come on guys. get it together. the devices on all the other carriers makes verizon look like chumps. everyone else has a 4g with keyboard -- has verizon just decided to give up on this market? t-mo's 4g upgrade is looking pretty good right now.
Thank you. I couldn't have said it any better myself. I'm ready to replace my phone too. It would be nice if Verizon would have some kind of info for people that like the physical keyboards ... even if it is "stay tuned for Q3 to see a 4G phone with a physical keyboard". Then we know to hang on just a bit longer without jumping ship to another carrier.
Oh, and make it global ready and you'll have one sold right here.
From what i have been told (through research online, not by verizon) is that currently the 4G LTE antenna is too big to be added to a phone with a physical keyboard because off the added weight/size of the keyboard. The combination of the two would create a very large phone. (another problem is verizon is expected to charge more for 4G in the future, however i think this is why the droid 3 would have been the perfect keyboard phone with 4g because the droid is known for being cutting edge and advanced so the buyers would be willing to pay the price). The reason other carriers have been able to offer 4G phones with keybords is because they are not LTE so the antenna is different (as shows in the speed, most are referred to as 3.5G by consumers). Anyway i wish i could get a 4G phone with a keyboard, but i guess ill have to compromise with a droid 3 and upgrade to 4G when it is flawless and "the norm".
I agree. Though touch screens are a nice interface to use, for typing out longer email and messages and entering data into web forms, I feel a keyboard is essential. Swype is nice, but I stopped using it because it became a pain how often it was picking the wrong words. It's useful if you only want to type with one hand or if you have to scribble out a quick note, but if you need numbers, or use non-standard words and abbreviations, it just becomes a pain. By having a keyboard, you keep your full screen visible which on these small screens is important for web browsing. I really don't care about having the super duper skinny phone. Give me a keyboard! I prefer it easy to use rather than a super slim product. I certainly hope to see this on Verizon soon or I will be seriously considering switching to another carrier. I have been a Verizon customer for 14 years.
For those of us who want a keyboard, we aren't so concerned with the thickness of the phone. Just put the antenna and the keyboard. Oh no if it is 2mm thicker.
I think Verizon does have a hard time hearing what their customers want, BUT...
Verizon doesn't make the phones, companies like HTC and Motorola make the phones. Those companies will produce phones that sell. I think they have discovered that most people want a tablet-style phone similar to the iPhone.
You may want a physical keyboard, and another guy may want a physical keyboard, but most users don't. It's simple.
My old phone was the Touch Pro 2, which has probably the best keyboard I have ever seen in a phone. I swore I'd never use a keyboardless phone. Next I owned the original Droid. The Droid keyboard is not very good. I found it hard to type anything reliably with that keyboard, so I started using the on-screen keyboard. Now I'm on to the Droid X and I know that I'm never going back. The physical keyboards are too thick to make them worth it.
If there was some task that required a lot of typing, I can't imagine doing it on a cell-phone keyboard, physical or otherwise. I'd find a computer.
-d
I would find this logic compelling if hardware makers were not developing phones with physical keyboards, but they are. Sprint has tons of them, two on their 4g band. Verizon has a few on their 3g band. VZW is notoriously slow and weak in their hardware offerings--the best and latest hardware always goes to other providers first. Sprint had Android long before Verizon, ATT had iPhone, etc. etc. The list could go on. Many of the "new" VZW phones are just alternate versions of devices that have been out on other carriers for months. The 4g Atrix has been out on ATT since what, February? And the VZW version, the Bionic, is probably not going to be out until Q4, if ever.
Bottom line is that whatever VZW's process is to get phones onto their network and to market, they are too slow and have been too skimpy in their offierings. Hence why I doubt the problem is manufacturers lack of willingness to make the device. This is not just for Android but across the board. Even Blackberry users get the short end of the stick on new devices. VZW got the Storm (total disaster) but has not gotten the Torch (ATT).
I love the network, but Sprint and ATT both crush VZW on device offerings.
DrCheap wrote:I would find this logic compelling if hardware makers were not developing phones with physical keyboards, but they are. Sprint has tons of them, two on their 4g band. Verizon has a few on their 3g band. VZW is notoriously slow and weak in their hardware offerings--the best and latest hardware always goes to other providers first. Sprint had Android long before Verizon, ATT had iPhone, etc. etc. The list could go on. Many of the "new" VZW phones are just alternate versions of devices that have been out on other carriers for months. The 4g Atrix has been out on ATT since what, February? And the VZW version, the Bionic, is probably not going to be out until Q4, if ever.
Bottom line is that whatever VZW's process is to get phones onto their network and to market, they are too slow and have been too skimpy in their offierings. Hence why I doubt the problem is manufacturers lack of willingness to make the device. This is not just for Android but across the board. Even Blackberry users get the short end of the stick on new devices. VZW got the Storm (total disaster) but has not gotten the Torch (ATT).
I love the network, but Sprint and ATT both crush VZW on device offerings.
I agree with you both. Yes, the manufacturers create the equipment, but the carriers have a voice in what they can buy from them to resell to the masses. With Sprint, the EVO 4G came out then not long after the EVO 4G Shift. VZW finally got the Thunderbolt...so where's the QWERTY version? Could it be we are barking up the wrong tree and we should be hounding HTC to release a QWERTY version of the Thunderbolt? Maybe we should gang up on Samsung and request that VZW be allowed to purchase a version of the Epic? Oh, and don't forget, we need a few more international phones too.
Hubby and I have decided to bide our time and stay with Big Red. With the new data tiers coming out we want to see what happens before we decide to either upgrade or jump ship. So for now, we will remain with our BB Tours (as outdated as they are).
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