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Advice Needed - Return or Not to Return Xoom Wi-Fi

I really wanted this to be in a "General Android Hardware Forum" instead of the Xoom specific one, but I am not seeing that area here on XDA.
I am on the fence with my Xoom Wi-Fi and have two more weeks before my Costco 90 day return polity expires. First and foremost, the tablet is paid for and not sitting on some credit card collecting interest. On the other hand, financially right now, after unexpected layoff, I could really use the $750 back in my bank account.
For argument sake however I want to take cost out of the picture. My Xoom Wi-Fi is running the latest Tiamat Kernel, which really expands the devices capabilities.
Pro's: Aamazing community support [Tiamat/etc], MicroSD slot, a standard MicroUSB data connection, a HDMI port that works flawless, and is well built accept for that crappy charging plug.
Con's: This thing is a tank, its heavy as hell and much thicker then other upcoming Android tablets.
Wildcard: Tegra 2.5's and Tegra 3's are rumored to be right around the corner; with fall 2011 release dates. That's three months away.
The Galaxy 10.1 is the perfect size and weight, but not having a MicroSD slot is a deal breaker. The 10.1 also lacks a standard MicroUSB data connection, instead using some BS Samsung proprietary connection. That's total crap, in fact while I am located in the USA, I though that the EU passed some law that mobile devices had to use standard universally used [USB/MiniUSB/MicroUSB] connection ports? In any case, the fact they are forcing people to use some special cable only Samsung uses is almost reason alone to pass on the device. I thought we were past that type of nonsense; it feels so 1990's.
I have heard the 10.1 can output to HDMI, but again requires some special cable and/or adapter, again Samsung using non-standard hardware connections for the fail. Also, its unknown how much community support the device will get. Lastly, the back cover for the 10.1 is a really ugly looking design, made from crap plastic instead of a plain piece of Aluminum.
With the 10.1 off the table, there is nothing else that's currently been announced or is on the market which beats the Xoom. Again, IMO Size and Weight are the only real issues I have right now with my Xoom. The Tiamat Kernel boots slower then molasses, but I am sure that will be fixed in the future and the functionality it adds is worth the boot time wait.
The wildcard is the Tegra 2.5's and Tegra 3's that are rumored to be released in devices by this fall. While I don't have an immediate need for the extra hardware specs, an upgraded CPU never hurts. The problem is while there has been rumors of devices with these chips being released in Fall 2011, we have seen nothing leaked regarding any of these devices. I figured by now we would have something to go on, especially with fall being three months away. Taking into consideration the delay of most Android tablets lately, I am starting to think the next round of devices will not hit stores till December or sometime next year.
To return or not return that is the question. If there was a device that was scheduled to be released before Winter, with the same form factor as the Galaxy 10.1, and build quality and features of the Xoom; I would return the device in a heartbeat. I just don't see that happening right now.
There are rumors of the Xoom 2 this fall, but I doubt we will see that before March of 2012. Also, if the photos leaked online are anything like what the device will be, it looks ugly as hell and just as much of a giant tank. Realistically though, what do you expect from Motorola? It's not like they are the number one most technically advanced manufacture of LCD screens, like you can argue Samsung is right now.
On an unrelated note, anyone else getting really tired of the BS with the rest of the world getting the Galaxy S2 yet, no US carrier has bothered to pick up the device? By the time the Function hits Verizon, the technology in that device will be at a minimum over a year old. That's really obnoxious; its not like it hasn't been out in every other country but the US now for months. Then again, who knows with our look we will end up with some POS looking Galaxy S2 like what happened with the Samsung Fascinate, instead of original sleek looking Galaxy S design everyone else got.
Anyway, I know TL/DL but for those who did, thanks for your input.
EDIT: I am sure the rest of you Android fans will love this one: Verizon [Level II] tech support today stated "We dropped the early upgrade option from all our two year contracts to conform with Apples contractual agreement regarding the iPhone". Call me a conspiracy theorist, but if Verizon did not have the iPhone, we would have the Galaxy S2 by now as well as several other Android phones.

I would say keep it for now. After owning it for awhile, the weight becomes less annoying. I don't think the newer tablets are good enough to take a hit on your time and money.

Thalinor said:
On the other hand, financially right now, after unexpected layoff, I could really use the $750 back in my bank account.
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This is an answer all on its own.

Stealyourface said:
This is an answer all on its own.
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I only glanced at his post lol. OP can wait a few months for something cheaper + better. I am still kinda disappointed with the codec support atm with the xoom.

Stealyourface said:
This is an answer all on its own.
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+1
Dude I LOVE my Xoom. And I wouldn't trade it for a galaxy tab 10.1 or any other.
That being said- you might want to keep that dough readily accessible.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

If you're questioning it, return it. Especially if you need the money.

My motto is .... "If in doubt, go without"
A tablet is a luxury item, if you need the cash more then rather use it for necessities.

I would return it and wait six months. I saw some news about a cheap tablet that has notebook specs. (Like over 100gigs of memory.) Granted it will be huge, it will also be under $400 and more advanced. I will try to find that link.
Edit: a link
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/06/2...-omap4-processors-clocked-at-1-5ghz/#bXpulseX
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App

Thalinor said:
I really wanted this to be in a "General Android Hardware Forum" instead of the Xoom specific one, but I am not seeing that area here on XDA.
I am on the fence with my Xoom Wi-Fi and have two more weeks before my Costco 90 day return polity expires. First and foremost, the tablet is paid for and not sitting on some credit card collecting interest. On the other hand, financially right now, after unexpected layoff, I could really use the $750 back in my bank account.
For argument sake however I want to take cost out of the picture. My Xoom Wi-Fi is running the latest Tiamat Kernel, which really expands the devices capabilities.
Pro's: Aamazing community support [Tiamat/etc], MicroSD slot, a standard MicroUSB data connection, a HDMI port that works flawless, and is well built accept for that crappy charging plug.
Con's: This thing is a tank, its heavy as hell and much thicker then other upcoming Android tablets.
Wildcard: Tegra 2.5's and Tegra 3's are rumored to be right around the corner; with fall 2011 release dates. That's three months away.
The Galaxy 10.1 is the perfect size and weight, but not having a MicroSD slot is a deal breaker. The 10.1 also lacks a standard MicroUSB data connection, instead using some BS Samsung proprietary connection. That's total crap, in fact while I am located in the USA, I though that the EU passed some law that mobile devices had to use standard universally used [USB/MiniUSB/MicroUSB] connection ports? In any case, the fact they are forcing people to use some special cable only Samsung uses is almost reason alone to pass on the device. I thought we were past that type of nonsense; it feels so 1990's.
I have heard the 10.1 can output to HDMI, but again requires some special cable and/or adapter, again Samsung using non-standard hardware connections for the fail. Also, its unknown how much community support the device will get. Lastly, the back cover for the 10.1 is a really ugly looking design, made from crap plastic instead of a plain piece of Aluminum.
With the 10.1 off the table, there is nothing else that's currently been announced or is on the market which beats the Xoom. Again, IMO Size and Weight are the only real issues I have right now with my Xoom. The Tiamat Kernel boots slower then molasses, but I am sure that will be fixed in the future and the functionality it adds is worth the boot time wait.
The wildcard is the Tegra 2.5's and Tegra 3's that are rumored to be released in devices by this fall. While I don't have an immediate need for the extra hardware specs, an upgraded CPU never hurts. The problem is while there has been rumors of devices with these chips being released in Fall 2011, we have seen nothing leaked regarding any of these devices. I figured by now we would have something to go on, especially with fall being three months away. Taking into consideration the delay of most Android tablets lately, I am starting to think the next round of devices will not hit stores till December or sometime next year.
To return or not return that is the question. If there was a device that was scheduled to be released before Winter, with the same form factor as the Galaxy 10.1, and build quality and features of the Xoom; I would return the device in a heartbeat. I just don't see that happening right now.
There are rumors of the Xoom 2 this fall, but I doubt we will see that before March of 2012. Also, if the photos leaked online are anything like what the device will be, it looks ugly as hell and just as much of a giant tank. Realistically though, what do you expect from Motorola? It's not like they are the number one most technically advanced manufacture of LCD screens, like you can argue Samsung is right now.
On an unrelated note, anyone else getting really tired of the BS with the rest of the world getting the Galaxy S2 yet, no US carrier has bothered to pick up the device? By the time the Function hits Verizon, the technology in that device will be at a minimum over a year old. That's really obnoxious; its not like it hasn't been out in every other country but the US now for months. Then again, who knows with our look we will end up with some POS looking Galaxy S2 like what happened with the Samsung Fascinate, instead of original sleek looking Galaxy S design everyone else got.
Anyway, I know TL/DL but for those who did, thanks for your input.
EDIT: I am sure the rest of you Android fans will love this one: Verizon [Level II] tech support today stated "We dropped the early upgrade option from all our two year contracts to conform with Apples contractual agreement regarding the iPhone". Call me a conspiracy theorist, but if Verizon did not have the iPhone, we would have the Galaxy S2 by now as well as several other Android phones.
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to the least claim that 100$ price difference, I think I saw somewhere that US costco is to lower selling price to $499

P00r said:
to the least claim that 100$ price difference, I think I saw somewhere that US costco is to lower selling price to $499
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Click to collapse
Got no beef with the Xoom at all but the Asus Transformer is the same hardware and less money also add that keyboard and you have a netbook. Check it out and if you get the 16gb its 200 less. You will lose nothing in performance. I like my Xoom but I am looking to buy that one as well
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

Thanks for all of the advice. I just flashed my Xoom to stock, relocked and am returning it tonight. First and formost, I need to be responsible and with the the economy the way it is, who knows how long before I will be financially secure again. Second, the 3.2 Honeycomb update info is out and no mention of MicroSd card support. While the Tiamat Kernel supports it, it's not 100% working the way it should be working because the OS really does not support that yet. I also have a huge gripe with the way Motorola has been acting as a company towards the development community.
At this point I am going to hold off on an Android tablet till my finances are in order. I figure by that point there will be Gen 2 Android tablets on the market and I will be glad I waited.
Thanks again for the feedback.

I'd say return it. You can live without your xoom for a while. When you are financially stable again, then you can use the $750 from xoom and use it to buy newer and better tablet.
EDIT: didn't see you last post. Good choice =)

Your thoughts on Asus Padfone

I feel this is more of a general "lets get your opinion/feel" but ive experienced in the past, any topic that has any question in it, gets moved to this section.. So im posting it here.
I'd like to get people opinions (and experiences if any) on the Asus Padfone. I've been eyeing the HTC Amaze, but there have been a few issues reported with it, and with new tech being released this year, im also considering other devices. The Padfone caught my eye due to its apparent versatility. (Especially since the HTC One series has been a massive letdown with the non-existent mSD card slot)
Though there do seem to be some things lacking with this device, such as the camera (apparently, the HTC one has an independent processor which speeds it up) for example.
Also the fact that its 3g and not 4g/LTE seems to be a step back (tho this isnt an concern for me, but could be later).
Anyway.. Thoughts? Concerns?

Not worth buying

I'm considering getting one. I'm from the Netherlands so 3G is just fine for me!
Pricing is rumoured around €699 euro here, pretty steep though... That's without the dock (which will set you back another €150 I bet)
I love the idea of having everything in one place (on your phone) and basically click it into the tablet for typing during class or watching/reading something.
Jam it into the dock for longer writing sessions... I can see this being a very useful combination for me personally. I'm not sure the average user will find this a useful gadget though.
Downside is that you really have to use the phone all the time and I'm not sure how well everything works softwarewise when you load the phone into the dock, screensize wise etc, etc.
Its just that I got a Gnex that I love so dearly

PokeiShoW said:
Not worth buying
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Click to collapse
Care to elaborate?

newbie thoughts on the padfone
Last July 2011, I posted this thread on another forum and look at what happened in the interim - the Padfone!
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"Looking for serious multi-purpose (non-existent yet) tablet
I am a newbie. I have been communicating with a variety of tech publications incl Walt Mossberg, WSJ. But no serious response. I do not own a tablet right now but want to propose features that can be incorporated to the current crop. You folks can chime in (with respect) if you think my ideas are plausible.
Full disclosure. Currently, I am not a fan of the crop of tablets in the market today. What is out there (regardless of brand) are just pure "gadgets" for me. I do not do social networking nor games. I realize that I am in the minority in the high-tech populace.
I will consider a tablet with the configuration below to trim my techie equipment inventory. I believe this would be a truly PORTABLE, POWERFUL, SINGLE COMBINATION alternative to having (1) a communication/convenience/entertainment" device (tablet) AND (2) a PC for serious professional computing work, should I need to do some.
Samsung Galaxy-like form factor (or maybe even slightly larger or heavier)
Full Cell phone call capable (CDMA/GSM) - 3 or 4G thru BT (either on ear device or car's BT wireless communicator) - not just Google Talk or Skype
Web-access wireless card (a/b/g/n)
BT enabled to pair with my car's BT audio system wireless connection to play music stored in the tablet and other BT capable devices (tech already available)
Semi-full size BT keyboard/case (tech already available)
Available USB2 or 3 port/s
Available docking device to connect to an external larger LCD monitor, full-size keyboard, printer, optical drive, external HD, etc (?) to really replace my office/home notebook
Enough processor power (Intel/AMD dual core or higher), storage to support a full PC OS (Windows 7/8 or Mac OS), Internet Browser (IE9, FF5, Chrome, Safari, etc) and APPLICATION PROGRAMS AND DATA!
Sufficient battery life (replaceable) with AC/DC charging/connectivity capability
???????
Do you think this config for a tablet system has market and production potential? Or better yet, is there one already out there? I know that the technology to accomplish all of these exist already. It just takes somebody to put it all together.
Your professional insights are greatly appreciated."
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Since the Pf is not in our shores yet and I have been sick and tired of the all the unboxing, first videos from Barcelona, Taiwan specs and availability, I just implore ASUS to get their act together and stop the teasing and give us the US model! Regardless how a bunch of folks have trashed it, I on the other hand WANT ONE NOW. I realize that this desire is sight unseen, performance and quality unknown and not all the specs I listed above are in the model available everywhere else, I believe the concept of 3 in 1 is a brilliant one. I may not be as techie as you folks but for my use and from prelim videos and specs, what ASUS has done is phenomenal.
I would greatly appreciate your more techie input as well as marketing intel (US availaibility, specs, price, carrier, etc.). BTW, I still refuse to buy and do not want any of the tablets available today. Thanks.

The mechanism to insert the phone into the tablet looks like its the first thing to break rendering the whole concept useless.
But i have not hold it in my hand, anyone have some info on the build quality?

Dark3n said:
The mechanism to insert the phone into the tablet looks like its the first thing to break rendering the whole concept useless.
But i have not hold it in my hand, anyone have some info on the build quality?
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It's possible, it depends if the "door" needs to be closed before it will output to the tabdock. Plus, im sure alot said that about flip phones and sliding phone. My Touch Pro 2 is still going pretty strong, and it has a sliding keyboard.
Something id like it know is with the Keyboard dock, is it 'closeable'. As in, can you dock the tablet to it, then "close it" like a laptop so you can transport it as one piece?

first try... and probably last
very difficult positioning for Asus. They're trying desperately to innovate more that the competition to get a strong foot in that market.
However, this solution might not be fully interesting for a lot of people... If its a failure, they'll have lost a great deal of money that could have been used to make up for the difference with the latest ipad...

If this will be a failure , atleast the price will drop fast ( something like Evo 3d -50% )

addiz said:
If this will be a failure , atleast the price will drop fast ( something like Evo 3d -50% )
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Why do you think it will be a failure?

it's something new and different let's see how people will act after buying it

Has a lot of potential...
Has a LOT of potential if marketed correctly.
I have a original ASUS Transformer TF101 with keyboard dock for eight months now and I can say its an amazing machine. The performance is just right, the battery lasts forever, almost stock ICS, lots of updates.
I have the only combination of devices that can compete with the full Padfone setup: a modern smartphone (Samsung Galaxy Note) and the mentioned Transformer, with full tethering support. If the Padfone system can have a significant price advantage, the consistency it provides (the Note have Android 2.3.6) can make it a winner.

Feels way to expensive.
$1 gets you a reply

yes the hinge closes like a laptop
problem: the hinge only opens around 90 degrees so you won't get a great viewing angle unless you are at a similar level.
when the latch of the tablet station opens to release the phone, it stops the phone being bent outwards, so you have to pull up and thus, not breaking the connector.
not having 4g is a big downer for me. I was going to get this and might still but seriously, uk is getting 4g this year so I doubt I'd want this when it gets released.

The price of phone + 10" screen is Euro 699.
I think it will not be a success.
Why? (iPhone 4S + New iPad) is only Euro 199 more than the phone and a dummy screen.
Moreover, if you're going to carry around a dummy screen, why not carry a REAL tablet??

tytung2020 said:
The price of phone + 10" screen is Euro 699.
I think it will not be a success.
Why? (iPhone 4S + New iPad) is only Euro 199 more than the phone and a dummy screen.
Moreover, if you're going to carry around a dummy screen, why not carry a REAL tablet??
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Click to collapse
beeecause with a iphone and ipad, your data is in 2 places? So if you edit something on your ipad, you have to take steps to also update it on your iphone.. Plus, itunes.. thats always a disadvantage.
I see the appeal, and 200 bucks More isnt small.

Lyian said:
beeecause with a iphone and ipad, your data is in 2 places? So if you edit something on your ipad, you have to take steps to also update it on your iphone.. Plus, itunes.. thats always a disadvantage.
I see the appeal, and 200 bucks More isnt small.
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Click to collapse
I thought it's no need to take any steps? As long as your iPad is online at home, whatever you do on iPhone outside is automatically synced, as shown in the iCloud launching videos.
199 euro is small, when you compare a screen+ battery, with a fully functioned retina display iPad.

sounds good

tytung2020 said:
I thought it's no need to take any steps? As long as your iPad is online at home, whatever you do on iPhone outside is automatically synced, as shown in the iCloud launching videos.
199 euro is small, when you compare a screen+ battery, with a fully functioned retina display iPad.
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Click to collapse
Well, i wont get apple products. If i were to get two devices, both would be android. Im sure it would be similar, but i don't like messing with clouds either, that's just a gimik to eat up your limited "unlimited" data package. Especially when your talking about my case of 400+mb PDF files.
I'm not completely sold on it, but it seems like a good idea, plus ive not yet seen official pricing on it.

Not that benchmarks mean much.. but...
ASUS PadFone gets benchmarked: a mere teaser of what's to come

Any potential successor to our beloved Photon Q?

Any potential successor to our beloved Photon Q? Has any of the big makers announced a more powerful, better spec'ed smartphone to take the throne from our Photon?

I don't think any of the new phones have kb's.
The Q might be one of the last sliders. Enjoy it.

Nope, nothing so far :'(

It's quite dramatic. I have owned an HTC One X prior to this, and in no way typing on a touch screen is as fast, precise and ergonomic as typing on a hardware keyboard.
I have owned the Nokia E70, E90, N900, as well as the Motorola Droid 2 Global and Samsung Captivate Glide in the past, and I really hope the Photon Q won't be the last one.

I have been thinking the same thing recently - this is the last Android phone with HW keyboard (if you do not count some low level Chinese phones). Seriouslyyyyyy - it is the middle of 2013 and there are zero phones announced. I am not complaining of lack of speed but I would really appreciate some battery life improvements, build quality and maybe display resolution .

idimitro said:
I have been thinking the same thing recently - this is the last Android phone with HW keyboard (if you do not count some low level Chinese phones). Seriouslyyyyyy - it is the middle of 2013 and there are zero phones announced. I am not complaining of lack of speed but I would really appreciate some battery life improvements, build quality and maybe display resolution .
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Click to collapse
Hopefully in the future someone will make a handset with full keyboard unlockable for any network. Open source phones. Hopefully in the future.
Was there ever a point in the past that had zero qwerty phones on the horizon? Is there a period of drought we can compare this one to or is this one unprecedented?

matt2k12 said:
...Was there ever a point in the past that had zero qwerty phones on the horizon? Is there a period of drought we can compare this one to or is this one unprecedented?
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Click to collapse
If memory serves correctly, QWERTY phones didn't start showing up en masse until Blackberrys came onto the scene. Even in their heyday (if there ever was such a thing), hardware keyboards were niche products.
I've always been partial to the physical keyboard, myself. At first, it was because my large hands have a difficult time using the on-screen keyboards effectively (even with swype or some derivative). Now in addition to that, the tactile feel of pressing buttons makes it seem like I'm doing something useful with my phone.

xaelith said:
If memory serves correctly, QWERTY phones didn't start showing up en masse until Blackberrys came onto the scene. Even in their heyday (if there ever was such a thing), hardware keyboards were niche products.
I've always been partial to the physical keyboard, myself. At first, it was because my large hands have a difficult time using the on-screen keyboards effectively (even with swype or some derivative). Now in addition to that, the tactile feel of pressing buttons makes it seem like I'm doing something useful with my phone.
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Click to collapse
I guess we need to go buy the new BB to game the market for physical keyboards? lol.... Samsung or Motorola will have the next QWERTY phone, whenever that may be. No one else has any interest.

matt2k12 said:
I guess we need to go buy the new BB to game the market for physical keyboards? lol.... Samsung or Motorola will have the next QWERTY phone, whenever that may be. No one else has any interest.
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Click to collapse
HW keyboard phones have always been slow for new models to come out. it's a much smaller market. but those of us that love the keyboard will always be there. A new keyboard model will come out eventually. I just got my Photon Q in May because I knew there was no other model in the near future with a HW keyboard.

I've been looking around, and there are a few keyboard cases that will go on the likes of an iphone or a Galaxy S4. I think that's going to be the best option for those of us with thick thumbs. I would pay a premium for a good phone with a good keyboard, but there's just not enough demand for it anymore, I guess.
Sent from my XT897 using xda premium

General Discussion in the General Thread

Redirected from
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2551715&page=58#post57872212
(Sorry Moderators if I'm doing something wrong, but most of us were posting stuff on the DEV thread...)
I have to agree with @Dukenukemx that newer phones suck and that most don't even have physical keyboards.
This is probable because of the increase in screen size and the general interest in lighter, thinner phones. I actually really, really enjoy a heavy phone. It makes them feel solid, like those age-old Nokias. The myTouch especially is rather heavy, and I've dropped mine a lot mainly because I'm in college and I'm always in a rush but also because I'm clumsy as ****. Heavier phones are more solidly built, because of the thicker plastic required to support all the moving parts, in the myTouch's case, the G2, and the G1.
Gonna edit this later, I'm not done.

AndrMatr said:
Redirected from
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2551715&page=58#post57872212
(Sorry Moderators if I'm doing something wrong, but most of us were posting stuff on the DEV thread...)
I have to agree with @Dukenukemx that newer phones suck and that most don't even have physical keyboards.
This is probable because of the increase in screen size and the general interest in lighter, thinner phones. I actually really, really enjoy a heavy phone. It makes them feel solid, like those age-old Nokias. The myTouch especially is rather heavy, and I've dropped mine a lot mainly because I'm in college and I'm always in a rush but also because I'm clumsy as ****. Heavier phones are more solidly built, because of the thicker plastic required to support all the moving parts, in the myTouch's case, the G2, and the G1.
Gonna edit this later, I'm not done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's an interesting situation. Now I like the smaller phones because I don't want to have to be toting what is increasingly becoming a tablet in the front pocket. 4" screen is my limit, which rounds out to 122mm height, just small enough for a camera case.
I could have went iPhone with a Bluetooth keyboard but I don't like the Apple company model.
I won't repost the link I left in the other thread, but it talks about how Sprint did customer surveys which found people preferred hardware keyboards. They built two models, and close to no one bought them.
A big issue is that the lines are unrecognizable, and middle of the road in terms of specs. Since the specifications have pretty much stayed the same since then, "new" models are now bordering on low end phones. Ones that will never get updates, support, or any hope in general.
The suggestion in the end was that a qwerty line must be tied to a flagship device, or it won't survive. But after I had a couple beers with a network provider, their thoughts is that the market for qwerty is so niche that it would be too much risk for them.
A full sized device with a keyboard would not be practical. With the size they make them now, a few extra millimeters thickness for the keyboard makes it look bulky. A "Q" model would have to be tied to a device with a reduced size, like the S4 Mini, which is already a niche device.
Another issue, particularly with the doubleshot is with the hardware breakdown. Flex cable problems are all too common. With bar phones, it seems the only hardware problems they get are with the power button, and sometimes the volume rocker.
This may be my last foray in the hardware keyboard trend. I could (probably) get my cases made, which would be expensive and annoying, but it is what it is. Without a keyboard, and the ability to have a custom made case, I am willing to go to a phone size up to 5.5". So that would mean either a Nexus 5, Moto X 2013, or Moto G.
But it will be a while before I need to make that decision. My F3Q is still going strong (and strangely less miserable than the MT4GS, even though it wasn't a bad phone), although I miss the tactile response home buttons. ROM support would be nice, but I really like the LG interface right now (even though I replaced the launcher and icon pack).
My rant is over, for now.
Sent from my LG-D520 using XDA Free mobile app

@joel.maxuel, you have an interesting point when you said that a flagship device is needed for the keyboard to survive.
At the time, the myTouch was a flagship device. At the T-Moblie store I worked at every one of the guys I was working with had one. One had a red one, one had a white one, and I had LG Doubleplay (which is terrible phone, by the way) that I only got because it had two screens, which defeated the purpose of a battery.
While useful, the keyboards take up a little extra battery with the backlight. As far as the Doubleplay goes, the second screen combined with the keyboard just made the battery drain like someone who won the lottery throws away their money on houses, cars, etc. I never looked into Cyanogenmod for it, although that would be AWESOME with 4.x.x, having that extra screen for messaging and the top screen for whatever else so I can watch videos while I text.
Another device for the keyboard issue is the Kyocera Echo.
I don't know how many of you are familiar with the device, but it had two screens, which could be used in tandem with each other, you could pull an image onto both screens expanded so the image took up both screens. It was an extremely advanced version of the Doubleplay. The second screen was also the keyboard, which I didn't like because there was no physical feedback except the vibration of the phone. I liked the myTouch that when I was working for T-Mob I almost bought one, however I forgot about it as soon as I had access to the Sidekick 4G. What I liked about that phone was the lock screen, which displayed the time in words rather than the numbers. The trackpad was a joke, never worked properly, but it had a decent processor and a decent amount of RAM for 2.2 Froyo.
The keyboard was excellent, it had pretty good functionality. The buttons were really, really well spaced. There was no room for accidentally pressing a key and sending a text sending something really inappropriate instead of something harmless. Froyo is like Windows XP.
The downside of the Sidekick was that you almost always had to use both hands to press the soft keys, which I found to be almosed completely useless. Samsung did a terrible job of designing it. I have almost always had a keyboarded phone, and that's why I have switched carriers so much. T-Mob has always had the best Android phones, by far. Verizon's are also moderately decent, but T-Mob's were the best.
My favorite phone ever, was the G1. Forgive me, but I totally forgot about the spitting image of Google. Poorly designed, ugly, but very, very easy to use. I found out that it went all the way to ICS, and I threw mine out just about the time that ICS came out. The keyboard was the best addition to the phone that HTC could have added. The keyboard was snug, good for my (at the time) small fingers (I was 13). The trackball didn't light up, which was disappointing, that's what I liked about Blackberries (but blackberries themselves are a joke). When the myTouch 3G Slide came out, my friend got one and then he gave it to me. Even though it was slow as $#!+ the keyboard was the best thing (As I type this I realised that HTC had a thing for keyboards) about the phone.
My final point: Keyboards were a very, very important part of Android history. While keyboards had a fad, and like most things, they will make a come back. They might not be on major devices, but they will be on devices that will be supported enough for Cyanogenmod and the likes. I visited a AT&T store about a year ago and there were a couple of Android phones with keyboards. I look at foreign markets occasionally, and there are some companies that have keyboarded Android phones with decent specs (like a 2.2GHz quad core ARMv7 processor and an Adreno 430) but their hardware is cheaply made and the ratings that were translated by Google said that the hardware burned up fast. Battery life was almost zero.
Conclusion: wait a few years, or go live in China or Japan.
Edit
Oh, and by the way, I found this:
http://www.afterdawn.com/news/artic...ils_leaked_on_upcoming_mytouch_android_sequel
The phone looks like a combination between the myTouch 4G Slide and the 3G Slide, but there's no "chin" or whatever. The face is completely flat.
Personally, I think this one looks really cool. I have no idea why HTC didn't go with this design, I think it's really good, but instead they went with the original design of the current myTouch 3G Slide, which is what the 4G Slide is based off of.
What do you guys think?

Why non keyboard phones? It's not hard to imagine why companies don't make them. The demand for them has gone away. Why? Is touchscreen superior?
Look at the current trend of Android phones. They're getting bigger, but everyone hates them bigger, but everyone needs them bigger. Cause when you hold the phone on the side the keyboard consumes the screen. It's the most comfortable way to type, because holding it vertical gives you more visible screen, but less keyboard. So the solution is to make the screen bigger.
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But the reason everyone gets these keyboardless phones is because of iPhone. Everyone wants an iPhone clone. It's to look cool without the Apple tax. Manufacturers have no problems with this, as it makes manufacturing these phones cheaper. They encourage people to go for brick style phones, just like they encourage people to spend more on internal storage and cloud services. It's done by not including SD card slots and charge a lot for 32GB phones. Despite that a 32GB class 10 SD Card is only $17 on Amazon, and that's not even the cheap ones.
How hard is it to make a brick phone? Screen+SoC+battery = phone. When companies like HTC are falling apart when all they can do is continue to make more powerful iPhone clones. Like I care how much faster my phone can get when I don't have the software on it. Hey look 2+Ghz quad core with GPU9001 graphics with screen resolution beyond 1080p. So it's obviously for gaming, cause Facebook doesn't need this kind of power. It would be more comfortable to use a keyboard for gaming, especially games like ShovelKnight. Instead of HTC going after qwerty again they just keep trying to one up Samsung, LG, and Apple in shear power. Meanwhile best touchscreen games are AngryBirds, FruitNinja, and etc, which don't need that kind of power.

Well, in the beginning, it was more than a fad, it was a requirement. On screen keyboards were not part of the OS until Donut 1.6, where the G1 was released with Cupcake 1.5...
Sent from my LG-D520 using XDA Free mobile app

@Dukenukemx
You're right on the "More Power" idea. I totally agree.
Companies are repeatedly trying to 1-up each other with hardware.
While the G1 is struggling with 4.0.4, phones like the LG Phoenix are thriving even on Lollipop.
The Samsung Glalaxy Note III has an insane processor that can play Minecraft with no problem.
The Samsung Glalaxy Centura has an 800Mhz processor that can handle Minecraft with no problem. The only problem I have with my Phoenix is the processor architecture being ARMv6, and Minecraft is built on an ARMv7 platform. The Adreno 200 handles NFS Shift with no problem. If the Phoenix had ARMv7 I would have just bought a Bluetooth keyboard and played around with that. I'm happy with the Phoenix and if I can downgrade the CWM recovery back to 5.x.x.x I might also downgrade the OS to either 4.0.4 or 4.1.2.
And you're right with the whole memory problem. My Phoenix shipped with an unexpected 32GB Sandisk 32GB MicroSD card already wiped in the device! I bought the phone itself for $19.95 on amazon, and the card came with it! Apple bumps the price on a new iPhone up about $100-$200 per memory level. Other manufacturers are doing the same. It's not about the phone anymore. It's about the game. Manufacturers just slap the newest and biggest on their devices while devs are constantly tyring to keep up. The battery life is dismal. My Phoenix gets 2-3 days on a charge with a 1520MAh 3.7V battery. The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a 10.78 WH battery... Since when was battery life rated in the amount of watts used? The watt is a measurement of heat... That's disturbing. Even my myTouch gets warm while browsing the web, nevermind I fried my last one playing Minecraft. Given I had the processor overclocked by a whole 500MHz, that's mostly my fault. My Phoenix can barely handle a 148MHz overclock. The phones (myTouch and Phoenix) were released two months apart! Had Minecraft development started then, we would probably still see a lot of ARMv7 exclusive apps actually developed for ARMv6 as well. Developers tend to go to the brighter side of the latest and greatest, however people like me prefer to hang out on the deep end and dig through the dirt and bring old relics to light (like the Phoenix or the G1). Even the iPhone 3GS received an Android update! All you had to do was jailbreak it. iDroid development stopped right around the release of JB mainly because the 3GS's hardware couldn't keep up with Android and the developers had better things to do than tinker around with brand new iPhones. iOS is up to what, iOS 9? Android is only recently to 5.0!
I definitely prefer Android, though, because Android is open source and Apple is paranoid and has all of their stuff closed-source. I remember the announcement in Google News when the Android Market reached its one-billionth app download, and now most apps have over 100,000 and the number of Android apps is blowing up exponentially. I looked at Google's stock worth per share: 526 as of posting. About 8 or 9 months ago it was at over a thousand. Apple's stock? 110. Microsoft? Forget it. microsoft is becoming a game company now. Microsoft is becoming Blackberry: Everyone uses it but they either don't care about it or hate it. Windows 8 was a joke. I have extremely high expectations for Windows 10. I don't want to be disappointed so I'm using Ubuntu.

joel.maxuel said:
Well, in the beginning, it was more than a fad, it was a requirement. On screen keyboards were not part of the OS until Donut 1.6, where the G1 was released with Cupcake 1.5...
Sent from my LG-D520 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be argued that it's a fad to not have a keyboard. Is removing SD cards also a fad too? Nobody wants Windows phones, but somehow they keep getting made. Part of it is market influence, and part of it is collaboration. I believe there's a lot of people who are still waiting for a next generation QWERTY phone, but nobody is making them? Something is not right here. We are being pushed into a direction that companies want. Who doesn't want a SD card in their phone? WHO?
The Motorola Droid 4 is the best QWERTY phone today. It has respectable specs for a phone today, but it was made 2 years ago. I would be using it now if it worked on T-Mobile. There are people waiting for the Droid 5, but that's likely never going to happen. But I also believe that companies like HTC, LG, Samsung, and even Apple are facing a growing menace. The Chinese ultra cheap market is growing and ready to explode into a problem for them. Willing to believe they have no problem with making QWERTY phones. I have no problem with Mediatek or Allwinner chips in my phone. Probably the worst thing going for the Chinese phones is lack of community rom support and support for T-Mobile.

AndrMatr said:
Even the iPhone 3GS received an Android update! All you had to do was jailbreak it. iDroid development stopped right around the release of JB mainly because the 3GS's hardware couldn't keep up with Android and the developers had better things to do than tinker around with brand new iPhones. iOS is up to what, iOS 9? Android is only recently to 5.0!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't know about the iDroid project, sounds like a cool initiative. Too bad they didn't keep it up (with the newer devices).
Your point that the iPhone couldn't keep up with JB tells me that either (a) Apple products are underspecced as well as being overpriced, or (b) the shift in OS requirements for Android were rather steep (in reality the big jump was from GB to ICS). With the options available, I figure it is mostly the former.
I don't understand the point of Android vs iOS versioning. Both release major versions once a year. Android just didn't mark those milestones with a full increment.
Sent from my LG-D520 using XDA Free mobile app
---------- Post added at 01:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:15 AM ----------
Dukenukemx said:
It could be argued that it's a fad to not have a keyboard. Is removing SD cards also a fad too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that no longer having a keyboard is more of a trend, not a fad. A fad is a passing phase, likely/hopefully phablets for example. Since a hardware keyboard is no longer necessary, and too many people have voted with their wallets (never mind the fact my friend at Eastlink pointed out - you cannot customize a hardware keyboard) it is difficult that manufacturers will go back to that, including cheap chinese manufacturers to create latin-based phones for that matter.
The big companies have took too many notes from Apple - no SD card, non-removable battery, although they have pushed other nasties onto the market i.e. ever increasing screen sizes to hide the need for more chassis space for the specs.
Lack of SD card and removable battery is the worst for people like us. No SD card means we cannot back up userdata in recovery. No removable battery means we have nothing to pull if we bootloop and need to hard reset (AFAIK).
Their stance is that it saves space, and with 64GB onboard, why need expansion for a card that often cannot be more than 32GB anyway? I don't know the reasoning for the battery, but it means that the phone has to be replaced much sooner, and it cannot be shipped easily in many locations.
Its hard to tell what is a fad or a trend, but if enough people vote with their wallets, hindsight will determine the outcome.
Sent from my LG-D520 using XDA Free mobile app

joel.maxuel said:
I didn't know about the iDroid project, sounds like a cool initiative. Too bad they didn't keep it up (with the newer devices).
Your point that the iPhone couldn't keep up with JB tells me that either (a) Apple products are underspecced as well as being overpriced, or (b) the shift in OS requirements for Android were rather steep (in reality the big jump was from GB to ICS). With the options available, I figure it is mostly the former.
I don't understand the point of Android vs iOS versioning. Both release major versions once a year. Android just didn't mark those milestones with a full increment.
I think that no longer having a keyboard is more of a trend, not a fad. A fad is a passing phase, likely/hopefully phablets for example. Since a hardware keyboard is no longer necessary, and too many people have voted with their wallets (never mind the fact my friend at Eastlink pointed out - you cannot customize a hardware keyboard) it is difficult that manufacturers will go back to that, including cheap chinese manufacturers to create latin-based phones for that matter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as Apple devices being underspecced, I completely agree. The 4S had a 1Ghz dual core processor in 2011, where as we have the myTouch and the Samsung Galaxy S Whatever. While the iPhone 4S had really, really good battery life (that's the only good thing about Apple and Blackberry, everything else is total crap) it was a terrible phone, I ended up installing android on it with working 3G and wifi, plus texting and calling. A lot of apps were super incompatible with the iPhone's hardware. The Cortex-A9 was a sh*tty processor to begin with, and the PowerVR GPU was total BS as well. In contrast, my little, reliable Phoenix runs NFS Shift really well. I downloaded it for iOS when I wasn't using Android, and the iPhone could barely handle the graphics. I'll give Apple the cake for design. The iPhone 4S looked really cool. The ONLY part I actually enjoyed about iOS was Siri, and ther's a bunch of Android apps just for that. Given the'r not as good, they work much better in my experience.
On another note, how good would X86 and X64 desktop architecture work with Android? I heard newer versions of Android phones will be x64 compatible.
Aside from that, the Droid Turbo has better specs than my current PC, and once the Droid Turbo loses value because of the terrible battery life I might buy one and load up Bochs (a x86 desktop processor emulator and virtual machine for Android) and just boot Windows XP. I wonder how well that would work? It almost worked on a G2, it was just really slow.
Yet another topic, a lot of PC games that have launcher clients (Skyrim, Oblivion, COD, NFS) all use a standalone .exe that grabs the files and loads them into the RAM as needed. What if someone recompiles the launcher/client .exe for Android, and transfers the files to the SD card and installs the APK? Can that work? The Android apps like Ravensword also uses external data separate from the standalone APK app are practically the same, except the APK is the client instead of .exe. Could this mean we can get Skyrim for Android? I mean, we have the hardware. All we need is a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, or a compatible game controller. I take it you'd have to modify a few files for hardware reasons, but other than that it might work. A buddy of mine tried to get it to work with Oblivion, but he failed because it was too big of a task and took too much time.

Dukenukemx said:
The Motorola Droid 4 is the best QWERTY phone today. It has respectable specs for a phone today, but it was made 2 years ago. I would be using it now if it worked on T-Mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking about that. It has better specs than the MT4GS, existing the 8GB internal and the 1024MB of RAM. I might buy one for novelty purposes, use it as an android equivalent to and iPod Touch (which is what my MT4GS is doing, I have all media forwarded through bluetooth[calls, texts,internet]) but my problem is I already have two MT4GS's and I'm just gonna wear both of them out. By the time I break both of them HOPEFULLY there will be a decent QWERTY phone. T-Mobile seems like a good option, it's too bad alternate ROMs don't let us do a SIM unlock. My LG Phoenix, which I adore, is still loyal to me even though it doesn't have an SD card and is still sticking with me considering how much crap I've put it through.
It's also a shame that LG took over the Gx series, I really would have liked HTC to continue it. Just imagine another QWERTY phone! The HTC G3! I'm probably gonna whip out my pencil and draw it, I'll share it with you guys! Then I might send the design to HTC... Forget it. It's only a dream, but the concept is enjoyable. The HTC One should have a slide out variation, like the myTouch and the Evo 4G series'. Just browsing Amazon I see quite a few really, really crappy QWERTY phones in the style of Blackberrys. They disgust me.

Like it or not like it, I expect thanks for this. I apologise for the poor drawing skills, they are usually better and I was excited and rushed this a little.
Just in case the image doesn't show up, here:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6Qo4xLF16dSOFlVRDM4ZUFwV0E/edit?usp=docslist_api

New slider coming out

This has been rumored for a while now, but this seems to be more concrete:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015...android-phone-the-priv-will-launch-this-year/
BTW, this place has been completely dead for a few weeks now, and the last nightly is dated Sept 6. I tried several months back to start building my own ROM images, but before I got all the way there, someone else stepped up. Before you vanish completely, I might like to try this again, especially if someone can help me get started. I remember one file in particular that I don't know if I did correctly, perhaps it was "local.manifest", or something like that. If I can get running, with a bit of assistance, I can start putting up nightlies, if not nightly, at least at some interval.

I dunno, I kinda don't like the way the keyboard is. The keys seems too small. I'd like a keyboard in landscape mode.
Also, being by blackberry means rooting won't be as easy.

I couldn't agree more with you tpmjb about wanting a landscape keyboard phone, but i think this a big move for blackberry and warrants our support if we ever want to see another qwerty android device ever. The priv is getting allot of press and i think allot of people are excited about it. I also believe that the capacitative thingy for s6 was made because they heard about it ahead of time.

chuckiev79 said:
I couldn't agree more with you tpmjb about wanting a landscape keyboard phone, but i think this a big move for blackberry and warrants our support if we ever want to see another qwerty android device ever. The priv is getting allot of press and i think allot of people are excited about it. I also believe that the capacitative thingy for s6 was made because they heard about it ahead of time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I changed my mind, I'm buying the Blackberry Priv. I figure it will be rooted before too long, and I'll probably get used to the keyboard. Also, this phone has severe problems with GPS, which I use to get around everywhere.

At $700, very few people will be purchasing a Priv. There will be no development community for the device.
There are plenty of people that want a keyboard, but that desire will not make hundreds of additional dollars magically materialize.
Furthermore, a $700 device should have 4GB and an 810 under the hood. The Priv forces compromise with 3 gigs and an 808.
QWERTY is dead.

No designated number row.... the main reason I chose the Relay over the Glide... well, that and lack of bluetooth phone calls in jb4.1+
I've been following the blackberry for a while and the rumors of them going android, really hoping somebody comes out with a horizontal slider.

Rumors say it has dual boot os. Android and bbos10

orange808 said:
At $700, very few people will be purchasing a Priv. There will be no development community for the device.
There are plenty of people that want a keyboard, but that desire will not make hundreds of additional dollars magically materialize.
Furthermore, a $700 device should have 4GB and an 810 under the hood. The Priv forces compromise with 3 gigs and an 808.
QWERTY is dead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you buy a Samsung Galaxy S6, you can take advantage of certain economies of massive scale. If you choose a Priv, the economies of scale aren't the same. And so you won't get the same value for money.
Still, the price of the Priv will fall over time.
Plus, I suspect that, six months or a year after its release, it'll be possible to buy a used or refurbished Priv for far less than $700. Then you can use your Priv with a deep-discount carrier — a carrier which doesn't offer handset subsidies, but which offers ultra-cheap plans.
Alternatively, if you're with a carrier which offers handset subsidies, you may be able to sign a long-term contract and buy a heavily-discounted Priv. You can then pay your carrier back over time.

Looks cool but its t9 not qwerty
http://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_w2016_highend_clamshell_gets_official_in_china-news-15129.php

orange808 said:
At $700, very few people will be purchasing a Priv. There will be no development community for the device.
There are plenty of people that want a keyboard, but that desire will not make hundreds of additional dollars magically materialize.
Furthermore, a $700 device should have 4GB and an 810 under the hood. The Priv forces compromise with 3 gigs and an 808.
QWERTY is dead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually SD808 is atleast as good as SD810 or even better. SD810 is thorttling too much and it is not stable in every day use. Take a look at here: Thermal Throttling – Which SOC’s are the Worst Offenders.
Qwerty sliders are dying but you have to be creative. I modded my own qwerty slider from Xiaomi Mi4C and iPhone 6 bluetooth keyboard case: Qwerty Keyboard Slider [DIY]

phred14 said:
This has been rumored for a while now, but this seems to be more concrete:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015...android-phone-the-priv-will-launch-this-year/
BTW, this place has been completely dead for a few weeks now, and the last nightly is dated Sept 6. I tried several months back to start building my own ROM images, but before I got all the way there, someone else stepped up. Before you vanish completely, I might like to try this again, especially if someone can help me get started. I remember one file in particular that I don't know if I did correctly, perhaps it was "local.manifest", or something like that. If I can get running, with a bit of assistance, I can start putting up nightlies, if not nightly, at least at some interval.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know why they even came out with Priv cause there was already Q5 & Q10...and on top of that most big shot Companies think people (Or everyone is a Text-Crazed Teenager) only use phones for texting and emails... ... ...those are pretty much the same and most simplistic things people will do with a phone besides Facebook... BLACKBERRY, MOTOROLA, SAMSUNG...I use my Relay at one point to replace my Computer (Dell D800 which start to run at 600MHz and 1GB RAM)...Stop with this Marketing Target business.
We the customer aren't Programmers or Teenagers, we don't need an iPhone or Phones that match with what we wear (Motorola)...we need Convenience...hence why you -blackberry- lost the market cause you keep pushing out small screen -but bigger than Nokia- phones that didn't really improve much (NO NUMROW, worst is the Sony Xperia sk17 (Mini Pro, 3") and sk16 (Pro, 3.7"), both have the exact same keyboard...3.7" and they didn't put Numrow or Okay Button). Had they had the size of a S3 or a 4" screen-phone-size with the Keyboard or not make the mistake like Symbian -Nokia E6, Touch with Buttons on Screen design for DPAD- they couldn't lose there market, but Priv is show us how Blackberry needs to let go or improve its model, not make more nostalgia (I don't know if that is right) while thinking its the big screen that everyone loves (If iPod had a Stylus instead of Touch, people would look at that like its a Color Palm Pilot...as where touch is better based how you control it).
Me when I saw Passport and Priv, I laughed my butt off, only Trenders will buy. I was even thinking Blackberry was going to actually come out with a Landscape Slider at one point and make a video with the Song "I want to know that, want to know that, will you Love me Again" playing...but snap Blackberry, Storm (My Twin Sister first Bought it, I wasn't even into Phones until 2012...born 1992 and got a Relay in 2015...made in 2012) was fail for me cause of putting 1 clicker in the Center of phone instead of 9-13 or 16-20 (Top/Mid/Bottom+Left/Center/Right to Between Center/Corner=4 or to Quarter of Size or to Fifth of Size or even put more at the bottom for the keyboard)...you guys should have built a fake plastic prototype of that feature (1 Hard Clicker to 13 Mid-Soft Clickers unless the 1 made it seem hard) cause had it not failed it would have been like iPhone 6 pressure screen...
Blackberry thinks that only 1 Phone is the Best, but Truly they Grew when you went from Pearl to Bold, etc and bold to Q5/10 (Had they made Torch like that), but Priv or Private -as I call it if it becomes Landscape Slider then Lieutenant and Colonel- is why Blackberry shouldn't design Hardware Form.
They are 100% correct about software cause I can Play PSP and Edit Word Docs on my Android and Hackers figured out a way to play all PS1 on PSP, but Sony's Devs couldn't (Embarrassing).
The only reason I have a PC is literally cause I'm doing online schooling and the website needs Internet Explorer or Google Chrome or else the interaction might slip up on a Mobile Device...other than that the only reason I bought a Vostro 14 is because it can play PS3 equivalent games (Skyrim, Saints Row, etc)...so I don't need a PC or the Lastest Android (GingerBread was my World and now JellyBean, in fact an LG Ahola has a keyboard with Prediction, where as my Relay doesn't...Relay is 4.1.2 and LG Ahola is 2.1 with 600Mhz CPU & 256MB RAM...it really depends on how you design it...even Motorola Defy Pro had it too...also Relay doesn't have a OKAY Button so if I highlight/select text (Shift+Left/Right) with Keyboard and touch to use Copy/Cut, the selected text disappears)
And funny thing today -Octo-core is 2xQuad-core CPU with 4 low & 4 high power- same thing I said ever since I got my first Phone -A Nokia 5000-6000series- I need something for note taking and I'm pretty sure that doesn't require a very fast Computer or computer at all (Cause now Tech is getting better)...if anyone is smart they stop with Big Screens and go to built-in Project-on-to-screen-like-a-flashlight or Project-to-a-screen-via-cable...cause I once saw a Phone design as Processor that goes into a Tablet...
There are so many things and ways of doing any thing, but Blackberry choose Portrait Slider...over Landscape and no alternative...when they've been using Landscape the Whole time (I know this contradicts before, but not increasing the Screen Size is what was Blackberry's Downfall)...In fact I just realize when has Portrait been used in an electronic besides Reading Text Material (Like on actual Paper) cause Televisions and Computers don't have Portrait Screens, I would use Word Doc and Landscape Shaped Window even if page is Portrait and the thing I see most people use big scr.een phones for is Videos...in Landscape...I read my Comics in Landscape (Cause Portrait is small).
Portrait is for the Quick and Easy or Simple Stuff (1-Hand)...Landscape is for 2 Handers and yet people who design for Portrait still put the things you need to Touch at the Top of the Screen...I only need Time at Top if I need to see it at the Lock Screen not when I am using the Phone.
Sorry for variety of errors of Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling, Sentence Structure, dotting my i's and crossing my t's (Joking on the last part). I didn't proofread much.
Best Keyboard was Motorola Droid 3 and LG C710 Aloha, but sadly there Hardware wasn't good.

Flash-A-Holic said:
Actually SD808 is atleast as good as SD810 or even better. SD810 is thorttling too much and it is not stable in every day use. Take a look at here: Thermal Throttling – Which SOC’s are the Worst Offenders.
Qwerty sliders are dying but you have to be creative. I modded my own qwerty slider from Xiaomi Mi4C and iPhone 6 bluetooth keyboard case: Qwerty Keyboard Slider [DIY]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate those keys, though. That's the same bluetooth case available on every modern phone. They change the brands a million times on Amazon, but it's the same case. Price varies wildly too.
Keys are wayyyyyy too close together. It's somehow faster to type each letter on a touch screen.

TPMJB said:
I hate those keys, though. That's the same bluetooth case available on every modern phone. They change the brands a million times on Amazon, but it's the same case. Price varies wildly too.
Keys are wayyyyyy too close together. It's somehow faster to type each letter on a touch screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not that bad. There is shaped buttons for better touch in my keyboard. I have seen different keyboard which are worse.

Flash-A-Holic said:
It is not that bad. There is shaped buttons for better touch in my keyboard. I have seen different keyboard which are worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh weird, where'd you get a 5 row case? I thought it was the ****ty 4 row case that's on Amazon, from the thumbnail on your video. I might just check it out
Edit: Wow, it looks exactly like my relay keyboard! I'm definitely interested! Every Amazon link I see is that awful 4 row keyboard.
...but not for $72 eee gad

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2016/12/blackberry-dtek70-mercury-leaked/
It looks like BB is about to release another QWERTY phone. But the times of slider keyboards are gone.

Guys... prepare your butts, the holy grail:
https://www.computerbase.de/2017-01/graalphone-4-in-1-notebook-smartphone-tablet-3d-kamera/
The GraalPhone!!! Next year in Europe and USA!!

Had my hopes up then...but look at the size of it! It's massive