To any current Epic previous BB users, how's the keyboard?

[lnichols]

So I've been using thumb boards since the Treo 600 and migrated to the BB, not to sold yet on going fully touch, and the Epic looks like it could be a good bridge device (work on screen but have a keyboard if I get frustrated with the input). How is the keyboard on this thing? I'm still slave to BB Messenger because my job requires that I have it to be reached easily when either I'm traveling internationally, or to communicate with a coworker who is traveling internationally. I've been considering seeing if I can get a work bb for that, and switching over to a Droid for personal use, or even adding a 5th line to my account for just a droid. The BB offerings and product roadmaps seem hopeless/clueless so I may look to making the switch or addition. If I could get a BBM client on an Android it would be a no brainer. Carrying around 2 phones though would suck though.

 

[dvdqnoc]

I don't have a Epic. Nor do I own a BB. However, I HAVE owned a BB curve in the past, and I played with the Epic today at the Sprint store. Honestly, I think the Epic's is better. First of all, its just plain bigger. With Blackberrys, the keys are very small and I often found myself pressing 2 keys at once instead of just one. Second of all, you can hide the keyboard with the Epic. You're not always gonna want/need to use the keyboard. With a Blackberry, have the phone is the keyboard, the other half is the screen. With the Epic, YOU choose whether the keyboard is half the phone, or none of the phone.

 

[Slingbox]

Ive used 8330 , 9630 and 9650.
Epic Keyboard is very comfy I'm digging it

 

[eharty]

I'm coming from a Tour 9630 and so far I think the keyboard on the Epic is great!

 

[mb79]

Love the Epic keyboard. Can type using more of my fingers/thumbs rather than fingertips/nails on the Blackberry.

 

[ragnarokx]

I'm coming from a Tour 9630 and so far I think the keyboard on the Epic is great!

+1
Loving the extra row of keys too - makes entering numerals painless.

 

[allhailcale]

I'm coming from a Tour 9630 and so far I think the keyboard on the Epic is great!

I too am coming from a 9630 Tour. I absolutely love the BB keyboard, and still do. However, the Epic's keyboard is absolutely outstanding. The spring response in the keys is phenomenal. If anything, my only gripe might be that it may be TOO big. I like to use my left thumb on the 'y' key rather often and it is a pretty good distance to travel.

This is a tiny issue that I'm sure ill forget about inside of a week when I get used to it...

 

[zencowboy7]

My past phones included a Treo 650, Curve and Tour. I sent a Bold 9650 back to Sprint so I could upgrade to my Epic, but that keyboard is functionally identical to the Tour.

All that to say that there are some minor differences in the BB keyboard versus the Epic, but none that are dealbreakers. I was always fond of the way the BlackBerry filled in punctuation on contractions and correct spelling errors. While the Epic doesn't manage those little niceties, it does put a period on the end of a sentence if you double tap the space bar.

I loved the BB keyboard, but this is every bit as good. A year from now, I'll be amazed that anyone ever asked this question.

 

[drizek]

Never bought a blackberry, but have used the curve/tour/bold and some older models. I like the fact that hte epic has a real full keyboard with a dedicated period key, number row, etc. I never got crazy fast on the BBs, but I did do reasonably well, faster than any other phone I've used. I think the Epic will be at least as good with a few more days of practice. I was really surprised at how good I was straight out of the box.

 

[caliskimmer]

Never bought a blackberry, but have used the curve/tour/bold and some older models. I like the fact that hte epic has a real full keyboard with a dedicated period key, number row, etc. I never got crazy fast on the BBs, but I did do reasonably well, faster than any other phone I've used. I think the Epic will be at least as good with a few more days of practice. I was really surprised at how good I was straight out of the box.

Seriously, I slid out the keyboard and I was typing faster than I could ever type on any slider. With some more practice...I don't even know what'll happen!

 

[Spyderfry]

coming from smaller keyboards like the pre and bb curve, the epic feels too big. I'm sure it will take some getting used to, but I was no doubt faster on my other phones. Heck, I could even type faster on the EVO.

 

[Eazail70x7]

I'm living the hard qwerty and swype combo!