Why no high quality QWERTY phones?

arhl2011

The last quality QWERTY phone offered by Verizon was the Droid 4 about 4 years ago. Since then a couple other QWERTY phones have come out, but at best they've been side grades to the Droid 4. Why hasn't Verizon offered a new slide out QWERTY phone for us to upgrade to? I can't stand the touchscreen phones and my Droid 4 is finally starting to have issues, but not only is there no decent upgrade option, but there is absolutely NO upgrade option that includes a QWERTY keyboard for android phones.

Accepted answers

veryfrustrated0118

Physical keyboards equal more money to build, more moving parts that can wear out and break and more problems in general.

Here's what. It isn't that VZW isn't offering good quality QWERTY devices. It's the manufacturers not producing them. They never sold well and the manufacturers were losing money. You know 6 people that would want it. Would you and those 6 people be buying a device every year when they're released? At any given time I can go to a party with at minimum 75 people. Not one has a QWERTY device. I am not saying that you're wrong but the market is not there so device manufacturers are not spending the money to make them and support them when the keyboards malfunction.

All comments

MiiHere

It's just not the style everyone wants to have. They are bulky. If you like the keyboard type phones I'd look into getting a Blackberry.

arhl2011

I disagree that it's the not the style people want. I see posts about it all the time and I know a half dozen people who want the qwerty slide out as well. The problem hasn't been demand. It's been supply. As I said in my post there hasn't been a good, competitive option since the Droid 4. So people have either had to settle for a phone that doesn't have QWERTY b/c one wasn't available or they've switched to a non-QWERTY b/c what was available was outdated. We know they're a little bulkier, but that's part of the trade off we make for wanting one. The blackberrys aren't a reasonable option since the keyboard takes up half the screen. It kinda defeats the purpose of having a smartphone.

Genserik

My favorite was the R2D2, for other reasons. I think the theory from the people that develop the smartphones is that, when they made phones with physical QWERTY keyboards, they didn't have as advanced touch screens at that time. Now the response is so accurate and quick that using a touch screen creates added weight, bulk and is less 'sexy' than the slim phones coming out today (the standards these days!).

I would not suggest a blackberry, although they are good phones, you give up so much screen space which is the main benefit of the slider phones. The only company that really stood by the physical QWERTY keyboard market was Motorola, and their mobile division was purchased by google a couple of years ago, they are trying to compete with apple and Samsung, who's main line of phones is slim, sleek and all touch. So it makes more sense for them to throw money at that design first.

I feel for you though

MiiHere

I've only been on the Verizon forums for the last 4 weeks and this is the first post I've seen about someone wanting the built in keyboard. I should have said MOST people don't want that style as it is too bulky. I don't doubt that some people enjoy it, nor do I doubt that some people didn't want to go to touchscreen. However I also don't doubt that some people who didn't want to go to touchscreen ended up enjoying it.

If what I researched was correct, the Droid 4 has a 4" screen while the Blackberry Classic has a 3.5" screen. You do loose some size in comparison, but based on the photos it looks like the screen takes up more than half of the Blackberry while the keyboard takes up less.

Genserik

That half-inch on the blackberry though, that actually does makes a difference

Khines5705

I believe that Straight Talk still offers a phone with a QWERTY slider. I used one with them for so long, I swore I would never switch to touchscreen only or move from prepaid to a contract. Yet here I am at Verizon with my G2. I'm happy for the most part but sometimes still miss my slider keyboard when I'm texting. :smileysad:

MiiHere

The one good thing about the keyboard, I had a blackberry, is that I could text without looking down because, like on a computer, I knew where all the keys were by feel.

Khines5705

Exactly! Nothing like that tactile sense and the satisfying yet subtle click of the buttons under your fingers/thumbs. Switching to touchscreen increased my typos considerably! And trying the SWYPE feature was a huge disappointment for me. Might have worked better if I were drunk maybe!

MiiHere

It was MUCH easier to secretly text using a keyboard, no doubt. Swype...ugh. I tried it for awhile, but just couldn't do it.

veryfrustrated0118

Physical keyboards equal more money to build, more moving parts that can wear out and break and more problems in general.

Genserik

Do you have the extended warranty?

Khines5705

I have a Droid 4 just sitting around collecting dust because my son always felt a need to upgrade to the latest and greatest thing on the market. I'm pretty sure it still works just fine, and he had it on the Verizon network. I would give it to you free if I could. Look into how much it would cost for me to ship it to you from Indianapolis. Keep in mind that I'm on a fixed income and can't afford pricey options.

Khines5705