Will we ever see an Android Portrait Slider?

[raindog469]

I couldn't have been happier to get rid of my Palm Pre in favor of a Samsung Epic. Yes, when you're operating it one-handed, the Pre was a little easier to use, but for most of my use cases it just meant a lot of typos because of my fat fingers.

I take that back... I could have been happier. Give me the Samsung Epic's screen with a bumpier keyboard as a clamshell, the one and only thing I miss from my feature phone days. The Epic's screen is too nice to rely on things like Invisible Shield for protection.

 

[Puzzlegal]

Yes, if there were landscape keyboards that were bumpier, I might like them.

Oh, and I don't understand why the clamshell has gone away. That was a terrific form factor, especially if you could answer the phone or hang up by opening or closing the shell. No butt calls, and a nice safe screen were also benefits.

 

[sndplace]

Clamshell? you mean like opening book? interesting. It would be kind of cool if they did it right. I think the only one right now capable of it is Sammy. They have the thinnest Screens around. It could be a dual screen Clamshell. 4.3 screens inside and out. flip it open to access the second screen and keyboard,It would then flip to connect to the front screen, no seem lines. It would look like a baby netbook lol.

Or just stick to the regular style.

 

[Jalarm]

Clamshell? you mean like opening book? interesting. It would be kind of cool if they did it right. I think the only one right now capable of it is Sammy. They have the thinnest Screens around. It could be a dual screen Clamshell. 4.3 screens inside and out. flip it open to access the second screen and keyboard,It would then flip to connect to the front screen, no seem lines. It would look like a baby netbook lol.

Or just stick to the regular style.

Didn't LG release on of those in Korea?

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

 

[Jaggrey]

Sounds like the Kyocera Echo

 

[Puzzlegal]

I just played with the blackberry portrait slider. Nice form factor. I wish I could get it on a better OS with sood specs.

 

[ctychick]

Verizon AND HTC - listen up!!!!

I would love an Android portrait slider!!!!! Please!

I can't stand using the on-screen keyboard (althought it's a little better now that I have SwiftKey), and the only thing holding me back from going with a physical keyboard is the lack of high-end portrait slide options.

I've asked around about friends' landscape sliders and not one of them with landscape sliders uses them because they are too W-I-D-E to be used productively. I wouldn't be surprised if the appearance of a few portrait slider options shifted many buyers back to physical keyboards.

 

[dmanlee]

+100

I really wish the phone manufacturers would see the light. It'd be a huge opportunity for them to build a high-end portrait slider device that would differentiate itself from all the black slab i-Clones. Not only would they entice consumers us, but also the 20% of the smartphone user market who still use Blackberries.

In a market nearing saturation, this could be a real winner. I know people can say portrait sliders haven't sold well, but to be frank, nobody has really done it right yet. This means not having to compromise on screen size (Pre/XPRT), OS (BB Torch/Pre), & specs (all of the above + all portrait slider feature phones). That Dell Venue Pro would be great if it was Android & it could be bought w/ subsidized pricing @ places other than just Dell website.

Whew, lol, rant over... Someone make it happen!

 

[dbpaddler]

The more document and spreadsheet work I do on my Epic and then having been testing out the mytouch 4g slide, I realize I can never go back to hitting the fn key for numbers. It is so inefficient. For that reason alone, the portrait slider would just have to be perfect in every aspect (at least 4" w/minimal bezel and qHD, processor, hdmi out, plenty of ram, and a perfect keyboard). Good luck to any of the mfg's to actually do it right. I'll stick with the Epic on Sprint, and if I switch to tmob I'll be getting the bell's moto droid 3. the 4g Slide sucks outside of its processor.

 

[srkmagnus]

I had a Palm Centro and the keys were too small for my taste. The form factor was great and it would be nice to see something with a portrait slider to have as an option.

 

[kuoirad]

This means not having to compromise on screen size (Pre/XPRT), OS (BB Torch/Pre), & specs (all of the above + all portrait slider feature phones).

I have to chime in here for my still preferred mobile OS. webOS still has a better user experience and is just as configurable/hackable as Android - it's just crippled by being on suboptimal hardware and being handled by a suboptimal company. I'm going to miss webOS when I do make the move to Android.

If HP were to release the Pre3 on Sprint, I wouldn't be looking to move. Even better if it were a 4" screen portrait slider...but ah well.

 

[dbpaddler]

From my experience on webOS and Android, webOS still has static unusable background. No widget capability and can't even do a decent agenda app (and I've used the one that's out there) not to mention the lck of document editing, still. Keeping apps open and swiping through them is not an answer to widgets IMHO. Other than that, outside of the polish and the multitasking, webOS was not leaps and bounds better than android. The fact they've had one blunder after another is another story entirely. Shame.

 

[Jalarm]

The device would probably have a smaller sized screen. I have always thought to get the best of android you need a 3.2 in. Screen I'd bigger.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

 

[dbpaddler]

I think most here want a 4" screen and have been longing for an Android version of the Venue Pro for quite a while.

 

[dmanlee]

http://thisismynext.com/2011/08/01/motorola-pax-sprint-beefed-up-xprt-dual-core/

Hoping this is the answer to all our problems... If it's at least a 3.5" screen it would match the size of iPhone 4 display & still give us a slick BB style keyboard AND dual-core processing.

I have to 2nd kuoirad's comments about webOS. It is a much more intuitively designed OS from a UI standpoint. I'm still using a Pre because I just haven't seen the right phone yet for me. Landscape slider like the Epic would be my only option, but I've got my reservations with the width of the keyboard. Pre 3 would be great, but I'm just resigned to the fact that webOS is not gonna be a player in this mobile OS world. *teardrop*

On the bright side, I'm hoping the hiring of Mathias Duarte, who was a key figure in webOS' UI development, by Google means that some of that slick webOS common-sense gets baked into Android come Ice Cream Sanwich.

 

[Puzzlegal]

I gave up and bought a photon. Hating the keyboard, and frustrated with the battery life (I had the 2600 fat-back battery in the Pre) but otherwise I like it a lot.

 

[dbpaddler]

There's no space between the top row of keys and the raised screen area. Hope that won't be an issue. There are quite a few phones out there with that design flaw. The Pre was one of them with that oddly recessed keyboard.

Motorola ‘Pax’ for Sprint said to be a beefed-up XPRT with dual-core processor | This is my next...

Hoping this is the answer to all our problems... If it's at least a 3.5" screen it would match the size of iPhone 4 display & still give us a slick BB style keyboard AND dual-core processing.

I have to 2nd kuoirad's comments about webOS. It is a much more intuitively designed OS from a UI standpoint. I'm still using a Pre because I just haven't seen the right phone yet for me. Landscape slider like the Epic would be my only option, but I've got my reservations with the width of the keyboard. Pre 3 would be great, but I'm just resigned to the fact that webOS is not gonna be a player in this mobile OS world. *teardrop*

On the bright side, I'm hoping the hiring of Mathias Duarte, who was a key figure in webOS' UI development, by Google means that some of that slick webOS common-sense gets baked into Android come Ice Cream Sanwich.

 

[dmanlee]

Yeah, personally I've never had a problem w/ my thumbs bumping up against the bottom of the Pre's screen. But, I have small hands & type w/ the very tips of my fingers, so it's not a universal experience.

I can't tell if this motorola pax has a recessed keyboard or if it's somewhat flush w/ the screen like blackberries. But I could see accidental presses of those capacitive buttons being something one would have to adjust to. Perhaps tactile buttons would've been the better way to go.

The thing looks damn sexy though. Hope Sprint releases it soon. Want to touch the hiney!