Loose D-Pad? - Touch Cruise General

Hello good residents of the forums!
I got my HTC Polaris today, so far i'm very happy with it, but i have one concern:
The D-Pad (scrolling wheel) is very loose, it's working as it's supposed to, but it seems a bit, to-easy to spin. I can take my finger and give it some speed and it won't stop instantly, but continue some more.
I expected it to be like the scrolling wheel on my/any mouse, were i wrong or is my new device "broken"?
(bought it from an online store, so i don't have any chance to test a different one to compare, since they'r not in stores yet).
Any answers are appreciated
Edit: I have also noticed the D-Pad tends to "hang" a bit if i press Left.
Up, Down and Right works fine, but when pressing left it hangs a bit before making a high "click" sound and bounce out.

Kimma said:
Hello good residents of the forums!
I got my HTC Polaris today, so far i'm very happy with it, but i have one concern:
The D-Pad (scrolling wheel) is very loose, it's working as it's supposed to, but it seems a bit, to-easy to spin. I can take my finger and give it some speed and it won't stop instantly, but continue some more.
I expected it to be like the scrolling wheel on my/any mouse, were i wrong or is my new device "broken"?
(bought it from an online store, so i don't have any chance to test a different one to compare, since they'r not in stores yet).
Any answers are appreciated
Edit: I have also noticed the D-Pad tends to "hang" a bit if i press Left.
Up, Down and Right works fine, but when pressing left it hangs a bit before making a high "click" sound and bounce out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine is definitely easy to spin, but it doesn't spin so freely that it would mind anyone of a roulette wheel. Maybe 3/4 to 1 full revolution with a flick of the finger.
No noticeable hang on the D-Pad...

Thank you, guess i'll have to send it back then (while i still can) :/

I get no delay when pressing it. Also it doesn't spin as loosely as you suggest. If I flick it it will spin a bit more but hardly more than 1 revolution (very unscientific).

Related

worrisome slider button

can anyone who has had his phone for more than 10 minutes confirm that the little silver slider button on the side of the phone will stay attached to it??
it seems awefully flimsy... (the scroll wheel also)
does this pose a problem?
i have not got to test it yet as i just picked it up from the UPS office.... I CANT WAIT!!
Seems ok.
The Microsoft UI is outdated but the hardware seems solid enough.
Unfortunantly, the slider and scroll wheel are a bit flimsy.
True those controls are rather unhandy (something like the apple iPod's naviagtional wheel would bet more appropriate) but you don't HAVE to use them.
Luckily the scrollwheel is also 4-directional buttons, and that makes up a lot.
ok, i am glad that its not only mine that feels that way, i thought maybe i got a defective unit, but if they are all that way then what can we do!?? hopefully they stay together for a bit.
mine too. just the slider though. but to be honest i haven't really used it until now.
Jackster said:
mine too. just the slider though. but to be honest i haven't really used it until now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll just add that my slider is also pretty loose and jiggles around in its housing. But oddly enough, it is really difficult to push up or down! I have to hook my fingernail on the little raised area in the middle of the slider and push up or down with some considerable force in order to get the volume to change. I changed it to be a scroller with AEButton plus, but it was pretty much unuseable because of this fact, so I changed it back to volume - and I hardly ever use it.
Anyone else with the same experience?
ye p i got the same problem lol.
it does seem like a delicate deivce.
No problems whatsoever, feels better than the same buttons on the Artemis (P3300). The scrollwheel is a lot more precise for functions like adjusting volume and zooming in on photos than any directional button with repeat function could ever be.
t_rik said:
it does seem like a delicate deivce.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Slider and scroll wheel shouldn't be a problem, after 14 months of very hard use the similar items on Artemis have no problems...
thanks... for the response to these questions.
one cant be too worried about a product that they just shelled out a bunch of $$$ for.
as someone said, the slider is really used that much, but the scroll wheel still feels extremely cheap to me.
maybe had they had put a bit of resistance on it it would feel more "attached"
anyway, thanks...
xrrkrrkx said:
thanks... for the response to these questions.
one cant be too worried about a product that they just shelled out a bunch of $$$ for.
as someone said, the slider is really used that much, but the scroll wheel still feels extremely cheap to me.
maybe had they had put a bit of resistance on it it would feel more "attached"
anyway, thanks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's funny - my scroll wheel is so tight that I can hardly get it to move! I have hold the TC in one hand and use my index finger in the other hand with pressure to get it to budge. Maybe it will loosen up with time. I hope so, cause it sucks for one handed use. Too bad we can't meet in the middle, xrrkrrkx!
Had to edit this post - I found that it was just because the air is so damn dry here this winter! My thumb is so dry, it just slips over the wheel instead of getting any friction. If I quickly lick the end of my thumb and then use the wheel, it works like a charm - just can't share my phone now! Now that I read this, that's probably more than you guys wanted to know!

How firm is your slide mechanism?

As per the title.
How firm are your slide mechanism? When holding the device in your right hand (fingertips along left edge of device), does the device give a little as you change your grip/pressure (for example, as if you're manipulating the volume keys?).
EDIT:
As an aside, those buttons would have been better off on the "base" (keyboard section edge) of the device rather than on the screen section, that way when pressing them they wouldnt have caused this slight give in the slide mechanism!! Jesus, HTC need to employ some of us from here!!
A 100 views and no comments? Someone surely must have something to say about thi...
I would guess that many people are looking forward/waiting for this phone and want to read other people's thoughts but not enough people have one yet! You lucky soul!
SoundWave2003 said:
I would guess that many people are looking forward/waiting for this phone and want to read other people's thoughts but not enough people have one yet! You lucky soul!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point, but a few guys do. Black with his AT&T one, few others etc. Just looking for some opinions. Personally, I think the spring could be a little more resistive.
I got mine today finally from Clove, lucky enough was in the first shipment have been setting it up for the last couple of hours and the keyboard is fine.
Slight Keyboard give
I would agree with you to a point, Syphon Filter.
When looking at the screen, it seems that the palm of my hand is catching the bottom right edge of the keyboard in its closed position and 'twisting' it a little when the volume is adjusted.
However, I've found that the volume buttons are in the right place when using them incall.
(The actual sliding mechanisim feels pretty solid to me.)
There's a little give, not so much a shift but more of a flex, definitely feels good for a sideways slider.
thebiscuitboy said:
I got mine today finally from Clove, lucky enough was in the first shipment have been setting it up for the last couple of hours and the keyboard is fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you in the USA hebiscuitboy? If so what did clove charge for shipping to the U.S and how did you workout the exchange when you paid for it?
Thanks..
CalifornIyay said:
Are you in the USA hebiscuitboy? If so what did clove charge for shipping to the U.S and how did you workout the exchange when you paid for it?
Thanks..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it's 28 pounds delivery with DHL and 20 the old fashion way. At least when ordered from here in Finland. Didn't dare to accept the order yet.
Virtually no give in mine at all, feels solid.
Mine is solid and has been "thoroughly" used and handed around for wow factor for the past few days. It is well built and better, if I remember correctly, than the O2 XDA IIs (Blue Angel) for it's keyboard sturdiness mechanism.
CalifornIyay said:
Are you in the USA hebiscuitboy? If so what did clove charge for shipping to the U.S and how did you workout the exchange when you paid for it?
Thanks..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi I'm based in the UK sorry
Appears firm to me, there's a little scraping noise as the keyboard is opened but not on close. Haven't been able to pin down where it's coming from yet.
mike_m said:
Appears firm to me, there's a little scraping noise as the keyboard is opened but not on close. Haven't been able to pin down where it's coming from yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I there's a little slidey thing that covers the ribbon cable. As you open/close that it moves. That's what is causing the noise your just described.
Fine. Another slight improvement from HTC's latest slider, in my opinion...
Totally agree with the comment about the volume buttons, too. Bit daft putting them somewhere where the act of pressing them means you're also opening up the keyboard...
sub69 said:
Fine. Another slight improvement from HTC's latest slider, in my opinion...
Totally agree with the comment about the volume buttons, too. Bit daft putting them somewhere where the act of pressing them means you're also opening up the keyboard...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah they should have just moved then onto the bottom half of the slide!
So when you press your volume buttons (just enough to make them "press") does your slide move at all?
Mine does a tiny bit. if the spring was a little stiffer it would be spot on.
What about the power button when trying to remove the back?
I keep turning it back on when I want it to be switched off and remove the battery! Just something I will have to get used to no doubt!
After receiving my Fuze/Rap today, I also noticed a 1/32 inch twist when opening the phone. My only only other HTC slide experience is the 8125 which after 4 years has a more tight opening action.
I have to have faith in the Raph after all the faithful years with my other slide out.
US- Virginia Beach
it sounds like something comes loose when i slide my fuze open. then there is something that rattles around in it. i tried to return it but all the fuzes they had at the store made the same sound. unique?
Mine is a little loose as well - I wondered if anyone else had the same issue. I can (with very little effort) make the screen move about 2-3mm away from the keyboard. It does feel a lot more loose than the 8525 did to me.. I'm not sure how that will play out over the lifetime of the phone, but I can expect it to only get worse (hopefully not!)
Love the phone though in general.

Modding Hardware Buttons?

well basically, the touch pro buttons are terrible. The ones at each corner are ok, but the left/right/up/down is terrible. I dont even bother using them, if i am playing some game or doing something full screen, i constantly hit the phone, or home buttons which minumize the program.
i was thinking... it may be possible to rather easily make some new face plate for the phone, maybe reuse teh central part which is the touch for the wheel.
but give it some actually normal buttons, i think touch pro has the worst buttons of any phone i have ever used.
does anyone have any pictures of what it looks like right under them?
Search for Touch Pro dismantling guide.
http://www.pdacenter.ru/razborka/htc-touch-pro/
check it out, half way down the pictures of the buttons
being able to see the layout of how they are actually pressed has now helped me alot at being able to hit them accuratly.
it also seems that iwth just a small adjustment they could be made much better.
however it kinda sucks how you have to take the entire phone appart to get to them... :/

Touch Sensitivity

Hey is anyone elses GTab's touch sensitivity kind of off?
I noticed, compared to the iPad and Galaxy Tab, some times it takes me 2-4x of tryinng to press something to get it going.
Its almost like the screen cant pick it up sometimes. And sometimes when scrolling, it selects things, when im just Trying to scroll..
Also the top left HOME button on screen is always iffy, most times ill need 2-4 more times 2 press it to get it going.
I am using TNT 2.2.
Anyone else noticed this? i feel like its hardware.
Definetely not as responsive as my EVO. Maybe its the cheap screen. I wish it could be fixed via software, but fat chance. I guess not all capacitive screens are created equal.
supanatuwral said:
Definetely not as responsive as my EVO. Maybe its the cheap screen. I wish it could be fixed via software, but fat chance. I guess not all capacitive screens are created equal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You nailed it. IMO Samsung has been making the best color screens for years.
Have had absolutely no problems with touchpad responsiveness from my gTab... Just as sensitive and responsive as my Dinc.
Really does seem like this hardware is hit or miss... Some tabs have no issues some have many.
You guys are just plain spoiled. I've gone through Palm IIIx to now the gTablet, and it just simply has the most responsive touch screen that I've ever used, but I've had recent experience with the dreadful Augen GT and the slightly less dreadful White Pandigital Novel, both of which had worse touch screens than other devices that I've used.
One thing that I do, do for the gTab though is to clean the screen quite a bit. At a minimum I do so before every use as I find the fingerprint/body oils buildup to be annoying in fairly short order and it might have some impact on touch responsiveness. It's the worst fingerprint magnet that I've ever seen actually...
No issues here with single touch sensitivity, pretty good on that. Just as good as my Nexus One. Multitouch and pinch-to-zoom still a bit flaky. I am hopeful that will be resolved by software and/or driver improvements, as it was on the Nexus One.
The only issues I have are when the screen is too dirty or too clean. When I really scrub and clean the glass off entirely, at first it's a bit too "sticky" almost when my finger contacts it - maybe that's because it's winter here in the Northeast and my skin is dry. Once I've used it a bit and it gets some finger grease on it, it works perfectly. But if it gets grit or solid dirt on it, that can definitely interfere with the touch screen too, as with any capacitive screen.
I suspect the optimal thing would be a really good screen protector that's easy to clean and has that smooth finger contact feeling out of the box, like the iPad's glass does, for example, which I think has something to do with the oleophobic coating.
Typing this on my gtablet. The issue for me is the keyboard. There are parts of the screen that are unresoonsive making some letters not get tapped. The A key and l keys in particular. As a result I can't type smoothly or naturally because I will make several errors along the way. This does not happen onky iphone or my wires ipad.
it might bemy rrleason for sending it back as it takes too ongoing totyr correctly and I get tire d of all the corrections.
Well if your using the stock tnt keyboard, it sucks. We can learn from the ipad, with the size of the screen it has huge keys that cover a lot more of the screen then our stock tnt keyboard. I use smart keyboard pro with the key heights set to maximum and it works so much better, like 100x better. Even has voice to text.
Can people check their keyboard? I find that if I type most of the keys they type fine. However, the letter a key seems to only work when pressed offcenter which prevents. From typing properly as I must deliberately slow down and make sure it is correctly typed otherwise I get many errors. Could this be a defect in my screen?
Or is this a ui problem with tnt?
This could be a deal breaker as I misspelled every word if. Has h letter A
Letter A
I have the same problem with the letter A, and sometimes P. Otherwise touch is great
Figured why this tablet is driving me nuts. There are two dead zones on this tablet. Someone please do this test so I can figure out if this is just my tablet or all g tablets.
Download mulitouch vis test. Do rapid light touches in the area where the 'a' key is and delete key are. If I do this test in the middle of the screen it registers every single tap. But in those two areas I can sometimes tap 10 times in a row and not have a single tap register.
If this all g tablets then I think it's going back.
Also is there a keyboard with arrow keys? Trying to place the cursor can be a real pain.
Agreed bout the dead spots. The stock tap n tap western keyboard seems tominimize them due to the angles but if I try another keyboard I miss the a and the return button all the time
Stocklone said:
Figured why this tablet is driving me nuts. There are two dead zones on this tablet. Someone please do this test so I can figure out if this is just my tablet or all g tablets.
Download mulitouch vis test. Do rapid light touches in the area where the 'a' key is and delete key are. If I do this test in the middle of the screen it registers every single tap. But in those two areas I can sometimes tap 10 times in a row and not have a single tap register.
If this all g tablets then I think it's going back.
Also is there a keyboard with arrow keys? Trying to place the cursor can be a real pain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Downloaded the app as well because I, too, am having the same screen non-responsiveness issue. Lo and behold the area where the "L" key is is a pretty dead spot. It would register about 40% of the quick taps I did in that area. Is this is a software issue? If so, I can live with it and hope our wonderful devs release a software build that resolves this otherwise, this thing may be going back because it's driving me up the wall!
I do see the occasional missed tap here and there, but no consistent dead areas that I've noticed (the A and L buttons on keyboard seem fine to me).
Multitouch sensitivity is wayyyyy mis-calibrated though - you have to use very heavy finger presses to get multitouch to register. This is some sort of driver or calibration issue that should be easily solved.
I found a binary called TSCalibration in the /system/bin directory on my VEGAn ROM G Tablet. Tried running it from terminal, but it seems to be looking for a calibration.ini file on the SDCard. I'd be willing to bet we could figure out how to fix some of the touchscreen issues with some work, because I suspect they are principally software related.
If your issues with the touchscreen are anything like this...exchange it...
My new one requires very little effort if any at all to get the screen to respond...
However, if you're talking about the once in a while miss of a touch...yes, I agree with cutterjohn....you're spoiled. Return the device asap, so I could pick it up from an outlet...please?
RavenII said:
If your issues with the touchscreen are anything like ...exchange it...
My new one requires very little effort if any at all to get the screen to respond...
However, if you're talking about the once in a while miss of a touch...yes, I agree with cutterjohn....you're spoiled. Return the device asap, so I could pick it up from an outlet...please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a big difference between these dead spots and the occasional miss. I have no problem with the occasional miss. I just have to adjust to how my finger touches the tablet to get more consistent hits.
There are areas of my tablet that consistently do not behave like the other areas. Does that sound normal to you? I can't have a tablet where anything in the 2 corners is extremely inconsistent. If I have the tablet oriented a certain way the soft-buttons get put into one of the bad corners and that is really frustrating.
I don't think it is how I am holding it because the problem follows the physical corners and it is not relative to my hand. So that rules that out. And I washed my hands and gave the tablet a good cleaning so dirt/grease/grime is not an issue either. It could have been too clean but why only two corners?
I have many weeks to go on my 30 days so I will keep screwing with it to see if I can come up with anything that is a workaround or explains why it is happening. It is insanely fast and it's modding future looks extremely bright with such talented people. If I get fed up enough, I'll exchange it and hopefully get one with a even touch response for the whole screen or simply return it and wait a couple more months for Honeycomb tablets.
RavenII said:
If your issues with the touchscreen are anything like this...exchange it...
My new one requires very little effort if any at all to get the screen to respond...
However, if you're talking about the once in a while miss of a touch...yes, I agree with cutterjohn....you're spoiled. Return the device asap, so I could pick it up from an outlet...please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoa. That video was pretty bad. While mine is not like that (thank God), I just tried hitting the app drawer key and it only registered after the 13th tap?!?! seriously wtf. While it isn't a "dead zone" per se, that's still pretty bad. There has to be a software fix to recify this issue with the right side of the screen. (my "L" and "delete" button are pretty bad as well).
THAT is a defective product...
I'll do another video to compare with my new one...WITH funky assed salty sweat all over the screen. Works flawlessly...
Is your model that is working well running stock firmware and keyboard?
mine is tent lite and the stock keyboard is ok. It if I try to use the alternative keyboards then I get consistent misses on key presses especially on the letter a.
I'm always tapping *constantly*, like 10-20 times on certain spots around the corners and edges of the screen, I'm about to return mine because of this.. Believe I'm still in the 2 weeks with office depot, will have to go snag the $350 one over at sears and hopefully it will come with a screen protector this time (this one I have didn't come with one, wonder if that has to do with the dead spots)..

mySlide 4G Keyboard? Good? Bad?

First of all, yes, I am calling it the mySlide 4G. But, my question is, how good is the keyboard? And I don't mean "how good is the keyboard compared to the [Insert Phone Name Here], I mean is the keyboard usable, does it get the job done, and can it be used fast? I have never owned a keyboard before so I am not super worried about adjusting, but in the time I (im)patiently wait for my phone to arrive, I thought I would get thoughts of what real users think of the keyboard. Despite watching/reading all the reviews of the mySlide, it's refreshing to find out what people who don't compare phones for a living think.
natehoch96 said:
First of all, yes, I am calling it the mySlide 4G. But, my question is, how good is the keyboard? And I don't mean "how good is the keyboard compared to the [Insert Phone Name Here], I mean is the keyboard usable, does it get the job done, and can it be used fast? I have never owned a keyboard before so I am not super worried about adjusting, but in the time I (im)patiently wait for my phone to arrive, I thought I would get thoughts of what real users think of the keyboard. Despite watching/reading all the reviews of the mySlide, it's refreshing to find out what people who don't compare phones for a living think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the keyboard, sure I wish it had a dedicated number row but no biggie. It feels great my fingers. The only thing I'd really change at this point is moving the .com button. I'm constantly hitting that when I want an "a". But I really don't understand why there are so many reviews trashing this keyboard. I'm very particular about my hard keyboards and this one fits in with my high standards.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App
I think given the amount of real estate that the keys could use on the phone. That they are too tiny and close together. I'm constantly hitting keys I didnt mean to. And to reach some of them it feels akward, I have to reach further than feels natural. Namely the space bar feels too far to the left.
The response time seems fine. Keys work smoothly. It's just a bit off for me, and not really a comfortable keyboard to use. I'm sure I will adapt and eventually wont notice it anymore.
I really didn't think I would like the Slide's keyboard after using the Touch Pro 2 for so long, but it isn't that bad. The only thing I find myself doing is hitting the '.com' key more often than not when I want an 'a'. I've only had the phone since Tuesday, so I'm sure that with a little bit more time, it won't be an issue.
I think the keyboard is quite usable, and I can type at a relatively quick speed on it.
hah, funny how different typing styles result in different annoyances with the keyboard.
I'm quite liking it, personally. the G1 is still my favorite of the hw keyboard android phones I've had, but the slide is just fine. the only things I would change:
-the back button is pretty inconveniently placed for my typing style. it's not uncommon for me to be typing a sentence and when I end it I accidentally hit "back" and lose everything (unless it's a text or whatever that saves a draft). I also hit "menu" occasionally when typing a comma.
-tactile feedback. I like a nice "click" or at least a pronounced "smoosh" when I'm typing. with the slide, you almost can't tell you've pressed a key.
some things that I really like about it so far:
-however superfluous they may be, the leds at the top of the keyboard that tell you if you have caps or alt on. nice touch.
-spacing is nice. I look at, for comparison's sake, the D3 and can't imagine how anyone with hands bigger than a toddler can type accurately on it. the slide has good spacing and while I agree with azscrewloose on the size of the keys (they could be a smidgen larger), overall, it feels good even with huge hands like mine.
I've never used a slide-out keyboard before but all-in-all this phone feels really nice. The most awkward part for me is the spacebar but I love the www./.com button and caps lock/alt leds, it makes it easy to punch in numbers. The keys they chose to make default work very well. And I think once this phone gets root/s-off/overclock it's going to be a force to be reckoned with.
this phone qwerty and the rest of the hard buttons went kaput. broken. tried factory reset and did not help. these phones are pieces of crap. sending them back and done with android maybe. idk. htc dropped the ball on this one and tmobile lost customers. hope this helps some considering. dont do it.
fireinthesky2night said:
this phone qwerty and the rest of the hard buttons went kaput. broken. tried factory reset and did not help. these phones are pieces of crap. sending them back and done with android maybe. idk. htc dropped the ball on this one and tmobile lost customers. hope this helps some considering. dont do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol... this happens with any phone from any manufacturer on any carrier. any electronic device, for that matter. it's called a hardware defect and sometimes it happens. get a replacement and get over it.
pmcqueen said:
-tactile feedback. I like a nice "click" or at least a pronounced "smoosh" when I'm typing. with the slide, you almost can't tell you've pressed a key.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was one of my worries. Although I have never owned a QWERTY keyboard phone, I imagine some tactile feedback would be nice.
fireinthesky2night said:
this phone qwerty and the rest of the hard buttons went kaput. broken. tried factory reset and did not help. these phones are pieces of crap. sending them back and done with android maybe. idk. htc dropped the ball on this one and tmobile lost customers. hope this helps some considering. dont do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I agree with pmcqueen, just because your phone had problems doesn't mean every phone did. And I certainly wouldn't get rid of Android due to this, it is a great and probably the most powerful phone OS out there. Get a replacement, I guarantee that it won't have the same problems. And if it does, contact T-Mobile and get a free Sensation and a discount on your plan or something lol.
I like the keyboard. I find typing on it to be a much better experience then some of the other phones i've tried, I don't run into the problem of hitting other keys I didn't mean to.
Seems like they are spaced just far enough apart, and raised to just the right height.
Another thing I like is that all the keys are backlit, so I can see them even when it's dim and the light from the screen makes everything around it hard to see.
The one thing I don't like is a lack of arrow keys, but I suppose I can live with that, even though it really sucks.
I like the combination .com and www. button, and the symbol button. The symbol button pops up a choice of symbols on the screen that you can tap to insert. Very helpful.
Blue6IX said:
I like the keyboard. I find typing on it to be a much better experience then some of the other phones i've tried, I don't run into the problem of hitting other keys I didn't mean to.
Seems like they are spaced just far enough apart, and raised to just the right height.
Another thing I like is that all the keys are backlit, so I can see them even when it's dim and the light from the screen makes everything around it hard to see.
The one thing I don't like is a lack of arrow keys, but I suppose I can live with that, even though it really sucks.
I like the combination .com and www. button, and the symbol button. The symbol button pops up a choice of symbols on the screen that you can tap to insert. Very helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do wish that the backlighting was more generous, but hopefully there will be an app for that once the phone is rooted.
Plus, for the arrow keys, the optical scroll pad works great!
Keyboard is not to my liking
I had the "mySlide 4G" for a week. I hated the keyboard. I have used a G2 a couple times, the slide fails to match that experience. I thought after a week I would get used to the keyboard, that did not happen. I hated it and returned the phone, even though i am currently phoneless I am not going to get that phone. I hate software keyboards so much, I thought this phone was going to be amazing. The keys are spaced to wide, I thought that would accommodate my fat fingers, but it was worst than the G2. I did not get the feedback I was expecting, the keys are a bit too far in for my taste. The slide mechanism felt flimsy after a couple days use and battery life was terrible compared to my previous nexus one.
TL;DR The keys do not have good feedback and are too far apart. Battery life is meh.
I would say it's on par with the other physical keyboards that HTC has released. I still think the G1 was the best, because of the number row....even though it took time getting use to holding it. So far I am having issues with the MTS4g, but I think it's because I am coming from the G2. Comparing the G2 to the MTS4G, the Alt and Shift keys are literally backwards. So I am constantly hitting Shift when I want to hit Alt, just because they are backwards and I am used to the G2 button location.
I just wish I could figure out what button I am hitting that shuts down my SMS in the middle of typing....that's starting to get annoying.
All in all, I would give this a 6.5 out of 10.
cberbes said:
I would say it's on par with the other physical keyboards that HTC has released. I still think the G1 was the best, because of the number row....even though it took time getting use to holding it. So far I am having issues with the MTS4g, but I think it's because I am coming from the G2. Comparing the G2 to the MTS4G, the Alt and Shift keys are literally backwards. So I am constantly hitting Shift when I want to hit Alt, just because they are backwards and I am used to the G2 button location.
I just wish I could figure out what button I am hitting that shuts down my SMS in the middle of typing....that's starting to get annoying.
All in all, I would give this a 6.5 out of 10.
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almost certainly the "Back" button on the SMS shutdown. if I remember right, the G2 just had a search and menu key on the keyboard... for better or worse, the MT4GS has [rather inconveniently if you ask me] placed a "back" key right next to the period. I regularly hit the back button when trying to punctuate properly.
so I guess I either look like a halfwit when making business communication or I have to deal with losing a few messages (usually they just save as drafts when I press back, but sometimes I lose them altogether) and start from scratch.
thankfully, though, s-off and permaroot are now officially right around the corner and we can remap these buttons. yayyyy.
The 4g slide's keyboard definitely needs some getting used to.
I LOVED the 3g slides keyboard and thought it would be pretty much the same.
The buttons are MUCH more sensitive and are taking time to get used to.
I liked the g2's buttons (as far as feel) better, and I liked the original slides the best. I've been reading that people have been keyboards that have different feels so you mileage may vary. I noticed pressure differences in the two 4g slides I bought (mine is ultra sensitive).
Once we have root, one of the FIRST things I'm doing is editing the keymappings and making the retarded www.com key a tab button. WTF are people that lazy that it warrants a dedicated key? I understand TAB with linux since it autocompletes and I use a shell and ssh a lot. Oh well.
pmcqueen said:
almost certainly the "Back" button on the SMS shutdown. if I remember right, the G2 just had a search and menu key on the keyboard... for better or worse, the MT4GS has [rather inconveniently if you ask me] placed a "back" key right next to the period. I regularly hit the back button when trying to punctuate properly.
so I guess I either look like a halfwit when making business communication or I have to deal with losing a few messages (usually they just save as drafts when I press back, but sometimes I lose them altogether) and start from scratch.
thankfully, though, s-off and permaroot are now officially right around the corner and we can remap these buttons. yayyyy.
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Yup, that's it. Good call. I just looked at both of my keyboards and I think you nailed it on the head. Which of course brings up another issue with the physical keyboard....more of a software issue than anything. I can NOT get the physical keyboard set to auto-punctuate and auto-cap. With my G2 running CM7.1.0, I have auto punctuate and auto cap, so I don't have to worry about apostrophes, capitalizing "I", and what not, and double space ends the sentence.
I miss those features.
I'm getting used to the keyboards lack of tactile feedback but the lack of a dedicated number row is my biggest annoyance. If u could hold the buttons down and get the alt function that would help a lot. Hopefully a new rom can give us that option. I do miss my touch pro 2 kb...
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using XDA App
I'm on the fence about what I think. On one hand, I actually prefer having such wide spacing between keys, a shallow travel, and soft response. I'm the type of person who loves the keyboards on palm phones since the centro; I like that soft touch, and I like that I can input with my nails if i need to. But the problem for me is that response among keys is uneven, on my model at least, with the keys towards the outwards edges being perfect, whereas a few keys towards the center, like the "t" and "g", barely provide me with any feedback. So little that I was actually looking around to whether I can enable virtual keyboard sounds or vibration feedback when using the hardware keyboard. I wonder whether its just a quality control issue because I haven't seen others have problems with specific buttons like that, they might just not like the keyboard at all but I haven't read about an uneven response.
Which is a shame because otherwise the phone is absolutely spectacular, and imo the best overall android offering out there. I have no issues whatsoever with using a virtual keyboard, but given the possibility, I'd rather use a physical one to save real estate and for the sake of my fingers.
However, I've only had the phone for 2 days, and I have clearly noticed that the keys are "breaking in". It was much worse the first day, but now response has improved substantially. I can tell because some of the outer keys had little response as well before but now click more satisfactorily after I spent a good amount of time pressing keys randomly in the notes app to wear the keys in.
I like this keyboard a lot. The only thing that absolutely sucks about it is that when using it your hands cover the bluetooth radio. For me since I am constantly listening to music on my phone via my bluetooth headphones... I am constantly annoyed by skipping music during texting or browsing. So I generally use the touch screen keyboard while listening to music via bluetooth.
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using XDA App
On another note, does anybody know if their is a version of the stock gingerbread keyboard available with hardware spelling suggestions? The hardware keyboard is a lot more usable for me when used with suggestions. Better Keyboard has it and works well, but its prediction simply isn't as good as either gingerbread's or HTCs, mainly because it doesn't correct a lot of words where you type in an extra letter. And HTCs keyboard, though good as well, simply annoys me because it alwaayyysssss autocorrects "lol" to "LOL", which though minor, I find incredibly irksome when texting. No one uses caps for lol unless they are actually find something hilarious. Everybody knows that lol doesnt actually mean you're laughing out loud most of the time, lol. See? I didn't laugh.

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