Motorola DROID 5 news/information?

[Rastor]

Nothing much new, MWC came and went with no Droid 5. Motorola just announced they are laying off another 10% of their employees as they "focus on high-end handsets".

Interesting comment today by "hkklife" over on droid-life's article about the cuts:

A few months ago we heard some verrrry sketchy rumors concerning a Droid 5 (yes, a real keyboard device) for VZW which would basically have specs that were a mixture of the RAZR HD the Photon Q. I have a feeling that the lackluster Droid 4 is the final QWERTY device we will ever see from Moto (or least Droid-branded).

I have a feeling he/she is right and Droid 4 / Photon Q are the final entries in the Motorola QWERTY line. Soon Physical QWERTY phones will only be produced as low-end devices for teens to text on.

 

[kmariet06]

That's too bad. I do like the qwerty phones so much better. Thank you for the info, I've been holding my breath on this one. My phone is not great now and I was hoping to wait it out until the Droid 5 came out but I guess I'll just end up just getting the Droid 4.

 

[darkmatter]

Still waiting for this. My D3 is getting a little long in the tooth, but I find it hard to put down for a D4 now that its getting old....really want a D5. Though, I'm more likely to go for a D4 than any other non-keyboard phone, even with current specs.

 

[return_0]

Still waiting for this. My D3 is getting a little long in the tooth, but I find it hard to put down for a D4 now that its getting old....really want a D5. Though, I'm more likely to go for a D4 than any other non-keyboard phone, even with current specs.

What about a regular high-end phone with an attachable bluetooth keyboard case? I've seen them for the iPhone so there probably are some for more popular models like the Galaxy S series.

 

[darkmatter]

I got one of those for my dad's iphone, I didn't like it. The problem is balance. With one of those cases the bulk of the phone is up with the screen, not in your hands with the keyboard.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

[X102177]

I am not sure how much longer I will hold out for a D5, I got the D4 (after having a D2) on the first day it came out in February 2012 and have been more than happy with the 4G LTE and everything else with the phone. I may even be able to hold out and keep my D4, but if they do not make a D5 then I am dropping Motorola as my phone maker. If I have to start all new without my QWERTY keyboard then maybe time to try a windows phone. Verizon asked me about upgrading and I told them only if you get a Droid 5 in stock. It is even making me consider leaving Verizon too if they can't get Moto to carry a QWERTY phone. With T-Mobile and Virgin seeming to have better plans it is making me consider.
The problem is people got stuck with the D3 when it came out poorly made and they could not upgrade to D4. Then they are holding out for D5 and it killed D4 Sales. I just do not think they will do away with QWERTY phones, Blackberry still offers it. I have never had a phone without keyboard. I started with LG Voyager, LG Versa, then Droid 1,2 and 4.
Here is an Idea for Motorola, buy LG's Versa Flip cove attachabler Keyboard, make their droid phones based off the LG Versa, where the back comes off and you can either attach a Keyboard or have a plain backing like the LG Versa did. Then each phone they make would be sellable to the entire market out there. It could really be that easy.

 

[Ry]

I am not sure how much longer I will hold out for a D5, I got the D4 (after having a D2) on the first day it came out in February 2012 and have been more than happy with the 4G LTE and everything else with the phone. I may even be able to hold out and keep my D4, but if they do not make a D5 then I am dropping Motorola as my phone maker. If I have to start all new without my QWERTY keyboard then maybe time to try a windows phone. Verizon asked me about upgrading and I told them only if you get a Droid 5 in stock. It is even making me consider leaving Verizon too if they can't get Moto to carry a QWERTY phone. With T-Mobile and Virgin seeming to have better plans it is making me consider.
The problem is people got stuck with the D3 when it came out poorly made and they could not upgrade to D4. Then they are holding out for D5 and it killed D4 Sales. I just do not think they will do away with QWERTY phones, Blackberry still offers it. I have never had a phone without keyboard. I started with LG Voyager, LG Versa, then Droid 1,2 and 4.
Here is an Idea for Motorola, buy LG's Versa Flip cove attachabler Keyboard, make their droid phones based off the LG Versa, where the back comes off and you can either attach a Keyboard or have a plain backing like the LG Versa did. Then each phone they make would be sellable to the entire market out there. It could really be that easy.

I wouldn't wait to see this form-factor on Android again.

 

[Rastor]

Wow Droid 5, could it really be true??

http://www.droid-life.com/2013/08/23/did-the-motorola-droid-5-just-make-its-first-appearance/

 

[Aquila]

Interesting

Nexus through spacetime.

 

[darkmatter]

I hope so. I've been dreading the idea of "upgrading" to a phone without a keyboard. The moto x is tempting, but if I could get a moto x with a keyboard....
I don't get the people hating on the og droid line. What's wrong with more options? A droid 5 takes nothing away from your nexus, galaxy etc.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

[TechTinker]

I don't understand the hate for the sliders, sure their pretty sucky devices compared except the og droid line. Heres what I'm guessing about this device:
4.5" 720p screen, on screen buttons so more like 4.3" usable. (Ok 4.3" with ~4" usable sounds more likley.)
Motorolas X8 computing system, clocked at 1.7ghz.
2GB of RAM.
2200mah battery.
8-10mp camera (average quality).
Android 4.2.2 or maybe even 4.3.
Not sure about NFC or Wireless charging but those should be standerd. Also not sure why their putting the chin back.

My only two smartphones have been the Droid 3 and Droid 4, so I was kinda dissapointed that there was no news on the Droid 5. I think I'm going to just go for the Moto X as it has been the first phone I've liked since the D4. Hopefully Moto makes a great bt keyboard for the x. On the other hand I still really want to hold out for this device.

 

[TechTinker]

Bumpidy bump. If anyones still interested I was at Verizon earlier and a rep was talking to customer about getting a Droid 4 to replace his 3 with warranty because the 3's so old. I said theres a droid 5 in testing, and the rep said there actually is in the works.

 

[lyddie r]

I am holding on to my Droid 4 for dear life. Why o why are there no more phones with a keyboard, like my lovely Droid 4. Please Motorola, get with the Droid 5 and make it bigger, badder and faster with a really sleek sliding keyboard.sigh...BTW, I am tired of folks asking me is my phone a Sidekick. What the hell? Seriously is there any news about a Droid 5 coming out before I have to upgrade my phone to a darn Samsung Galaxy. I don't wanna. I don't like mobile phone changes.

 

[Evilnut]

I am holding on to my Droid 4 for dear life. Why o why are there no more phones with a keyboard, like my lovely Droid 4. Please Motorola, get with the Droid 5 and make it bigger, badder and faster with a really sleek sliding keyboard.sigh...BTW, I am tired of folks asking me is my phone a Sidekick. What the hell? Seriously is there any news about a Droid 5 coming out before I have to upgrade my phone to a darn Samsung Galaxy. I don't wanna. I don't like mobile phone changes.

Don't get a Galaxy! Get a Moto X. My D4 finally bit the dust & i got a Moto X. Even though i miss my keyboard sometimes, the awesome features on the X more than make up for it.

There will be no more keyboard phones from Motorola. They just didn't sell well enough, unfortunately Maybe if the D4 would have been a high end phone it would have been a different story.

Posted via Android Central App from my Ebony backed Moto X

 

[loki993]

Why arent there high end phones with keyboards? I gave up my keyboard a while ago going from the D2 to an TC Rezound and I still hate the soft keyboard. Ive been through no less than 6 or 7 different software keyboards and I cant find one that has consistent prediction and correction, consistent is the keyword and/or that decides it doesn't want to correct at all half the time.

Is the market really that small? I was all about he D3 when it came out util I saw the screen and it had about the worst screen on a smartphone that Id seen....way far behind anything else out at the time. I think pretty much sealed it for me. It was obvious that they were going to put the effort into making a real high end qwerty device and still it doesnt look like any has or is going to.

 

[Ry]

Why arent there high end phones with keyboards? I gave up my keyboard a while ago going from the D2 to an TC Rezound and I still hate the soft keyboard. Ive been through no less than 6 or 7 different software keyboards and I cant find one that has consistent prediction and correction, consistent is the keyword and/or that decides it doesn't want to correct at all half the time.

Is the market really that small? I was all about he D3 when it came out util I saw the screen and it had about the worst screen on a smartphone that Id seen....way far behind anything else out at the time. I think pretty much sealed it for me. It was obvious that they were going to put the effort into making a real high end qwerty device and still it doesnt look like any has or is going to.

Read up.. I come not to praise QWERTY, but to bury it | The Verge

What happened? People started buying phones they could recognize, according to Kaufman. He believes the reason that QWERTY phones stopped selling has little to do with large screens and everything to do with a trend towards "iconic" handsets: flagship devices which boast fancy designs and giant advertising campaigns.

But surprisingly, Becker tells me that the physical construction wasn't the primary justification: "The real reason is not design, but the changes in behavior." He explains how far virtual keyboards have come, how children are growing up with touchscreens, and how written communication has become less critical for the smartphone audience. If a picture tells a thousand words, how many can you convey with a Vine or a YouTube clip?

Motorola, the manufacturer of my Droid 4, agrees. "There became this interesting tension where people wanted to see information, but they didn't need input as much," Motorola SVP Rick Osterloh tells me.

Is the QWERTY so incredibly niche that manufacturers are willing to let BlackBerry have that market unchallenged? One anonymous industry insider hints that BlackBerry's misfortunes might actually be part of the problem. "Believe me, this is a game of volume... if they thought [QWERTY] would be a meaningful niche, it would not go ignored. We saw what happened to the manufacturer who thought different."

 

[Adam Mo]

Droid 4 was a highend device when it was release fans calm down that like saying galaxy s3 isnt high end it was and based on specs it isnt anymore but is still is . If you purchase it on day 1.