Click to View

Even before Verizon Wireless started offering the Motorola Q several months ago, many people have been waiting to find out when a version for GSM operators would be released; if not for this country - Cingular and T-Mobile each have their own Q-like competitors (the BlackJack for the former and the Dash for the latter) - then for the majority of other operators around the world.

Well, it appears Motorola plans to finally introduce a GSM version of the tablet-style Windows Smartphone with a QWERTY thumb-keyboard, at the 3GSM show in Barcelona, Spain next month. Motorola President Mobile Devices Business Ron Garriques confirmed as much during the company's recent financial webcast.

It appears there are two GSM editions of the Q in the pipeline: one topping out at 2.5G EDGE data networking (see top image) and the other with UMTS/HSPDA 3G technology. The latter version, as seen in the slide below, is also slated to come out EV-DO high-speed edition for CDMA carriers as well.

Dubbed the Q2 (or Q squared), this device may just be the Q code-named 'Norman' we heard about a couple of months ago. Motorola revealed plans to release a GSM Q a year ago, at 3GSM 2006.

So is the upcoming EDGE Q too little too late for Motorola? Will people wait until the 3G version comes out? Or are they happy enough with their BlackJacks and Dashes? We'll soon find out.