new phone physical QWERTY is a must

Forums › Android › new phone physical QWERTY is a must

aionwannabe

147 posts

Master Geek

#99490 20-Mar-2012 11:22

I'm looking for a new phone and I hate touchscreen keyboards with a passion.
http://www.parallelimported.co.nz/mobile-phones/latest-mobile-phones/sony-ericsson-mk16-xperia-pro-black-mobile-phone.html

that's the one I'm looking at right now but if there is another handset that's more relevant(or updated) I'm all ears.
Id like it to be under $400 and have both physical QWERTY and MicroSD slot

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2572 posts

Uber Geek
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#597588 20-Mar-2012 11:36

Which carrier?

I have a friend with the xperia pro, it's pretty decent. (And cheap!)

I have a HTC Desire Z, which is getting a bit long in the tooth now, but there doesn't seem to be a decent upgrade (specs wise) to it available!

What do you mean by memory card reader? Phones that take microsd cards usually let you read them when plugged in via USB

Jaxson

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#597592 20-Mar-2012 11:41

Ha, my mother is going through this exactly at the moment. Has become used to certain elements of Android, but hates the touch keyboard! Motorola Fire etc looks good and there are several if you trademe search for qwerty android for example.

aionwannabe

147 posts

Master Geek

#597596 20-Mar-2012 11:43

Sorry im used to talking to the non-Techies from other classes i did mean a micro SD slot

2degrees as im not very interested in mobile internet data, Id only use the android features for games and custom software's it just happens to be that the only phones that fit those really have to be android these days.

nzgeek

619 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 52

#597648 20-Mar-2012 13:06

I can see two phones that come close to what you want: the Motorola Milestone 2, and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro. Both of these phones have slide-out landscape QWERTY keyboards, microSD slots, and they run Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). They both also have decent screen resolutions, which is something that you miss out on with the cheapest devices.

The only downside is that they're just over the $400 mark to buy. The Sony can be bought from several places for around $420, but the Motorola is a bit more expensive.

snowfly

549 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 112

#597658 20-Mar-2012 13:21

I am too looking for a new Android QWERTY phone, and after trawling the net for options, I narrowed it down to the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro.
There isn't really much else, but the Xperia Pro looks like it will do a good job, and its planned to be updated to ICS soon (April-May 2012).

I currently have an HTC Touch Pro2 (running windows mobile 6.5), which needs upgrading.
Also want something android to snyc better with my Asus Transformer Prime.

Shame there isn't a samsung galaxy qwerty phone that can run on Vodafone/2degrees.

kyhwana2

2572 posts

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#597663 20-Mar-2012 13:28

snowfly: I am too looking for a new Android QWERTY phone, and after trawling the net for options, I narrowed it down to the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro.
There isn't really much else, but the Xperia Pro looks like it will do a good job, and its planned to be updated to ICS soon (April-May 2012).

I currently have an HTC Touch Pro2 (running windows mobile 6.5), which needs upgrading.
Also want something android to snyc better with my Asus Transformer Prime.

Shame there isn't a samsung galaxy qwerty phone that can run on Vodafone/2degrees.

There is the galaxy 551, but it's a pretty low end phone. It's OK, but not as good/fast as the Xperia Pro.. If my DZ broke tomorrow, i'd have to buy a Xperia Pro..

Hanging out to see what they do the Milestone 4 (international version of droid 4) and see if they change anything.. (Non-removable battery, no microsd slot, "crap" screen, locked bootloader)

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Jaxson

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#597664 20-Mar-2012 13:28

samsung used to have a 551 I think it was but it ran out a few months back.

There are several (roughly 5 on trademe) budget options, but there are downsides to each of them as alluded to above.

snowfly

549 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 112

#597665 20-Mar-2012 13:32

Yes the samsung galaxy 551 was a low end phone and no longer available I think.
Also only ran android 2.2 (froyo), so any new phone I buy will need to be at least 2.3, ICS upgradable is just a bonus.

Kiwipixter

246 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#597669 20-Mar-2012 13:37

the best qwerty phones are BlackBerrys IMO. Next are the Nokia E-series. I wouldn't touch Motorolas (poor software) or any Android based ones, Android was not designed for qwerty keypads.

kyhwana2

2572 posts

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#597672 20-Mar-2012 13:39

Kiwipixter: the best qwerty phones are BlackBerrys IMO. Next are the Nokia E-series. I wouldn't touch Motorolas (poor software) or any Android based ones, Android was not designed for qwerty keypads.

Except the blackberry OS is crap.. same with the Symbian Nokias..

How is Android not designed for qwerty keyboards? Even in the case it wasn't specifically, qwerty keyboards work great in android!

nzgeek

619 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 52

#597757 20-Mar-2012 15:31

Kiwipixter: Android was not designed for qwerty keypads.

There's a lot of misinformation about what form factor Android was designed to support. The first pics of an Android device showed a Blackberry-like form factory with a non-slideable QWERTY keyboard under the screen. You're one of the first people I've heard say the opposite.

The truth is that Android was designed to work well with both types of input, i.e. physical or virtual keyboards. It needed to remain open, to ensure that any manufacturer could take it and make it work with almost any kind of hardware.

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deadlyllama

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#597767 20-Mar-2012 15:57

Kiwipixter: the best qwerty phones are BlackBerrys IMO. Next are the Nokia E-series. I wouldn't touch Motorolas (poor software) or any Android based ones, Android was not designed for qwerty keypads.

I used to have an ADP1 (android developer phone, same as the G1 i.e. first commercially available android phone). It had a flip out keyboard, and the firmware it came with didn't have a touchscreen keyboard *at all*. That came later.

Kiwipixter

246 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#597770 20-Mar-2012 15:59

kyhwana2:
Kiwipixter: the best qwerty phones are BlackBerrys IMO. Next are the Nokia E-series. I wouldn't touch Motorolas (poor software) or any Android based ones, Android was not designed for qwerty keypads.

Except the blackberry OS is crap.. same with the Symbian Nokias..

How is Android not designed for qwerty keyboards? Even in the case it wasn't specifically, qwerty keyboards work great in android!

Agree, but we are not comparing OSes here. Android was not designed for qwerty devices, so any qwerty devices out there is the result of OEMs added qwerty support in software and hardware. BBs keypads are the best by far, you can type a novel on the Bold.

Kiwipixter

246 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#597772 20-Mar-2012 16:02

nzgeek:
Kiwipixter: Android was not designed for qwerty keypads.

There's a lot of misinformation about what form factor Android was designed to support. The first pics of an Android device showed a Blackberry-like form factory with a non-slideable QWERTY keyboard under the screen. You're one of the first people I've heard say the opposite.

The truth is that Android was designed to work well with both types of input, i.e. physical or virtual keyboards. It needed to remain open, to ensure that any manufacturer could take it and make it work with almost any kind of hardware.

That was in Android 1.0, Google have not added much to it since then.

kyhwana2

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#597777 20-Mar-2012 16:22

Kiwipixter:
kyhwana2:
Kiwipixter: the best qwerty phones are BlackBerrys IMO. Next are the Nokia E-series. I wouldn't touch Motorolas (poor software) or any Android based ones, Android was not designed for qwerty keypads.

Except the blackberry OS is crap.. same with the Symbian Nokias..

How is Android not designed for qwerty keyboards? Even in the case it wasn't specifically, qwerty keyboards work great in android!

Agree, but we are not comparing OSes here. Android was not designed for qwerty devices, so any qwerty devices out there is the result of OEMs added qwerty support in software and hardware. .

You keep saying that, but it's not true...

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