived usability will differ before and after use.

Stay tuned for more ... it should be interesting.