Android phone with physical QWERTY

[Cosmicpore]

Anyone have any idea where I could find a decent touch screen android phone with a physical qwerty keyboard?

My brother is looking for a phone (and actually maybe I am too) and are both used to touch screen android phones that have qwerty keyboards. The problem is that I haven't seen any come out in the last couple of years.

I have a HTC chacha (which I refuse to part with) and have had other phones since but keep going back to it because I miss the keyboard. My brother is used to an android phone he got in the states that looks much like a one of the smaller samsung phones until you slide down the keyboard.

I'd be interested in something from china as they have good specs for the price but they all seem to be clones/copys of the droid phones that are on the market here in the UK.

I wonder why the keyboard has been dropped, is it really in favour of a thinner phone? Or more likely its because screens are so big that the touch keyboards aren't so bad. Does such a phone even exist these days?

[blaggard]

Get a Chinese phone, not really clones and copies since they make them all anyway. . .

[{{909}}]

Not that I've looked, but I haven't seen any phones out here that have keyboards either. flip phones are still popular, but the keyboard seems to be long dead.

as to why its been dropped, the touch screen can do a reasonable job of emulating it, resulting in cheaper, smaller and more durable phones. I have to admit it took me a long time to get used to typing on a touch screen and I use swiftkey to ease that pain too.

[Cosmicpore]

Get a Chinese phone, not really clones and copies since they make them all anyway. . .

I know what you mean. By that I just meant that none of them have physical keyboards.

Not that I've looked, but I haven't seen any phones out here that have keyboards either. flip phones are still popular, but the keyboard seems to be long dead.

as to why its been dropped, the touch screen can do a reasonable job of emulating it, resulting in cheaper, smaller and more durable phones. I have to admit it took me a long time to get used to typing on a touch screen and I use swiftkey to ease that pain too.

I find it totally strange that there is nothing out there as at one point they were very popular. But that's technology I suppose. Don't get me wrong, I could survive with a touch screen but I definitely prefer not to be restricted to one. If nothing else the physical answer buttons are a dream compared to the dreaded swipe.

And my brother just wont get a touch screen, so I'm struggling with what to find for him.

[wakadoo]

Top 7 Android smartphones with physical QWERTY keyboards


http://thedroidguy.com/2014/03/top-7...OVtGpEdKPpP.97

[Cosmicpore]

Dammit. 2 year old phone or nothing.

Or a blackberry, eugh.

[DejaVu]

Your brother is fucked. He'll never own a phone ever again.
Keyboards on phones take up unnecessary real estate internally with too many moving parts.

Phones are getting faster, better and more advanced. I cant see Keyboards ever making a return.
Blackberry have started ditching them as well now.

Haptic Feedback emulates that 'real clicking' sensation you might have missed.

Welcome to the future.

--edit
If you limit which handset you own because of lack of physical keyboard, soon I believe, you will not have any choice at all.
Had similar conversations with my dad recently when I persuaded him to ditch his Sony Ericsson W610. He now sports a SGS4 and loves it.

[Mobileman]

Top 7 Android smartphones with physical QWERTY keyboards


http://thedroidguy.com/2014/03/top-7...OVtGpEdKPpP.97

jesus that's the 7 worst phones i've seen also lol

you can side load some android apps on the blackberry passport http://uk.blackberry.com/apps/amazon-appstore.html
not sure if it will get hacked to load android os though

[blaggard]

That new Blackberry piece of shit square phone has a physical keyboard doesn't it? Of course it IS a Blackberry but hey, beggars and choosers.....

[GTI]

You want something like this mate, or better still just get this and an iphone

[Brydo666]

Thats a great idea, what about something like this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bluetooth-...-/181024182945

[Cosmicpore]

Haptic Feedback emulates that 'real clicking' sensation you might have missed.

Welcome to the future.

--edit
If you limit which handset you own because of lack of physical keyboard, soon I believe, you will not have any choice at all.
Had similar conversations with my dad recently when I persuaded him to ditch his Sony Ericsson W610. He now sports a SGS4 and loves it.

Hepatic feedback does fuck all for typing. You can't touch-type on a touch screen. I had the S3 and the S4 and liked neither, but my gripe is more with samsung than with touch screens in general there.

You want something like this mate, or better still just get this and an iphone

Great idea, I've read about this case already. I'd rather get a hernia than an iphone though to be honest. Guessing my bro is the same but I haven't asked him yet.

Thats a great idea, what about something like this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bluetooth-...-/181024182945

That for anything other than an iphone would have all my monies. Best of both worlds.

[Over Carl]

When I used to have a blackberry with qwerty, I could touch type at incredible speeds. Ended up getting pains in my thumbs though.

I really wanted to try something else but found myself in the same boat.

There are bluetooth keyboards as mentioned, but I personally doubt I would find one practical so it would just stay at home never to be used.

Shame all the manufacturers have become obsessed with size. I would love a phone with proper qwerty, and a battery that lasts a whole day (that can also be swapped out).

[maltloaf]

I use Swype on my Z1 and absolutely love it. So fast and once it knows your style you don't get many errors.

I couldn't have a physical keyboard, it would pinch too much of the potential screen area

[{{909}}]

Give swiftkey a go. I was messing with the options while I was bored at work and I found options to make the keyboard bigger (well, taller) which makes it a little easier to type without eyeballing every keystroke. With some tweaks, different sms clients and so on, you can find a compromise and still be able to own a phone with a colour screen.

5" phones do make life easier in this respect too, I use an LG G2 and when I broke it I had to go back to my tiny old HTC desire, which I suddenly found utterly impossible to type on without creating messages of complete gibberish.