Motorola Karma QA1

  • Released 2009, August
    141g, 17.9mm thickness
    Feature phone
    100MB storage, microSD slot
  • N/A 307,690 hits
  • 12 Become a fan
  • 2.5"
    320x240 pixels
  • 2MP
  •  
  • 1170mAh
    Li-Ion

Motorola Karma QA1 - Specs

Network Technology GSM / HSPA
2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G bands HSDPA 850 / 1900
Speed HSPA
Launch Announced 2009, June. Released 2009, August
Status Discontinued
Body Dimensions 88 x 64 x 17.9 mm (3.46 x 2.52 x 0.70 in)
Weight 141 g (4.97 oz)
Keyboard QWERTY
SIM Mini-SIM
Display Type TFT, 256K colors
Size 2.5 inches, 19.4 cm2 (~34.4% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution 320 x 240 pixels, 4:3 ratio (~160 ppi density)
 Screensavers and wallpapers
Memory Card slot microSD, up to 16 GB (dedicated slot)
Phonebook Yes
Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls
Internal 100MB
Main Camera Single 2 MP
Features LED flash
Video @15fps
Selfie camera   No
Sound Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes
Comms WLAN No
Bluetooth 2.0, A2DP
GPS Yes, with A-GPS
Radio No
USB microUSB 2.0
Features Sensors
Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML
Games Yes
Java Yes, MIDP 2.0
 MP3/eAAC+/RealAudio/XMF player
MP4/H.263 player
Organizer
Voice memo/dial
Predictive text input
Battery   Removable Li-Ion 1170 mAh battery
Stand-by Up to 347 h (2G) / Up to 312 h (3G)
Talk time Up to 5 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 3 h 40 min (3G)
Misc Colors Black
SAR 0.55 W/kg (head)     1.25 W/kg (body)    
SAR EU 0.34 W/kg (head)    
Price About 110 EUR

Motorola Karma QA1 - User Reviews

  • I absolutely LOVED this phone. My mom had it for a couple years before passing it onto me and I had it for a good 5 years after that before the screen stopped working because the little piece that connected the screen to the keyboard snapped. I've been looking for a replacement ever since but nothing seems to live up to my Karma. Have any other Karma QA1 lovers found a phone that comes close?

  • Small but it's good to collect. Motorola's design is astonishing but today it is dominant by big touchscreen display.

  • Does anyone know where the reset button is on the Motorola karma

  • Does anyone know where I can buy this phone again? :( I had this a while back ago and I lovveeeddd it to much but it broke after having it for years. I can't find a replacement.

  • Do you still need help with your phone? I fixed mine by pressing the reset button to the left of the SD card above the battery and holding it for 10 seconds.

  • Do you still need help with your phone?

  • how many contact nos & SMs can this fone store?

  • My karma just died all of a sudden and it would never work again ? Help I loved this phone!

  • i have my songs on my memory card which makes it e z 2 set as a ringtone

  • Hi Zehan. You can select it from the song list. Go to the song you want, click on "Options", and then "Configure As" (I have menus in Spanish, so this may vary a bit). There yo'll see "Ringtone" to assign. Hope this helps.

  • How do i make my ringtone's from the selected song's ?. I can't apply the song's as a ringtone's. It is like, i have to choose ringtone from what they gave in built in/

  • Yes, this phone is still valuable and I don't really need a "smart" one. I even got a Java application to read QR codes. It works great! My wife has a BlackBerry, and my QA1 reads the QR code even faster than her BB! What phone did you get?

  • You are spot on about this phone. IMHO it is still one of the best feature phones ever made. The only reason I sold my Karma was that I couldn't see the keys very well anymore and I hated having to part with it.

  • I got this phone in 2009. Loved it until it stopped working in 9 months. Took it to ATT and got another one under warranty and 5 months later, the same thing happened. The screen died. It would ring but I couldn't see what was on the screen. ATT wouldn't return it bc the warranty was up and told me I had to buy another phone at full price.

  • I have same opinion of you, after almost 1 1/2 year of use. Is a really good phone, no major problems. I use a lot the calendar, and of course the contacts list, I keep there all the info. I also use the MOTO Backup utility, very useful. I'm ok with the keys, but with glasses... if not is really hard (I'm 48). MP3 player has nice music quality, and what is best, phne conversations are very good sound quality. The Crystal Talk technology is really good. The camara is fine for a phone, I took acceptable pictures with it. WAP works fine, and to have 3G is a great advantage for that, when available. I'm really happy with this phone, is a "almost SMART" one... with almost all features of those.

  • I've been using the Karma for almost 2 years. It is really robust. Never had a glitch or crash. It takes a beating on work sites and still no problems. Predictive text is accurate. Menus have a logical layout and easy to use. My 58 year old eyes have a problem seeing the small keys though. My next phone will have a bigger keyboard and a touch screen.

  • I have had my phone since September, and it just started having problems charging in the last few days. I took it to AT&T Device Center, and they gave me a new phone and new battery, no hassel, no charge, very easy.

  • Well, after almost five months using this phone, I continue to say that is very good. The screen clarity is great, the full keyboard is so usefull (I'll never will come back to number keyboard), the typing predictive feature of Motorola is really useful (I used Sony's T9 and was useless, was easier to type all the word). MP3 player sounds really good, Bluetooth connectivity was just fine with PC's and other phones... In summary, is a very good 3G phone, at a good price, big clear screen, and full qwerty keyboard.

  • Seems like you need to take the phone back to Moto for service.

  • i love my karma but there are alot of problems with it not charging. i dunno what to do i havent dropped it much, i have a protective cover. i have had it since december and it has had problems charging for like 2 month now

  • Thanks MOTO!! I figured it out yesterday myself, I was about to tell now that. Looks like I selected View Messages at a moment, and since you have to me on a message in inbox to see this option, I couldn't find it... Thanks again! I continue to say that is a very good phone, with an original shape and great full QWERTY keyboard. I like it very much, and I still has to use several features deeply... for now, it's very good. Regards!

  • There are two possible views - in the message inbox, click on "Options." There is a choice which says either "View Messages" or "View Conversations." Clicking on that option changes the type of view.

  • Hi all. I have this phone for three weeks now, and I think is a good phone, different format and good features, at an attractive price. What I like the most is it's keyboard, very comfortable full QWERTY. Now, I have an issue. During the first days I received SMS text msgs as IM, nested like, like chat. Suddenly, that changed to normal format, that is full screen SMS txt messages... don't know why... Any idea of what setting to touch? I looked for and can't find it... Moto Support of course didn't help me... any idea??? Thks and regards!

  • Just wanted say great product! Not complicated to use or figure out. Fast in all apps. The size is perfect for your pocket and the backing seems more durable for those accidental drops. Love it!

  • I have had this phone for a month now and would like to assign individual ringtones and still have yet to figure out how! Can anyone help?

  • Version doing GSM??? That is indeed strange! LOL!! Do you have a link to this so I may get up to speed? I think this will be interesting. :-)

  • Mind to tell me where did you see QA1 is selling for more than A3100? Current price of A3100 in HK - US$370 Current price of QA1 in US - US$240 Both prices are for unlocked phones with no contract.

  • anyway nice phone

  • why qa1 is more expencive than a3100 ? for qwerty keybord ?!

  • I will have to disagree with you about the Sony phones. The ones I had have been great phones, and some have taked some bad falls and still work great. Now that beening said, my first phone was a Moto V557 from Cingular. My wife used it after me. I left Cigular and went to Suncom, then returned to Cingular which is now AT&T. I still had that phone after all those years, and it still worked like a charm.But upgrade as we all do, she tried Pantech, and Samsung. When I got the QA1 on my upgrade, lost it the same day to my wife. She loves the phone, and I was impressed with it. I just wish it had a better camera or flash on it. I tend to take alot of pics of my family. Outdoors it does great, but indoors at night not that good, but better then the Nokia E71x that I sent back, and my Sony W760 which has no flash. But other than that, it is a great phone.

  • Guess you've never been to US, as similar design has been made by Samsung & LG, maybe that's what the customers want. Sales of phones in California in a month may outsold many other places for a year.

  • Did moto hire pontiac aztek designer to design this phone? No wonder moto is sinking day by day...

  • i had this phone in sooo many positions, in fact i wrote a book on it, its called karma sutra :D, the wholes are a bit too small though, but i like a challenge, gave it a good old charge!! man style.

  • Got a copy last week when I was in US...US$28 with 2-years contract (US$39 plus tax!), or could pay full price of US$240. Not a phone for the tecky people. Just a simple phone with qwerty keypad. I needed "no time" to learn how to use this phone, vs. the Windows Mobile based A3100 which I still have no idea how to use. Actually I looked for books like "Windows Mobile for dummies" while in US, unfortunately couldn't find any. Likely will sell my A3100 soon...before it's worth nothing.

  • This will be my next phone, after many phones.. Motorola are the stronguest cells phones, nokia and sony were very delicate...and dead-broken... i love motorola , after many years using phones, its the only brand that i could give in good conditions 4 another person when i change the cell after years...

  • Yes, ur right. in India people are crazy about nokia phones. The second most liked brand is SE phones. No one wants to buy motorola mobiles, and they don't know much about motophones. Here the people are more concerned about the battery life, so they prefer Nokias over Moto or SE or samsung. But there are some people who really like Moto phones. W230 and some low-end mobiles had good sales in here. I had w230 and i really liked it. The sound quailty of moto phones are better than the other brands. My next mobile will also be from MOTO. Here most of the shop doesn't have moto phones. When i asked the mobile stores they said Motorola has stopped manufacturing mobiles here and they don't sell moto phones. When i called motorola service center, they said they have stopped the production of existing moto mobiles and come back with new models from november onwards.....

  • i want this phone

  • Dear Friend, GPS is Global Positioning System. A-GPS Assisted Global Positioning System . GPS use the satelite signal to fix your position . Any 3 of the 24 satelite in the GPS satelite constellation system is required to give you a good fix (position) while the more the satlite in view is even better. So for the GPS to function properly you should be able to "see" the satelite. Meaning you should be in the outdoor. While A-GPS actually does not require satelite . Service provider will provide you with a fix using its own transmitting tower . Your position is calculated in relation to these transmitting tower . The service provider will beam to you your position it doesn't matter whether you are inside or outside you house .(And it is not free) While GPS, anybody with a GPS set can access the satelite signal to make a position fix. Accuracy ? .During the cold-war accuracy of the GPS is +/- 100 Meters due to the SA (Selective Availability) meaning American Military (Who owns the satelite) do not want you to use GPS signal to guide your weapon to destination . Only it is Selectively Available to the American Military. Since, the cold-war has ended the SA was removed and the GPS accuracy is now at +/- 3 meters . The A-GPS was not available then yet . An alternative to GPS is GLOSSNASS provide by the Russian satelite constellation, the status now is unknown, but the theoritical accuracy was then +/- 0 meters. Thanks friends. Have a nice day.

  • Just curious what Moto phones you used before with poor battery performance? Have you tried Moto E770/Q9/A3100 with the BT60 battery? I own all 3 phones and the BT60 battery works pretty well, especially for PDA phones like A3100.

  • i really love my motorola phone. but what i hate the most about it is the life of the battery. :(

  • im thinking of getting this moobile...the specs r very good... but can anyone tell me if this mobile sports video calling as it is a s 3g but im not sure can anyone help please....and what abt the price too....thanks....

  • its motorola so we like it

  • loving the specs, perfect balance and a pretty fair price=D

  • This phone is pretty awesome. It delivers great performance at both functionality and responsiveness as well. The Mp3 player, albeit basic, has a very high volume (in my country ships with a wired handsfree that is cheap, but has great bass) Totally surprised with the strange set of features included. GPS, HSDPA, Full HTML browser with Flash support... the microSD can't be browsed freely. It has a Media Finder approach to it (only java and media can be actually browsed). Great Battery life. Heavy weight, sturdy body.

  • looks really great phone! I love the design and the features. I hope the performance is as great. I had a Motorola V3 before, now I'm using an SLVR L7. It's been 2yrs and it's still working as new! If I need another mobile phone in the near future, it surely will be the Karma QA1!! Hats off to the Motorola Team!

  • very nice phone

  • Main difference is: GPS is FREE, as it gets signal from 3 satellites which mostly works well in outdoor environment. AGPS is chargable thru network service provider where positioning is pin-pointed thru cell sites, hence providing more accurate and faster positioning than GPS, and may work in some indoor environment. Since it depends on the network service provider's signal, the positioning would require GPRS data transmission, which is chargable in most cases.

  • hello fellows!!!i have a question to do, im not sure about what�s the diference betwen a-gps and gps, please reply soonest posible

  • it's truly a karma

  • nice design,,, one step forward for Motorola

  • Does someone that really has the phone, tell me if the camera is any good or not? I know it is only a 2mp, but I did take a ton of pics with my Sony W810, Thanks.

  • no one shoul buy motorol products,.....very very poor services....

  • Lol, thats what i thought, it's just really randomly shaped :)

  • Looks kinda weird. xD

  • this is a very funny phone in my opinion :))

  • On the contrary, Moto's service in HK is one of the best. When being compared with the almighty brand and the I?Music brand, where typically one has to wait near an hour just to "drop off" the phone for service, in most cases the customer is always "next" in Moto (bcoz not that many people buy its phone, plus overall quality is better than others with relatively less problems). Phones then can be "repaired" (practically replaced, as often so with the motherboard) within an hour, if not 50mins or even 40mins in one of my recent experience. If the almighty brand sells (at least) 4 times more phones than Moto in HK, shouldn't it have at least 4 service centers so it can keep up with the service level like Moto?

  • dnt bye motorola in d dubai thats 100percent true

  • i love moto,n i hate d battery,service and promotors in d dubai,very bad services,no manus,no disiplin at all,

  • here in the Philippines, Motorola is "officially dead". The biggest Motorola store here already closed a few months back. It's a pity to see them leave as they could have sold good phones. I own zn5 and i see quite a good number of rokr e8,v8 and v9. that's just about it. all the remaining supplies were sold cheap to some stores that is why i got hold of zn5 around US$100. i can buy a brand new e8 here for less than $50. haha!

  • hi motorola is going to failed in india. i donot know why they hate Fm radio . I think 80 % of there handset has got no radio . About 3g it still not avaiable in india so it does not matter if it 3g phone or not ... But at least they should have Fm Radio ... Like Nokia And Sony Ericssion

  • this seems as good set.but the big problem with it is the call records can still be increased

  • In HK, where I live, after E6, quite a good number of people bought Zn5 or even A3100. But that's about all...mostly from the existing fans. No "new" customers at all...other than low end phones like W396. I'm not even sure if Moto is targeting the US market either, as most of the models you see here in GSM Arena actually are "not" available in US. Do agree Karma (keep thinking Kama...a new "young" model in HK) with its specs is targeted for US customers. Indeed Moto has some interesting CDMA phones available in US, but just wonder why Moto doesn't simply put a GSM chip and make a GSM version.

  • i dont think so they dont sell much motorolas in india only the motorokr e6 have been a bit popular in india and maybe the L6 and related series motorolas too / the best selling market of motorolas are in usa in my guess - since its a american company they give the first chance to there own products made in usa - and by the way i guess this karma thing is not that great . once in a while motorolas were going up around the world due to its razr models but not now .

  • From what I know, Moto still sells lots of phones in China, but other markets like Taiwan, HK, Singapore...the brand seems to be dead. The good news is whenever I visit the CS center for enquiry, I'm always "next" instead of "next 100" for the almighty brand...

  • Maybe... but it's still butt-ugly!!!

  • what is happenning to Motorola Asia? There is no any products on sales?

  • This is superior than the Surge RIP.. 3.15mm jack for earphones and it can support up to 16GB micro sd card...

  • There should be a contest: Moto Karma QA1 vs. Nokia Surge. I'd be nice to see which manufacturer takes home the prize for designing the ugliest, most disgusting and revolting phone ever!!!!!!

  • To all guys in motorola, i would like to congratulate you for this superb phone. Just don't make this kind of crap again in the future, will ya...

  • you who like this phone and decide to buy it, keep it quiet though. coz it's shameful!

  • If that is a problem then go buy a phone with WLAN on it, and get over it. You have just show that you are another person that is trying to get out of paying for internet service for a cell phone.

  • Social Networking without WLAN, WTF????

  • i think it is an incredible phone love the design will defininately duy this phone

  • Motorola always keep bringing new concept phones....yes looks like palm pre but that was not available for such a low price. This phone is just for GenY who use social NW a lot.

  • Only the qwerty board counts!!!!

  • quite cute, seems useful. Small screen, no operating system though.

  • You know I would love to have that Sony Ericsson, but due to the economy, I cant afford it. So I am stuck with what AT&T offers, and when it comes to camera phones, everybody out there has them beat. I dont know if they are afriad of camera phones or what? They was to get the C905a 'Toby', last month but pushed it back, and may do the same as they did with the K850. But we will see. :-P

  • Guys be smart, and buy the Sony Ericsson Satio, the only one 12Mp smartphone, this phone I recomand you!!!

  • May look like a kids toy, but you have not tried it to know if it is 'crap' or not.

  • No, a LG Lotus there brain-storm.......and I bet you have 'been there and done that'. LOL!!!!

  • it looks like a kids toy lol and its crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • i think is a really good looking phone, thanks god there is people that try to make something different!! you all should see the phones from an other countries, like korean!! more variety!! not only the same thing over an other again... this phones is perfect for the people who live fashion and chatting a lot :) good motorola

  • You mean, a Lotus car?? Like an Elise??? Been there, done that!!! LOL!!!

  • You are kidding me ? Huh are you ? Ugliest phone ever.

  • nice phone

  • ..............and all this crap from people who have never seen a Lotus. You people need to get out more. LOL!!!!

  • Dude, let me know the day phones turn into Megan Fox, plz... I'll be the first in line!! lol!!!

  • This has got to be the dumbest, most ridiculous design in the history of ugly phones... Lol!!! Is this Moto's response to the Pre?? lol!!! Karma?? It shoulda been named the "Crappa"...

  • I like thos form factor, but I hate the whole design ! It looks like a playschool toy ! Ulra round edges not hurt you ! Low quality plastic made in china ! Horrible D-Pad etc...

  • ......and if you have not noticed Motorola is not the first one to come up with this form factor. So why dont I hear anybody complaining about the other companys that made a phone like this?

  • good phone i like vertical qwerty keybord

  • Yeah I agree, it looks like the teenage ninja turtle communication cell lol This phone comes directly from the 80's !!!

  • great whit qwerty keybord ,3g , gps , Facebook, Myspace

  • hahaha, even better, phones that transform into Megan Fox, now that would be something ay??

  • ......and if you have not noticed Motorola is not the first one to come up with this form factor. So why dont I hear anybody complaining about the other companys that made a phone like this?

  • No Wi-Fi needed, no 1000 MP camera needed, no facebook friendly needed, no MP3 Player needed, These days are Transformers days, just make phones that transform into robots. Period.

  • Seeing the shape of it, reminding me of those communicators in Ninja Turtles Animated... you know, those egg-shaped stuffs...

  • Let me tell you what cell-phone names should be: 1. Motorola Thunder, 2. Motorola G-Spot, 3. Motorola Immortal, Karma...? It's like you wanna combine hi-tech with psychic things.

  • My god!!!! What cute cell phone!!

  • oh guys i very love this phone great

  • This is the ugliest phone I have ever seen ! Can't stop laughing !

  • and still....motorola sticks on 2mp..... come on!!!....great design..like da qwerty keyboard...cool and stylish...its just my opinion

  • This phone's design literally killed it's marketable potential. The feature's are just nice, its common for business phone. But the physical designed is just horrible.It looks like a tamagochi toy. Most of the customer's are not only looking for functionality. Most of the customers are also after the design. Its nothing different from food or clothing. People buy these things because it has pleased their eyes first. Motorola Im your fan. But no offense this time this phone design has really blown it. Badly.

  • Which dumdass designed this phone??????? UGLLIET phone i saw in my whole life>>>>>

  • This is a joke from Motorola. When i saw the pic of this phone, I literally laughed my socks off! LOL

  • motorola qa30 :

  • is MOTOROLA serious!!! i been told that they will hold back the releases in the beginning of 2009 and they will change everything about the business and come up with something new... is this device supposed the new beginning??????... i don't think so

  • I agree that there is a market for this phone. But you misunderstood me when I said cheap. A person uses Wi-Fi for there job, or to not pay for internet service form there moblie phone company, so therefore getting internet with out paying for it.

  • My point was that this phone does not need wifi or any of the other excessive bells and whistles some phones come out with nowadays. There is a market for this phone. But it would be nice if they made a Karma QA2 with wifi and an os. You can find uses for wifi without needing it to be a smartphone or being cheap.

  • You want Wi-Fi, get a smart phone, because you want Wi-Fi, on a phone like this, when you cant afford the internet service, or trying to be cheap.

  • This is a nice phone. In the land of excessive specs I think this phone will find a place in your pocket if you want a qwerty phone. If they have another version to this phone with upgraded features (wifi and os) then it would be a good one two punch.

  • nice look and design to palmtop

  • This phone doesn't have a wap2.0/xhtml browser! It has a full wap2.0/xhtml,html browser.

  • let's help motorola to improve its quality really good to become the real number one as in the near past. this step maybe is little but very important for the competition.

  • what a laugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! are we in the 90,s still!

  • good good good

  • The pre has only a 3.15, so it is not much better!

  • qa1 has : face book and my space gwmarena dont write it

  • motorola go back to drink milk

  • looks like a mini version of palm pre but with poor camera

  • dear friend its realy good phone whit great features for masege typing and face book and my space ... .

  • very good design and features but im only worry about moto phone camera (2mp) is poor for this phone i hope moto very soon release some high mp camera thancks moto

  • great phone very good whit full qwerty slider

  • Great phone, great capabilities. Sure it will sell a lot of copies. I hope it comes to Europe too, as the most of Motorola's phones in AT&T. the shape may look weird but i saw it on video and it is nice!!! And very comfortable too. Who cares about the camera? This phone is not for pictures but for communication. Of course it is better than any Q series except from Q11(Napoleon)

  • nice

  • this phone is UU ! ;) UU = Ultra Ugly Motorola, you were one of the best factory in the world, what happen?

  • the name "Karma" should be sexy, slim, mature woman. Not this fat, large, uninspiring dumb!

  • what a weird stubby little slider... not very ergonomic

  • that would be 'bad karma' not karma...

  • it's bussines or multimedia phone?

  • what's up with the name? Karma? Lack of inspiration, perhaps? It's like that if we buy this phone, something bad will happen to us in return

  • Without wifi, radio, video call camera, as a current Q9 user, I don't see any reason to take this Kama....unless it comes with the other Kama...a famous cute looking model where I live! (or have the model Kama as the spokesperson) Does anyone know if this device runs on Windows Mobile? Looks like the phone could be for US only. (as being modified from a CDMA version?)

  • motorola is working very hard to make 2-3 great phones, based on android OS so this are only low end phones, and very cheap...

  • What's wrong with Motorola and their 2 mpx cameras?

  • Poor old Moto. Everone keeps willing & praying for them to bring out a phone thats at least ahead of the competition (like they used to be 10 years ago) & they still keep bringing out crappy underspec. phones like this. Who in their right mind would spend their hard earned money on this when they could get a Palm Pre or Nokia E72? Moto is a dieing company, out of ideas, run by idiots. If they don't change soon, they will be gone in 3 years or less. Wake up & get real Moto, the world doesn't go by a brand name alone anymore, u need to bring out products that look good with features people really want...

  • Motorola go back to sleep.

  • lol..wt shud i really comment on dis handset...cant stop lafin after starin it fr a while..is dis really a new handest comparedto wt d market has to offer..lolzzz wake up,,anywez it doesnt matrrs..motorola is history nw...being d first in hardware innovation..looks like they r too happy wid past n forgotten to make a diff in present.. anywez there surely mite be few admirers of dis handset as well..

  • it should be official now, moto = ugly

  • Motorola is really going towards it's grave ..... ..... What I mean is that every time Motorola has a new phone out - they are not trying to sell it but ..... they are saying that they are one more step closer to hitting the wall! (the wall of administration!)

  • What's the use of this phone? Motorola, i'm wodering, how in the world you are still on the market? Who runs the company? Realy, stop, turn around and take a look at what you have done? Are you proud of yourself? My advice: take a break for 2 or 3 months and develop a competitive phone. Otherwise you are doomed.

  • another downgraded fone from motorola.. But given a consideration, a bigger screen compared to other phones.