Smartphones with keyboards

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numi

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Hey guys,
I’m on a bit of a Gadget craze this morning. I have a bunch of old stuff that I’m looking to upgrade. Presently I’m using the Blackberry Bold 9700 on AT&T but I’m thinking of switching to Android. A keyboard is a must-have and if there’s a good enough phone, I was thinking of buying it without a phone plan. There’s nothing keeping me on AT&T either.
Some that I was considering were:
HTC Vision
HTC Desire
Sony Xperia Pro
Motorola Droid 2 (heard there might be a Droid 3 out soon)?
New Blackberry Bold to be released in August…
Anyone have recommendations?
 
I use the droid 2. Love it. Droid 3 should be out any day. I think it would be worth waiting.
 
depends how techy are u ? will u be looking to flash roms etc ?
if so stay away from moto since they have locked bootloaders
if you are merely interested in using the phone as is and must have a keyboard then yes the droid 3 is certainly worth the wait although i would prefer samsung/htc before buying a moto
welcome to the android world numi and good luck
2 good android enthusiast websites to peruse
androidandme.com
phandroid.com
 
I use Moto Charm,
+ Great key board,
+ a blackberry-killer form factor
+ Android
+ Touch screen with Gorilla glass
+ no issues to date
- Battery lasts a day max. (Althgh, They have 1400mah option in US / Can)
- Android 2.1 with no update option.
I have a Bb Bold (work use) and preferred the Charm for all personal use compared to any of the slider options in market.
 
Xperia is really good i reckon. Problem is screen is very small. But if that doesnt bother you its great because it is easy to carry in your pocket unlike a massive iphone
 
> Blackberry Bold
If you’re going RIM (tho I’m not sure why you would), the Torch is better.
 
The Torch is chunkier and oftentimes even buggier than the Bold. I might also argue that the Torch was negative value-add for RIM as a company, since it drove a lot of migration of former Blackberry users to the iPhone and other touchscreen devices.
 
As a former Blackberry user, I would suggest giving the Swype or SwiftKey alternative touchscreen keyboards for Android a try before determining that a physical keyboard is mandatory… both Swype and SwiftKey allow me to type faster than I ever did with a Blackberry, and my thumbs don’t hurt from use either.
Also, with Swype you can write entire message with relative speed while holding the phone with one hand. The only downside is that Swype customer service is deplorable and entirely dismissive of end users, they only want to deal with OEMs.
 
New Bold.
If your phone is a tool for communication, you can’t beat a BB. If your phone is a toy for media, apps, etc., anything else.
 
Hey guys,
After looking through some of the sources you all recommended, I think I will buy the HTC Desire Z (I think this is called the G2/Vision overseas).
http://www.amazon.com/HTC-Unlocked-Keyboard-International-Warranty/dp/B0...
Have any of you guys used this phone? Pro’s / con’s? Also, can anyone recommend a good place online to buy the phone unlocked and with manufacturer’s warranty? I saw a bunch of stuff about international warranties (as opposed to U.S. warranties) and when I tried to buy the phone on Amazon.com, the phone was being sold from one of its third-party merchants. I wasn’t sure how reliable this was. Thoughts?
 
Thanks for the links pimpineasy. What do you think about the HTC Evo Shift 4G? Do you prefer that over the Desire Z? I don’t really have an opinion about the hinge thing; some people love it, others don’t.
As you can see, my main objective is to get an Android phone with a QWERTY keyboard. Everything else…is not a big deal.
 
Just saw that they only make the HTC Evo Shift 4G for Sprint. Same with the Samsung Epic 4G – also for Sprint only. Yuck!
How hard are these things to unlock for AT&T? I’m not a tech wizard but am pretty good at following instructions.
 
different tech numi,
sprint/veriizon uses cdma ( no sim card)
t mobile/at t used gsm ( sim cards) - more common intrernationally
for the most part a sprint verizon phone cannot be used on a at t tmobile network
 
pimpineasy – thanks for the info. That’s a bummer. Looks like my search for the perfect AT&T phone with keyboard and Android continues.
 
comp_sci_kid Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Droid 3 is out as far as i know
comp_sci_kid is a NERD as far as I know
 
Oh man, pimpineasy – this is fantastic news. Great find.
This is why AnalystForum needs a “like” feature such as facebook. I need to give credit where credit is due. This is truly awesome.
 
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