Hey, it's my sister's birthday coming up and she wants a new phone. So being the android fan that I am, I want to get here an android. However, she's slightly autistic and struggles with touch screen keyboards (She used to own a touch screen Samsung and has an android tablet) since she got herself a crabberry I have noticed a huge improvment in her typing and she has even told me she doesn't want to get a phone where she is required to use a touch screen to type.
So my question is, are there any half-decent android phones with a physical qwerty keyboard on the market right now that aren't ridiculously priced?
Thank you in advance.
I think there is no fresh model with physical keyboard. I once had HTC chacha and it was probably last decent android phone with qwerty keyboard
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Xperia_Play said:
Hey, it's my sister's birthday coming up and she wants a new phone. So being the android fan that I am, I want to get here an android. However, she's slightly autistic and struggles with touch screen keyboards (She used to own a touch screen Samsung and has an android tablet) since she got herself a crabberry I have noticed a huge improvment in her typing and she has even told me she doesn't want to get a phone where she is required to use a touch screen to type.
So my question is, are there any half-decent android phones with a physical qwerty keyboard on the market right now that aren't ridiculously priced?
Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
niziou is right, i dont think they make physical keyboard phones anymore.
The DROlD 4 is you best bet.
Q
Depends on the carrier (assuming you're in the US). The 4 major carriers all have or had sliding QWERTY keyboard phones, but nothing terribly recent. AT&T had the Samsung Captivate Glide, T-Mobile had the LG F3Q, Sprint had the Motorola Photon Q, Verizon had the Droid series. They're at least a couple years old, and none run anything newer than 4.0 or 4.1.
I feel weird saying this, and it's probably the only time I've ever recommended looking at a BlackBerry, but check out the Q10. Classic BB keyboard, a smallish 3.1" 720p screen (1:1 ratio, that's kinda weird), OK processor, 2gb RAM. Stuff apparently runs smooth and snappy, although the gesture-based navigation is very unlike Android or iOS. The main reason I'd say to look at one is that BB OS 10.2 can run Android apps (via side-loading, I assume) that are 4.1 JB compatible and earlier. The Q10 is available on pretty much any provider.
Otherwise, you're looking at finding a good condition used or refurbed or possibly NOS Android from a couple years ago or so. The LG F3Q is actually pretty new (came out in January), but its specs aren't. The good news is that any of those older ones should be pretty cheap.
Planterz said:
Depends on the carrier (assuming you're in the US). The 4 major carriers all have or had sliding QWERTY keyboard phones, but nothing terribly recent. AT&T had the Samsung Captivate Glide, T-Mobile had the LG F3Q, Sprint had the Motorola Photon Q, Verizon had the Droid series. They're at least a couple years old, and none run anything newer than 4.0 or 4.1.
I feel weird saying this, and it's probably the only time I've ever recommended looking at a BlackBerry, but check out the Q10. Classic BB keyboard, a smallish 3.1" 720p screen (1:1 ratio, that's kinda weird), OK processor, 2gb RAM. Stuff apparently runs smooth and snappy, although the gesture-based navigation is very unlike Android or iOS. The main reason I'd say to look at one is that BB OS 10.2 can run Android apps (via side-loading, I assume) that are 4.1 JB compatible and earlier. The Q10 is available on pretty much any provider.
Otherwise, you're looking at finding a good condition used or refurbed or possibly NOS Android from a couple years ago or so. The LG F3Q is actually pretty new (came out in January), but its specs aren't. The good news is that any of those older ones should be pretty cheap.
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Click to collapse
aw man I forgot all about those phones
Sorry. I think there is no recent smartphone with physical keyboard
Planterz said:
Depends on the carrier (assuming you're in the US). The 4 major carriers all have or had sliding QWERTY keyboard phones, but nothing terribly recent. AT&T had the Samsung Captivate Glide, T-Mobile had the LG F3Q, Sprint had the Motorola Photon Q, Verizon had the Droid series. They're at least a couple years old, and none run anything newer than 4.0 or 4.1.
I feel weird saying this, and it's probably the only time I've ever recommended looking at a BlackBerry, but check out the Q10. Classic BB keyboard, a smallish 3.1" 720p screen (1:1 ratio, that's kinda weird), OK processor, 2gb RAM. Stuff apparently runs smooth and snappy, although the gesture-based navigation is very unlike Android or iOS. The main reason I'd say to look at one is that BB OS 10.2 can run Android apps (via side-loading, I assume) that are 4.1 JB compatible and earlier. The Q10 is available on pretty much any provider.
Otherwise, you're looking at finding a good condition used or refurbed or possibly NOS Android from a couple years ago or so. The LG F3Q is actually pretty new (came out in January), but its specs aren't. The good news is that any of those older ones should be pretty cheap.
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Click to collapse
Well that is not completely true. To be honest I can talk about the captivate glide only but for it there are 4.0, 4.1, 4.2 and of course also the newest 4.4 Android version available as custom rom. If you have no fear to install a custom rom I absolutely and highly recommend the captivate glide. Depends on what your preferences are but in my case it is the best qwerty atm. At least for me because I live in Europe and I do not want to do any physical SIM mods etc like you need to do for the Photon e.g.
The Glide has a a good community and many different roms available.
The LG Optimus F3Q which was released this year is available at tmobile only atm. That and the fact that it is quite new results in not a good support for custom roms for it atm. That may / hopefully will change (there is already work on this) but who knows what happens. So IMHO buy a glide
Jm5c
Xdajog
Sent from my SGH-I927 using XDA Free mobile app
Hey, I've been thinking about this for almost 4 years and finally have an answer.
The Blackberry PRIV, aka STV100-1, is a slider with a physical keyboard. (Yes, that Blackberry, though someone else actually does the phone.) I don't use the keyboard, but I have the phone because I like it otherwise. For whatever reason, it was not a big hit, so you can buy them used for $100 or so on you-know-where. It runs Android 6.0.1. It includes many fancy BB high-security messaging things, but I don't use those either.
Related
I am ready to toss out my old Wing (my Kaiser died) and am in the market for a new phone.
The problem I am having is that I feel like purchasing a phone now would be a mistake, since it is likely that a new, mo-betta version will be out in a month or so.
As such, I am willing to wait, up to three or four months if necessary, for the perfect phone.
I have been shopping around, visiting Gizmodo and the like, searching for the best possible phone that should last me until 2012.
Anyone have any suggestions? Buy now, or wait, and if so, which phone?
Comming form kaiser you must need a hardware keyboard.
If that is correct you have 2 options:
1. Buy now a great Rhodium (the best hardware keyboard to this date)
2. Wait a few months and go for the Tera (smaller screen than Rhodium
Let us know what you´ve got
If you don't need a hardware keyboard, HD2 all the way!
If you want some new excitement from the old WM scene, then go for the awesome Nexus One android on tmobile!
Honestly, its either you settle for already out of date with any WM6.5 phone or you go for Android for which updates will keep on rolling out straight from the manufacturer. Windows Phone Series 7 was just announced, but its not going to be available until the holidays... that's 10 months from now. So if you get an HD2, unless there are ROM leaks (which are unlikely given the hush environment thus far and the fact that the ZuneHD can't be yet be cracked), your stuck with WM6.5. If you get a Touch Pro2, your already a year behind, as the hardware specifications was released a over year ago in the original Xperia X1. So honestly, Nexus One or X10 (assuming you want XDA support) are probably the way to go, if you want your phone to last you a long time. Otherwise, iPhone 3GS or Palm Pre, as both of those will definitely get all OS updates likely for the next 2 years.
Hey, Guys, thanks for the suggestions thus far.
For clarification;
I am currently on T-Mobile and with three lines, will probably be with them for a while. I also travel to Africa and Europe from time to time, so I prefer a Quad-Band, if this is still the tech for that.
I do like my hardware QWERTY, but the Wing's keyboard is lacking so I've kinda gotten used to the on-screen keyboard. I really liked Kaiser's keyboard though...
I don't like WinMo7's new interface, per the hand's-on reviews I've seen. I guess this means I'll be looking at Android.
So far, I like the Nexus One best due to the 1ghz processor, but I've read bad things about the contract(s). I'll probably end up buying the phone outright if I can get away with no contracts at all.
I checked out the Rhodium but the specs were a little light for me. Does anyone have one that can testify to it's capabilities? Looks like HTC's TouchFlo is built-in...
Snarksneeze said:
Hey, Guys, thanks for the suggestions thus far.
For clarification;
I am currently on T-Mobile and with three lines, will probably be with them for a while. I also travel to Africa and Europe from time to time, so I prefer a Quad-Band, if this is still the tech for that.
I do like my hardware QWERTY, but the Wing's keyboard is lacking so I've kinda gotten used to the on-screen keyboard. I really liked Kaiser's keyboard though...
I don't like WinMo7's new interface, per the hand's-on reviews I've seen. I guess this means I'll be looking at Android.
So far, I like the Nexus One best due to the 1ghz processor, but I've read bad things about the contract(s). I'll probably end up buying the phone outright if I can get away with no contracts at all.
I checked out the Rhodium but the specs were a little light for me. Does anyone have one that can testify to it's capabilities? Looks like HTC's TouchFlo is built-in...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile US or Europe?
sonus said:
T-Mobile US or Europe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, T-Mobile US.
Snarksneeze said:
Hey, Guys, thanks for the suggestions thus far.
For clarification;
I am currently on T-Mobile and with three lines, will probably be with them for a while. I also travel to Africa and Europe from time to time, so I prefer a Quad-Band, if this is still the tech for that.
I do like my hardware QWERTY, but the Wing's keyboard is lacking so I've kinda gotten used to the on-screen keyboard. I really liked Kaiser's keyboard though...
I don't like WinMo7's new interface, per the hand's-on reviews I've seen. I guess this means I'll be looking at Android.
So far, I like the Nexus One best due to the 1ghz processor, but I've read bad things about the contract(s). I'll probably end up buying the phone outright if I can get away with no contracts at all.
I checked out the Rhodium but the specs were a little light for me. Does anyone have one that can testify to it's capabilities? Looks like HTC's TouchFlo is built-in...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Snark, I suggest you get the T-Mobile HTC HD2 for the U.S. I suggest you wait 2 months for the HTC HD2 to be released. I think you will be able to unlock it and make it work elsewhere if you travel.
Nexus One or HTC Bravo hands down.
Once you go android you wont go back
I like what I've read about the HD2, the specs seem to be in line with the Nexus One.
Both phones look nice, but the Nexus One seems to have an edge on the HD2, since the Android OS is open source and the HD2's OS is months from being obsolete.
From everything I've read, it looks as if WinMo7 will be locked down and that really worries me. The only reason I've stuck with WinMo phones is because of you great folks here at xda-dev. If they lock down WinMo7, how long will this site continue to offer the support they so freely give to WinMo users?
As far as the Nexus One goes, I can see that some of you are already offering OS updates for Android phones, so I suppose that this is the only way to move forward?
HD2 Pros: Can expect subsidization from my carrier.
HD2 Cons: Appears to run WinMo6.5, will the support last 2 years or more?
Nexus One Pros: Open-Source OS, tons of apps and supports and growing!
Nexus One Cons: Not subsidized under my current plan, more expensive to start but cheaper in the long run.
Thanks to everyone responding so positively! You've given me a lot to think about and a bunch of phones to review!
Seems to be a bit of excitement about the HTC Desire (nee Bravo, nee Passion) and according to the folks at modaco, its specs rival and sometimes surpass the Nexus One.
From the (leaked) photos, it sports the Sense UI and has a optical trackball for onscreen navigation.
Still no hardware keyboard, but I have the feeling that this is going to be a rare beast in the future anyway. At one point it was a must-have, but since the iPhone made it without one, the newer phones look to be pushing the envelope as well.
I will be waiting for HTC's MWC announcement today. I suspect they will offer it to Orange first in Europe and then hope to drop it in the States by X-Mas. If so, I could always order one and have it shipped overseas, but I would probably opt for the Nexus One in that case first...
Yesterday I bought the TouchPro2. It's pretty nice, but I am seriously missing the extra hardware buttons I use to interact with the Start Menu and my fav eBook reader :-(
I'm loving the awesome RAM and the nearly unlimited ROMs out there. EnergyROM's main thread has over 1000 pages already, wow!
As soon as the HD2 is back in stock, I'll be switching over to it and giving the Rhodium to my wife.
Thanks to everyone who responded with the great ideas and sorry it took me so long to actually buy the phone, LOL!
Great choice!
You won´t regret!
Rhodium is so far the best hardware keyboard device on the market
Even if not having the great 1ghz processor
Perhaps a poll is in order of the choices you are thinking about? We can let the numbers do the talking. I also agree that Android is where it is at in this day and age.
I figure this is the best place to ask for advice.
I fell in love with HTC/keyboard phones when I got an unlocked mda (i'm on att) a few years back. They keyboard and ruggedness of the phones (they've outlasted a few drops here and there) had won me over, especially after using an n95 briefly a few years ago. I got an 8525, and now I'm on a tilt (8925). I've always upgraded roms and liked trying new things, so I tried something new about a week ago.
I went the Android (ion) on sd card route, and loved it (but tried to go nand and it never worked correctly). My battery seems to last forever now (where a week ago, before I started using android, my battery was dying at around 6 pm), the speed of everything (the phone dialer seems to be running at light speed compared to winmo) and the touchscreen responds so much better. Even with the occasional freeze and crashes, I haven't gone back to winmo (except on the occasional restart and re-running haret)
It's time for a phone upgrade. I (briefly) had a tp2, but it still felt slow in winmo 6.5. And seeing how android isn't as well developed on it as it is on the kaiser, I'm looking at other options.
I'd like to keep att 3g, and have native android, AND a hardware keyboard. Does this exist? If i gave up a keyboard (though i don't really want to since I text a bit and surf the web a bit as well), are the newer touchscreens good/fast enough? I was looking at the Hero, and the ion/magic (which seem to be almost the same,though I like the price of the ion/magic), but maybe you guys can help me out? I have to go the Ebay route, seeing as how I'm stuck on att for another year (long story short, gave upgrade to family member, who has since screwed me on their end of the bargain) so I guess that's another thing to keep in mind. Help?
Depending on how much you want to spend will Ddepend on your options right now the only official android device for att with a keyboard is the backup nd I personally think it is horrible. You could spend the $529 and get an att Nexus One, which is only touch screen but is fast enough to handle input well. Plus with the many touchscreen keyboards out now it is pretty easy to transition to touchscreen. I just did this whole post using the swype keyboard and it is pretty fast and accurate. if you can hold off then there are gonna be many new handsets comming. Plus flashing new roms for android is highly addictive lol.
I just got the htc hd2 . the device is fantastic. the software blows donkey d....
In my opinion windows mobile 6.5 feels undeveloped . I know i probably havent figured it all out yet but its what i see so far.
So here I sit trying to make the best of this and hoping someone ports android over to the hd2.
thats my two cents.
If you want Android, then the Nexus is Awesome, Fast, Slim, Cool, etc. Try one out at a store to see if it fit's
i was almost ready to switch then i bought an lg expo. it is so sweet and mega fast.
Trust me, on a screen the size of 3.5+, you can type faster on a touchscreen than on a hardware keyboard
Telus Milestone is your best bet. And yes, you will have to buy it from ebay or some unofficial store.
I was a big winmo fan but they are dragging in the upgrade department.
6.5 was a minimal upgrade at best and 7 is limited on the multi-tasking front.
My son has a Motorola Droid and I really like the OS.
I'm headed for a Xperia X10 with a snapdragon processor but only after it comes to the US to support our 3G band.
That could be tomorrow or a year from now knowing SE's inability to get a device to market on time.
I'd really like to go with the nexus with it's seemingly ginormous screen (though everything has a ginormous screen compared to my tilt 1), but the $560 price tag (after taxes on the site) is quite a bit much to stomach.
I might look at the milestone, but I'm a little weary of motorola's quality, the diminutive size of the keyboard, and @ their price i'd rather stick to a touch screen only telus hero or magic.
Maybe I just need to win the lottery or knock over a bank...
crackness said:
I'd really like to go with the nexus with it's seemingly ginormous screen (though everything has a ginormous screen compared to my tilt 1), but the $560 price tag (after taxes on the site) is quite a bit much to stomach.
I might look at the milestone, but I'm a little weary of motorola's quality, the diminutive size of the keyboard, and @ their price i'd rather stick to a touch screen only telus hero or magic.
Maybe I just need to win the lottery or knock over a bank...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd definitely go with the Nexus (If funds can afford), you think that it is too much now, but it is worth it when you get it (or so I've been told by... everyone).
I would sell my soul for a Nexus One, but I already sold it to Google in exchange for an extra 70mb in Gmail, should've waited
Looks like I'm getting either a HTC Desire or a X10 as wm & ms are starting to annoy me. Android just looks and feels so much better
Fallen Spartan said:
Looks like I'm getting either a HTC Desire or a X10 as wm & ms are starting to annoy me. Android just looks and feels so much better
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Click to collapse
I switched from longtime wm user to android and have not looked back. It is stable, fast, smooth, cool and fun Good luck
WM for me
I am quite happy with WM6.5.3 on my Rhodium, it does all my business and personal stuff just as I like
But if for some reason I did want to switch from WM definitely 100% sure I´ll look into Android as my first choice
orb3000 said:
I am quite happy with WM6.5.3 on my Rhodium, it does all my business and personal stuff just as I like
But if for some reason I did want to switch from WM definitely 100% sure I´ll look into Android as my first choice
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Click to collapse
Well, it's either that or iPhone OS/WebOS and we know which website doesn't support those
I've broken down and done it. Tally up one more order for a Google Nexus One with AT&T 3g bands. Now to wait impatiently until it comes in
crackness said:
I've broken down and done it. Tally up one more order for a Google Nexus One with AT&T 3g bands. Now to wait impatiently until it comes in
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If for some reason that only your god/non-existent being knows the reason why, you do not like the phone.... I'm ready for it
JAguirre1231 said:
Well, it's either that or iPhone OS/WebOS and we know which website doesn't support those
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Click to collapse
Even if those were supported in XDA my choice wouldn´t change
From what I heard, AT&T's Backflip is ok. It's running Android as well as having a keyboard. The thing is that it's a Motorola. I believe this is Motorola's 2nd Android phone besides the Motorola Cliq (correct me if I'm wrong)
Kid Poker said:
From what I heard, AT&T's Backflip is ok. It's running Android as well as having a keyboard. The thing is that it's a Motorola. I believe this is Motorola's 2nd Android phone besides the Motorola Cliq (correct me if I'm wrong)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then you heard wrong. Not only is the phone running the second worst layer of ui for Android (it runs MotoBlur, the worst is TouchWiz), it does not use Google Search, it can't use apps outside of the market, it's made by Motorola, and it has the weirdest design of a phone I've ever seen.
And I'm pretty sure it is Motorola's 3 or 4, not sure if the Devour came out before it (I know the Droid and Cliq did though).
Crackness, you sound exactly like me when it comes to looking for a phone. I am on AT&T so I want to keep that, I want speed and the hardware keyboard is a must for me, well I have a solution for you : Motorola Backflip
Yes the design is odd, but truthfully once you hold it in your hands, it actually does make sense. True the Backflip is on Android 1.5 because of the MotorBlur but they are coming out with an update soon. Otherwise the phone is amazing. Fast and keyboard is great. Trust me, it is definitely something you should look at.
I'm currently a Verizon Wireless Customer. I have my NE2 and can get the TP2 for $50 or the Incredible for $170. I'm looking for recommendations. I'm coming from the Droid Eris which was given to me as a gift. I loved android with Sense UI. I know that the TP2 has WM 6.1 or 6.5 but can boot android 2.1 with Sense UI now as well. with limitations. I like that the TP2 is highly customizable with various different roms to choose from. Also, Having a hardware keyboard would be nice to use again. I've only heard perfect things about the TP2's keyboard... The incredible has clearly newer technology with Android 2.1 with Sense UI fully working. I'm sure the phone will eventually be rooted and henceforth also very customizable. I know the specs of both phones. Based on everything including the difference in price, what are your recommendations?
leebsammy said:
I'm currently a Verizon Wireless Customer. I have my NE2 and can get the TP2 for $50 or the Incredible for $170. I'm looking for recommendations. I'm coming from the Droid Eris which was given to me as a gift. I loved android with Sense UI. I know that the TP2 has WM 6.1 or 6.5 but can boot android 2.1 with Sense UI now as well. with limitations. I like that the TP2 is highly customizable with various different roms to choose from. Also, Having a hardware keyboard would be nice to use again. I've only heard perfect things about the TP2's keyboard... The incredible has clearly newer technology with Android 2.1 with Sense UI fully working. I'm sure the phone will eventually be rooted and henceforth also very customizable. I know the specs of both phones. Based on everything including the difference in price, what are your recommendations?
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Click to collapse
How is this even a question?!lol Incredible of course! The processor on that bad boy is worth it! and the camera, and the screen, and the phone itself,plus itll get rooted very soon so custom ROMs will be flooding the incredible forum!
I have a TP2 and love it but trust me...Android is the way to go orrrrr, a TMO HD2
Well leebsammy it is all personal choice of course, but it seems like you want to stick on the Android side of things... My vote would be for the Incredible, and that not only comes from the fact that it is natively an Android based device... Specification-wise it trumphs every aspect of the Rhodium.
On that note I went from a Tilt 2 (TP2) to a Nexus One, and while I was/still am a huge Windows Mobile junkie... I will not be returning, it was great, but Android is so much more up to my speed. I like multimedia, ease of use, and sheer functionality. While the TP2 was a great phone, I felt the hardware was a little dated, and having it in a nice Body Glove case, I was upset when I'd run out of RAM and have to pull it all the way out in order to soft reset. On the upside that keyboard was AWESOME! However, being on the Nexus One - Swype has more than made up for its lack of a keyboard, and the Snapdragon processor has never gotten bogged down. Mind you I have never had an HTC phone and kept it stock, but the Nexus is actually very nice as-is and as such I haven't done anything to it, other than install applications!
And also if you bought a TP2 with the intention of running Android, it was not nearly mature enough for daily use on my GSM model.
So like I said my vote go for the Incredible, and I don't think you you will be disappointed.
leebsammy said:
I'm currently a Verizon Wireless Customer. I have my NE2 and can get the TP2 for $50 or the Incredible for $170. I'm looking for recommendations. I'm coming from the Droid Eris which was given to me as a gift. I loved android with Sense UI. I know that the TP2 has WM 6.1 or 6.5 but can boot android 2.1 with Sense UI now as well. with limitations. I like that the TP2 is highly customizable with various different roms to choose from. Also, Having a hardware keyboard would be nice to use again. I've only heard perfect things about the TP2's keyboard... The incredible has clearly newer technology with Android 2.1 with Sense UI fully working. I'm sure the phone will eventually be rooted and henceforth also very customizable. I know the specs of both phones. Based on everything including the difference in price, what are your recommendations?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rhodium all the time!!!
I prefer to have a REAL keyboard then better specs
glitzbd said:
Well leebsammy it is all personal choice of course, but it seems like you want to stick on the Android side of things... My vote would be for the Incredible, and that not only comes from the fact that it is natively an Android based device... Specification-wise it trumphs every aspect of the Rhodium.
On that note I went from a Tilt 2 (TP2) to a Nexus One, and while I was/still am a huge Windows Mobile junkie... I will not be returning, it was great, but Android is so much more up to my speed. I like multimedia, ease of use, and sheer functionality. While the TP2 was a great phone, I felt the hardware was a little dated, and having it in a nice Body Glove case, I was upset when I'd run out of RAM and have to pull it all the way out in order to soft reset. On the upside that keyboard was AWESOME! However, being on the Nexus One - Swype has more than made up for its lack of a keyboard, and the Snapdragon processor has never gotten bogged down. Mind you I have never had an HTC phone and kept it stock, but the Nexus is actually very nice as-is and as such I haven't done anything to it, other than install applications!
And also if you bought a TP2 with the intention of running Android, it was not nearly mature enough for daily use on my GSM model.
So like I said my vote go for the Incredible, and I don't think you you will be disappointed.
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Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for you're suggestions. I appreciate all of you guys input. You're probably right about me wanting to stay with android. Having a Droid eris however, i hated having such a short battery life.. The incredible has the same battery as the eris. i can't imagine that the snapdragon and extra ram would do anything but drain it's life even more. I've heard that the TP2 can get through a full day with heavy useage. also having the availability of android and wm would be nice. if the developers could get sound working for android for TP2; i wouldn't have an issue running it most of the time. I could still run swype on the tp2 for portrait mode, and use the hw keyboard in landscape. besides texting, i really only use the browser and a few apps. gmail/ pandora. The lower price of the TP2 also would be nicer to my wallet...
I was curious what was your reason behind purchasing either a phone, tablet, or slate? Please Bold the device name, so we know the product. Some products have common names, such as Desire. Most of know about HTC Desire but its for new the comers.
Hay Tolls... Don't judge people, Thank you.
---
So I've purchased the last year and half
Nexus, To get into Development and I needed an unlock phone. My iPhone 3G was slow and Nexus was just shockingly fast.
iPad: It had 3G and GPS, i wanted to use it as GPS Dashboard. I ran into troubles with the apps, none of the apps support the full screen navigation till several months later.
iPhone 4: Development and just to be hip (don't slam me for being hip...)
Nexus S: Also great for development and the damn thing had a front facing camera that I could use within development apps.
Moto Atrix: 4G*, Dual Core, frontfacing camera, GFX, 1gig of ram, and I thought it would be great for development but I prefer the Nexus S. Honestly, I love my Atrix but its a pain. Its running on 2.2 as of now, the 4G connection is slower than 3G, and MOTO Blur. Moto Blur should be an option on its devices.
Asus Eee transformer: It was cheap, fast, and of course (you guessed it!) for development...
I got this Desire about a year ago. When i choosed it i could also pick a Galaxy S and an iPhone4 (contract). I didn't pick the Galaxy because i wasn't convinced about the build quality, the annoying lack of flash and notification led annoyed me and also because at that time development for that specific phone was kinda weak. The iPhone wasn't even worth considering because iOS4 was piss poor compared with froyo, and also because xda goodies were just too tempting for me. Probably if the iPhone had iOS5 on it already, with many android features copied, my choice would have been a little harder, but i was so curious about android that i would have probably grabbed the Desire anyway.
I find it interesting that a lot of people now are working towards Android, what made you decide on Android when you had options like WebOS, Windows Mobile, Symbian. Or Was it the hardware too?
tktino said:
I find it interesting that a lot of people now are working towards Android, what made you decide on Android when you had options like WebOS, Windows Mobile, Symbian. Or Was it the hardware too?
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Well actually being a long trade HTC fan helped me deciding. I was coming from a winmo 6.1 HTC device (Cruise) and i wanted to try out android. Sure hardware was also something i took into account: android phones were much better than any symbian back then already, and WP7 seemed unable to compete in terms of functionality, it seemed to be a really locked down os plus i truly hated the interface (and i still do lol). WebOS was actually worth considering, but it already felt like something from the past: back in the days of the big android boom i saw google's platform as the best option, tho i always appreciated palm devices in terms of form factor and ease of use.
vnvman said:
Well actually being a long trade HTC fan helped me deciding. I was coming from a winmo 6.1 HTC device (Cruise) and i wanted to try out android. Sure hardware was also something i took into account: android phones were much better than any symbian back then already, and WP7 seemed unable to compete in terms of functionality, it seemed to be a really locked down os plus i truly hated the interface (and i still do lol). WebOS was actually worth considering, but it already felt like something from the past: back in the days of the big android boom i saw google's platform as the best option, tho i always appreciated palm devices in terms of form factor and ease of use.
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I love how Palm's GUI and user experience is right in the middle of being like an iPhone and Android. Its pretty as an iphone but open like android device. Its an ideal OS but I think the hardware... Thats whole different story, Its so small.
Motorola Milestone 2: Because I needed a new phone and wanted a qwerty keyboard and wanted to try something different (android)
Incredible: I wanted a decent Android phone with development going strong and it was only $99 at the time.
Nook Color: Wanted a tablet but couldn't dish out $300+.
Heyallo said:
Motorola Milestone 2: Because I needed a new phone and wanted a qwerty keyboard and wanted to try something different (android)
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what did you have before?
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I Am Marino said:
Incredible: I wanted a decent Android phone with development going strong and it was only $99 at the time.
Nook Color: Wanted a tablet but couldn't dish out $300+.
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I had the desire to purchase Nook Color and turn it into a honeycomb device but I really needed a snappy processor and a good graphic accelerator. Have you hacked the Nook Color and if so, with what?
Last year and a half for me:
iPhone 3GS 32GB White: Loved my original iPhone from 2008 (primary on TMO), but it couldn't run any new apps so I upgraded and the price was right. Sold it.
iPhone 3GS 16GB Black: I really did not like white. At all, so I bought this, but it was an unlockable baseband, ugh. Sold it.
HTC Desire CDMA: My backup phone (Touch Diamond on Verizon) was getting too old, so I thought I'd pick up something modern to replace it.
Droid Incredible AMOLED: Bought for my wife to use on PagePlus, to replace the original iPhone she had since 2008 on TMO. She loves it, hates iPhones.
Droid Incredible SLCD: Liked my wife's D-Inc better than the HTC Desire, but I liked the Desire's SLCD better than the AMOLED, so I got an SLCD D-Inc for myself.
Nexus One: I bought it to use on TMO, because after using the D-Inc, I didn't like my white iPhone 3GS at all. Not just because I don't like white phones, but because its low-res screen looked like crap in comparison. Love the N1, still have it, but plan to sell.
iPhone 4: My new primary on TMO, replaced the N1. Main reason for it, because I already have a D-Inc as a backup, my wife has a D-Inc, and we both decided variety=good, better not to have too many of the same thing, so iPhone it is. I do like it, love the Retina display, build quality, size, thinness, how it feels in the hand, smooth games, and I'm much happier with it now that I found a nice HTC Clock for it.
HTC Surround: Mostly got this because it was a good price (at the time) on the marketplace, and I'm already familiar with Android and iOS, I wanted to see what WP7 is like. I am actually more impressed with it than I expected to be. UI a bit boring, but the same apps on WP7 are WAY nicer than their iOS and Android counterparts. Only problem is, there aren't very many apps available in general.
Samsung Omnia II i920: WM6.5 phone, bad ESN, that I picked up cheap. Sort of got it in my head this would be a nice dev phone. I thought it would be cool to write an "Alien Dalvik" for WM6.5 so it could run Android apps. I just hate the thought of all the millions of "obsolete" WM6.5 phones out there and had the idea that a Dalvik VM for WM would be a very good form of recycling. Will probably end up selling as I seldom follow through on any idea I ever get.
MyTouch 3G: It was cheap, thought it could make a nice desk clock that auto-sets its time/date. It would have cost at least as much to buy an atomic desk clock that's always lit, and this could even display weather at the same time.
tktino said:
what did you have before?
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A very old HTC Touch HD running Windows Mobile 5.1 (or was it 6.1, I forget the number)
HTC Evo 4G: I love Android, easily rooted/unlocked. Bought used on eBay several months ago. Won't upgrade until contract is up in Feb 2012. Bought to replace HTC Hero CDMA on Sprint.
HTC Hero CDMA (aka HeroC): Bought refurbished from Sprint for $80, no contract renewal needed. I bought this to get rid of a crappy Blackberry 8520 I was using on Sprint that I got free when I started my contract. For me, Android does what I need.
Blackberry Curve 8520: Bought because all my friends had Blackberries. While I found it useful for sending text messages, I found it useless for about everything else (web browser)!
All phones were on the Sprint network.
Heyallo said:
A very old HTC Touch HD running Windows Mobile 5.1 (or was it 6.1, I forget the number)
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I love my HTC Touch HD, sleek for its time.
github said:
HTC Evo 4G: I love Android, easily rooted/unlocked. Bought used on eBay several months ago. Won't upgrade until contract is up in Feb 2012. Bought to replace HTC Hero CDMA on Sprint.
HTC Hero CDMA (aka HeroC): Bought refurbished from Sprint for $80, no contract renewal needed. I bought this to get rid of a crappy Blackberry 8520 I was using on Sprint that I got free when I started my contract. For me, Android does what I need.
Blackberry Curve 8520: Bought because all my friends had Blackberries. While I found it useful for sending text messages, I found it useless for about everything else (web browser)!
All phones were on the Sprint network.
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I feel sorry for BB lately, its going down hill fast. They made a pretty bad moves since the iPhone came out. Nice bargin on HTC Hero, lovely device.
tktino said:
I feel sorry for BB lately, its going down hill fast. They made a pretty bad moves since the iPhone came out.
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Same here, i still hope that they manage to release something nice soon, the new bold coming out on september isn't that bad it seems...
iPhone 3GS 16GB Black: First experience with smartphone. And needed one for work wich allowed me to connect and synch easy with my workspace
Galaxy Apollo: Had some issues with iphone sold it and got this pretty cheap Android phone. Using it for roughly a year now and like it alot. Perfect synch to both work and personal spaces.
iPad: Won it so didn't buy it but really didn't like or needed it that much so sold it after 1 month and got myself a new video card
First i had a LAMEE chocolate (BL-40) from LG - never had a worse phone on my life. I wanted to try touchscreen and stuff, and it was almost free...
Then i switched to a blackberry. That was a total deception. EVERYBODY said that Blackberry was soooo good, i found it to be an average phone at best.
After that i switched to a Xperia X10, which came with a malfunction on the usb conector and tech support declared it as bad use. (never trust brazilian tech support - is the worse). I got it resoldered, and it worked for another 10 months. - I wanted a phone with android mostly because of its sync, to have all my services linked with my gmail account was awesome.
Last saturday i got a Samsung Galaxy SII, and so far is the best. I decided not to go with Sony anymore, and i wanted one of the newest. I'm yet to experience lag with it...
The I i saw the dell venue pro running the sexy wp7 UI i was in love. I had a few of the big name android devices that were huge at the time and they just seemed slow in comparison. Then there was the ergonomic feel, the curved glass, the keyboard that's flawless for one-handed use... Everything about this phone is just flawless IF you weren't one of the ones who got one of the faulty initial devices.
iPod Touch 3G My MP4 broke
Moto Defy Because I needed a new phone, and this seemed the best for my spesifications, and, well, for development. For example, I am trying to port Motoblur widgets and apps into MIUI.
HTC Legend - Bought this because I needed the Chuck Norris of smartphones. You could hammer some nails with this baby. The size is also spot on for me.
HTC Thunderbolt: 4G (15-20mbps downloads). 'Nuff said.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
what do you guys think about adding photos of your gadgets? it would be nice if you guys personalized those gadgets
Hi, I need a replacement for my girlfriends ZTE Blade's, she needs two phones. I have been looking for something similar in size, and the ONE S looks to fit the bill. It's not hugely bigger. Although a handset with a 3.7 screen would be ideal.
I have no desire to root the phone etc. I just need to give her something reliable and dependable. The specs of the ONE S would suit her fine. But I'm thinking there may be a caveat. Such as, HTC are as bad as LG when it comes to OS software updates. Or the battery life sucks big time. Or sense really slows everything down.
The iPhone would be perfect in terms of size, specs and performance. But we are an ANDROID family, so I would like to keep our investment in Tablets and software.
My sincere apologies for the hugely general question. My current handset a Galaxy NEXUS which was such an easy choice, I'm running official Jelly Bean. But, choosing for a petite lady, something that works and won't become outdated in 12 months is super hard.
She has a 10" Galaxy Tab which recently got ICS, and I want to keep the devices running comparable versions of the OS.
I would be very grateful for any insights, or other handset recommendation's. Many thanks. Anil
Addition: I thought I would point out after user Ollaz's response below, I plan on only buying an unlocked retail version of any handset.
Why not the HTC One S. The updates are also affected by the carrier as they need to be approved, but as HTC said a few months ago, that they will be focusing on the One series and will not release new phones all the time, which means that these devices will get updates. But of course, buying any new product has the problem of eventually getting old and it will be just cut off. The way it has to be.
Also, in the same range there appears to be the ASUS Padfone (which is one hell of a device, but I didn't buy it because god knows if or when ASUS will update their devices). The LG Optimus 4X kinda seems like a beast and is in the same price range.
Ollaz said:
Why not the HTC One S. The updates are also affected by the carrier as they need to be approved, but as HTC said a few months ago, that they will be focusing on the One series and will not release new phones all the time, which means that these devices will get updates. But of course, buying any new product has the problem of eventually getting old and it will be just cut off. The way it has to be.
Also, in the same range there appears to be the ASUS Padfone (which is one hell of a device, but I didn't buy it because god knows if or when ASUS will update their devices). The LG Optimus 4X kinda seems like a beast and is in the same price range.
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Hi Ollaz, thanks for the info on HTC devices. I plan on buying a retail version of any handset, not locked to any one carrier etc. I appreciate technology moves on and some devices get left behind. My recently retired Optimus 2X still only has an official Ginger Bread release, even though the hardware is more than capable of running ICS.
I have an ASUS Transformer and it received an ICS update early this year. So in my book ASUS are pretty good whereas software updates are concerned. If Google made a sub four inch handset I would buy that without hesitation. Beast hardware is only as good as the software. And LG have a terrible software update record.
Thanks. Have fun. Anil
First off, the Asus Transformer is a different case. Since it's a tablet, it doesn't have to go through the extra step of carrier testing that a phone does for an update.
My came from a 3.7" HTC Incredible and really wanted to stick with a smaller form factor she could use with one hand (typing being the biggest issue). She is very happy with the One S, she just had to get used to using two hands for typing, but its thinness made it an easier transition from the old phone.
FWIW, HTC has already promised Jelly Bean will be coming within a few months, and I wouldn't necessarily expect the Transformer to get it.
radar5 said:
First off, the Asus Transformer is a different case. Since it's a tablet, it doesn't have to go through the extra step of carrier testing that a phone does for an update.
My came from a 3.7" HTC Incredible and really wanted to stick with a smaller form factor she could use with one hand (typing being the biggest issue). She is very happy with the One S, she just had to get used to using two hands for typing, but its thinness made it an easier transition from the old phone.
FWIW, HTC has already promised Jelly Bean will be coming within a few months, and I wouldn't necessarily expect the Transformer to get it.
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Hi radar5, thanks for sharing your experiences. I have to disagree with the point regarding "carrier testing". I always buy stock retail devices, with no ball & chain 12-24-36 month contracts. My LG O2X came completely stock, there are no carrier hurdles for LG to jump. Yet their handset is two years behind the OS release curve. The worlds first dual-core phone, and it's still on Gingerbread. Nothing to do with carriers.
I would buy another ASUS product, they have provided 5 updates since I bought the Transformer Tablet. Two of those have been major OS updates. I wouldn't go near LG with a very long stick. HTC looks as if it is learning this lesson of keeping your hardware reasonably up to date with the latest OS.
Apple do an excellent job in this area, they're not perfect, but better than most ANDROID OEM's. Hopefully HTC is getting their **** together, and their simpler hardware line up is a sign of the future. Resulting in timely OS updates. And easier consumer hardware choices.
At the moment HTC's One S is my current choice for my girlfriends next handset. I did see something today which made me pause for thought. ACER's Liquid Glow, a truly terrible name, but it's a 3.7" handset running ICS. And the slated European price is €179.99. The One S in Italy cost's €485 from AMAZON. A big difference.
Thanks. Have fun. Anil
I see where you're headed with this, but keep in mind you can't comprare that ACER and the One S. The specs are way too off for that.
Ollaz said:
I see where you're headed with this, but keep in mind you can't comprare that ACER and the One S. The specs are way too off for that.
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Hi Ollaz, my girlfriends current handset's the ZTE Blade's are great, except they only run Gingerbread. Switching between Gingerbread and ICS does become a little annoying. Gmail is a great case in point. The ICS version is way better than the Gingerbread version.
So horsepower specs are not that important. And anyway, my retired Optimus 2X has great specs, but still only has old software. Some of the newer HTC phones have better specs than my Galaxy NEXUS. But my GNEX is running a stock version of Jelly Bean 4.1.1, now, today. Not some marketing quarter in the future which invariably gets moved.
I love having a fast phone, but my girlfriend needs stability and OS device parity. Thanks for your thoughts, they have been helpful in making me decide what I need to buy.
I must admit I was a little shocked when I discovered the price of the One S in Italy. HTC want iPhone 4s money, they are crazy! No wonder their sales revenue has dropped 60%. Selling purely on hardware specs has a really limited shelf life. Sooner or later you have to innovate in software. All HTC and most ANDROID OEM's do, is a few custom apps and skins. Google writes the OS for free!
Many thanks. Anil