Best QWERTY keyboard on a CDMA device?

[lamont_cranston]

I absolutely LOVE the keyboard on the Motorola Charm.

That's pretty much the only thing about the Charm that I like.

Are there any other android phones -- rumored or announced -- with keyboards as good as the Charm's? CDMA strongly preferred (see below).

Best I've found so far is the Droid Pro, but its keyboard is a significant step down from the Charm (everything else about it is a step up); less key travel, funny key shape, and no arrow keys.

I'm switching from iPhone to Android specifically because I need to send near-blackberry-quantities of email from my phone for my new job, so keyboard quality is pretty much the only thing that matters.

I'm also looking for a CDMA (not GSM) phone because here in the USA you have to pay almost twice as much per month for low-end GSM service as for low-end CDMA (Cricket/MetroPCS) service. At the high-end they cost the same, but there simply aren't any cheap GSM carriers here. I live in a city with great coverage from all carriers, rarely travel, and don't use data for anything other than email, so the high-end carriers don't offer me much.

Many thanks!

- lc


FWIW I've never found a "slider" keyboard I liked; I think the depth limitations prevent them from having good key travel.

 

[royolpunk]

Droid 3 even though you just said you don't like slider keyboard

 

[lamont_cranston]

Yeah, Droid3 looks like a sweet phone if you care about things other than the keyboard (which is the case for most users).

I'm still kind of amazed at the utter lack of good keyboards on Android devices. Even the ancient Palm Treo had a better keyboard than pretty much every android phone other than the Charm!

Kind crazy. Android was supposed to be the platform that allowed diversity and competition... but so far that hasn't managed to produce a keyboard as good as the one I had on my phone ten years ago.

 

[shamefulzero]

i have cerebral palsy and ussually use a touch screen because of that using swipe but its really easy for me to use the D3 kb i give it thumbs up!

 

[darkmatter]

The keyboard on the d3 simply can't get any better. Its widely considered they best keyboard put on any phone, ever.

Ok, well, i'd be happy if they gave me back my ? key without having to press alt first, but that's my only quibble with the keyboard.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

 

[sndplace]

From looking around I don't see anything out there all that great. Do you plan on keeping your IPhone ? I know you said switching, but if your going to use the keyboard phone as your only phone that in itself is a step down. Have you considered just adding a second line which itself would just run you about 10 bucks a month more than what your paying right now... AT&T has the status you can check out. Verizon has the Pro. Sprint is coming out with
a XPRT like dualcore phone too , New style keyboard, said to be BB like. The other ones I have seen are not Android phones.

IMO if you really need a keyboard and are going to use it for lots of Emails and things of that nature, I would myself get a second line just for that( you can use a Gvoice # if you have 1)That would use your data, so if its unlimited then your fine. Or buy yourself a mini blue-tooth keyboard and use that with any capable new Android phone you want. Good luck ...

 

[cgardnervt]

XPRT is the only CDMA phone that I know of.

I like the keyboards too. But after switching to a VBK on my EVO 3D I love the VKB! You can download so many of them. So the brick phones have now grown on me. Plus if you are not to closed minded on VKB give it a shot! Like anything it does take some time to get used too.

Also don't over look sliding landscape keyboards too! They make some really nice ones!

What network are you looking to be on? (CDMA: Verizon or Sprint?)

 

[NoSpin]

I think the source of your problem lies in the changing to an all touch screen world, keyboards are not being demanded as much anymore. When RIM releases an all touchscreen phone, you know a shift is taking place.

Your best bet is the Droid Pro/Motorola XPRT, which is the blackberry clone meant for mass emailing. The Droid 3 looks great as well, and while it's not CDMA, the HTC status supposedly has a nice keyboard.

I got the G2 thinking I would need the keyboard, but I honestly find it much faster to swype.

Sent from my T-mobile G2 using Tapatalk

 

[rickhamilton620]

HTC Merge and Droid 3 have excellent slide out keyboards, but if you're looking for a blackberry style experience, the closest I'd say would be Droid Pro/XPRT.

 

[sndplace]

Touchscreen keyboards, I dont think is the problem meaning getting use to because the OP states he has a IPhone... But IMO the OP wants a physical 1 so it could be easier for the emailing. The Pax looks to be a good phone for you. It will be on Sprint so if you have I line then 80 bucks a month will give you unlimited data for your Email needs.http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=moto+dual+core+Pax&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
you can find many links to the same info on the PAX lol

 

[lamont_cranston]

What network are you looking to be on? (CDMA: Verizon or Sprint?)

MetroPCS and Cricket are also CDMA.

 

[lamont_cranston]

keyboards are not being demanded as much anymore. When RIM releases an all touchscreen phone, you know a shift is taking place.

Um, when RIM starts getting more than 5% of their sales from a touchscreen phone I'll know the shift is taking place. Lots of companies have irrelevant me-too products.

Businesspeople have been using their phones as primarily-messaging-devices since before there were smartphones.

Apple opened up a whole new market of "consumer" users who don't need keyboards -- and that market is several times larger than the primarily-messaging market. But that doesn't mean that the primarily-messaging-device market went away.

Seriously, any phone manufacturer could make a ton of easy money by simply taking their cheapest phone and putting the Charm keyboard on it. If the Charm were de-MotoBlur-ified and CDMA I'd (grudgingly) use it.

 

[cgardnervt]

MetroPCS and Cricket are also CDMA.

Good point!

Out here in VT MetroPCS and Cricket are not around! Thanks for the correction.

 

[sndplace]

MetroPCS and Cricket are also CDMA.

Eventhough these are CDMA from what I saw there phone selection wasn't much. Do you want prepaid? If so that will be hard and costly. Good luck though, hope you fine something. Just to let you know net10 at target 27 bucks 50 a month no contract ...

 

[elcheapodeluxe]

I hear you. I am dying for a good keyboard over here. I made the jump to an Atrix after being a blackberry user for many years. If I could find something like the BlackBerry 9900, except using Android, I'd jump in an instant. As it is I'm seriously contemplating paying the full unsubsidized price to go BACK to BlackBerry - even though I'd loose all of the cool Android apps I've come to love.

FYI: From what I'm seeing, the portrait mode blackberry style keyboard is even less existent on GSM than CDMA

 

[ronald600]

I hear you. I am dying for a good keyboard over here. I made the jump to an Atrix after being a blackberry user for many years. If I could find something like the BlackBerry 9900, except using Android, I'd jump in an instant. As it is I'm seriously contemplating paying the full unsubsidized price to go BACK to BlackBerry - even though I'd loose all of the cool Android apps I've come to love.

FYI: From what I'm seeing, the portrait mode blackberry style keyboard is even less existent on GSM than CDMA

The Rim Blackberry 9930 is real nice and on the android front there is a super Mototrola XPRT/droid Pro called the PAX coming out october 2

 

[Glacian22]

As others have mentioned, the Droid 3 has an excellent keyboard, which is about 8000 times better than what the Droid 1 and 2 had.

 

[ddthld]

I'm with the rest of the group Droid Pro/Xprt. I would also say the Merge if you don't mind a slider. I'm not into sliders but I have three of them, go figure. But if emails are your big thing (yes shot me now) the new BB Bold Touch would be king, but that even depends on the email setup and provider Gmail pushes as fast on BB as on Android.

 

[dd0yl3]

As nice as the new BB9930 is it will not be getting any further updates to the new qnx os. So if that will bother, your best choice is the Droid pro/xprt. The Droid 3 I have heard a lot complaints aboutbit being laggy.