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[Q] Physical keyboard verdicts?

Hey guys,
This is my first serious thread, so please hit me over the head with a frying pan if I did anything wrong. I won't take it personally. I tried to search the forums for an answer to this question but I couldn't find a thread about it, so here goes...
I'm sorta looking at the Droid 3 as a replacement for my Milestone. I've also looked at the Desire Z, but I'd really like to have a dedicated number row, which is one reason I'm not too keen on the Desire Z. So the Droid 3 looks pretty good to me right now, but it depends on how the keyboard feels.
My question is basically, has anyone who's owned a Droid or a Milestone (or any of the other phys-key phones) bought one of these, and can they tell me how the keyboard feels in comparison? Since I'd have to import it, I can't really go out to the store and try it for myself, which is what I'd normally do. Preferably I'd like to hear if the keys feel like they are just one plastic sheet, or actual different buttons. That's my main complaint with the Milestone, that all the buttons feel like they're connected and just cut out.
(Note: I don't want to start an argument about physical keyboards vs. virtual keyboards. I can't live without my QWERTY! )

Had an OG Droid with the bubbling keyboard issue. So in my experience this is much, much better. Keys feel great, perfect size, etc.
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium

I had an OG droid since day 1... 3 days ago I picked up a D3 and I have to tell you, the absolute best part about the phone is how exceptional the keyboard is. The Keyboard is the #1 reason I picked up the D3, I just cant stand using a touchscreen to type.
The phone has it's flaws, but I couldn't be happier having such an excellent keyboard. Totally worth it man.

i have 3 milestones, each with a slightly different physical keyboard (one completely flat, on slightly raised, and one really raised), and a couple of my mates have desire z's. i havent played with a d2/ milestone 2, but what i can say is that the d3's keyboard is infinitely better than any of my milestones, and better than the desire z's... the buttons on the d3 are much much easier to press than the ones on the milestone
it took me a while to get used to the d3 cause if the slightly larger size, but after a week or 2 i'm back to being able to type without looking, and i'm probably a little faster than i was with my milestone.

Thanks guys, that sounds reassuring! It sure looks like a good device too. I might hold off until some ROMs start showing up and development becomes fired up (Cyanogenmod is so lovely on my Milestone, I don't know if I could go back to stock), but it's definitely at the top of my to-get list with comments like that.
And yeah, I tried the Desire Z briefly with a friend and it was ok, but I didn't like the hinge (maybe it was my friend's set that was bad, but it didn't snap, so it would get stuck halfway, and if you held it upside down, it would just sort of hang there and get in the way of the keyboard)... And the number row is a big deal for me, too!

The keyboard feels like each key is an independent button. Sort of like the newer 'Chiclet' style keyboards on laptops and netbooks. Honestly, it is the best physical smartphone keyboard I have ever used.

The keyboard is the reason I got the Droid 3 over the Bionic.

D3 definitely feels like the keyboard has seperated keys, extremely nice to use in hand

I'm pretty sure this verdict will all depend on what phone you're coming from. I had a Touch Pro2 and that keyboard was amazing, arguable the best available to date. After having the D3 activated and under use for about 6 hours i'm not as impressed as I would have liked. One thing that is really bugging me is the sliding mechanism...I did see on all the reviews that they mentioned there was no spring in it but I really underestimated how hard it would be to open the keyboard, especially with the thin styling (not much to push against). I always find myself pushing slowly until i hear the 'click,' because i don't want to damage it but need to slide it all the way to reveal all the keys. Also the buttons are a little smaller than the TP2 so this will be a learning curve for me...it took me about a month to get used to a Blackberry I had as a temp phone so I'm hoping I'll get accustomed to this one just as quickly if not faster.
I'm almost positive in the end it will be more than satisfying. Just sort of a downgrade for me.

Easily the best physical keyboard I've ever used. The keys have a nice layout, perfect spacing and size, and the click is just right.

GoogleAndroid said:
Easily the best physical keyboard I've ever used. The keys have a nice layout, perfect spacing and size, and the click is just right.
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Like (almost) everyone says . . . they keyboard is exceptional. I thought the Atrix4g was well made, but this D3 takes the cake. It's hard for me to believe I once thought that HTCs were well-made phones. Moto has come a long way in build quality since my squeaky, uncomfortable-to-do anything with Timeport!

About to upgrade

I am about to upgrade my phone. Currently on a Touch Pro 2 and Xrom. This will be my first Android phone and obviously I am considering the Bionic. I know nothing about Android and since Microsoft seems to have abandoned the smartphone world and very few phones are on 7, it seems like a good time to make the move.
I have read the reviews, scoured this forum and it looks like the Bionic is everything it is supposed to be. I am a noob, just an old one, this phone is my b-day present to myself, will be 48 in a few days. I do have a few questions...
Is the Bionic really the shiznit phone or should I wait for a while for a better phone on the horizon?
I can get this phone for $220 bucks through Amazon or $250 through Verizon. Is there any reason to not get it from Amazon?
I am not quite ready to get into flashing new rom's on Android as I have a lot of learning to do first, but I hate bloatware. With the TP2 getting off the stock rom was a good thing, I can go two days on a battery charge, but is it as important with Android? I know the Bionic can be rooted and bloatware removed, but does it slow the phone down if it is left there?
Thanks in advance, this forum rocks!

I upgraded from the TP2. Couldn't be happier. Didn't have many problems with the TP2, but it's old and outdated. This thing is just a beast. You could wait for something better, but I decided that it was time. If something else comes out and I want it, I'll just use a different upgrade.

Thanks, actually I have had zero issues with my TP2 that I got right after it's release. I wasn't sure I wanted to give it up, but I will have it as a backup phone so that works out. My only apprehension is the Motorola phone, I swore I would never have another after the MotoQ that got replaced 4 times in 4 weeks before I demanded a Touch Pro 1 and Verizon coughed it up to keep me happy.
I like new and learning Android will be fun. I just don't want to go through what I did with the MotoQ, what a pc of crap that was. Motorola used to be awesome, but I haven't had a good Moto phone since the StarTac.

Regarding buying it thru Vz vs. Amazon....a couple things come to mind
1) Who has a better return/exchange policy? Vz has 14 days to return and $30 restocking fee. If the phone is defective in the 1st year I believe Vz would give you a Factory Refurbished Phone. How does Amazon stack up to that? Brick and mortar store gives you same day service, pretty important if you can't live w/out your phone.
2) Are you planning to get any accessories? I don't know if it's still going on but when I bought my Bionic with the HD Dock, the dock ended up being $54. Normally I get a corporate discount of 25% on accessories, but this must have been some other promotion. So you may want to shop your complete purchase and get a total out the door price.
I had some buyer's remorse initially with the Bionic but overall I love the phone. I came from the HTC Incredible. The colors were more vibrant on the Incredible, but the Bionic looks OK. Reds, blues, and greens all reproduce nicely, yellow and orange leave something to be desired tho. But if you spend any time at all outdoors, the screen on the Bionic is amazing...it's very visible outside, something I'm not used to with my Incredible.
So far my only serious complaints with the phone is the issues it has switching networks, this is a known issue as you're probably aware and should be fixed with an OTA. Also, I haven't heard this from anyone else so it may be an issue specific to my location, but I exchanged my 1st Bionic b/c the voice quality over 4g was horrible. I could hear fine, but others couldn't hear me very well. The new phone had the same issues so I leave 4G off unless I know I need it. It very well could be an issue with my being on the outer fringe of 4G reception but I'm not sure. When doing speed tests over 4G I was getting 20Mbps down and around 6-8Mpbs up...so it would seem like I have OK signal.
Testing the demo at the store the pentile screen was very noticeable for some of the things I wanted to demo on the phone. I still see it from time to time, but it doesn't bother me, the text is clean and crisp and easy to read so that's good enough for me.
I have a little heartburn over the HD playback capabilities. Being that the phone comes with an HDMI output and offers an HD Dock to connect to your HDTV, I expected a little more with HD playback. I was hoping to throw a bunch of 720P movies on an SD card for when we travel and be able to play back the movies at the hotel. However the only HD playback I've seen from the phone that's smooth is video shot thru the onboard camera. Now I'm trying to figure out how to convert my existing movies to playback better on the Bionic.
None of these issues were dealbreakers for me. I keep in touch with what's on the horizon as far as other devices and aside from 720p resolution screens coming out, there's nothing that's really going to make the Bionic seem outdated. The only other phone I considered holding out for was the Nexus Prime. I like the idea of a brick phone that's just a large touch screen and the function buttons are built in to the app instead of being phsyical buttons...but I'd rather wait until we have a plethora of Ice Cream Sandwich O/S phones to choose from...I didn't want to put all my eggs in Samsung's basket only to be left disappointed.
Also something else to consider regarding 1280x720 screen resolutions...all of Verizon's 4G phones have struggled with battery life, I'd have to imagine a 1280x720 screen is only going to eat that up faster.

I would recommend against the Bionic, but only because of the locked bootloader situation. Not being able to load what I wanted was the reason I left the iPhone -- I don't want to settle for a half-baked solution with a rooted-but-unlocked Bionic.
Overall, the phone performs well (with the exception of random data connection loss and battery drain). But, for $200 or more, I ought to be able to do with the phone what I want.

There is no difference in buying from Amazon or Verizon directly, except with Verizon you have 14 days to return it for a 30% restock fee, Amazon will let you have 30 days. After 30 days you get a refurb from Verizon for the remainder of a year.
I understand battery life, the TP2 I had to charge after about 8 hours until I went with a custom ROM. I don't see much that it can do that I want to do that I can't already do with my TP2, except a better camera and movie playback. I do take pics with my TP2, but I am not sure I would take or play many movies with the Bionic, so that isn't much of an issue. I have a real camera and blue ray players all over the house. I know I would miss my physical keyboard, and every new phone I have touched with a physical keyboard feels like lightweight junk and nothing has the solid feel I am used to. The current Droid phones from Verizon leave little to be desired, with the exception of the Bionic. At least I can say the Bionic has a good feel, I will just have to learn to type on the touchscreen. The screen is large enough that my fat fingers can, I demo'd the phone at a VZ brick and mortar. I will miss my Bing Navigation but can adapt to Google, my old 7 series BMW is not BT capable, but does have Navigation that works, though I am so used to my Bing voice app that I rarely use it. I may get the Nav cradle for the Bionic, it has some appeal.
As far as unlocked phones go, the current trend from Moto seems to be locked bootloaders. I do believe that the awesome people here will crack that code or Motorola will give it up. Though I don't really see much reason to upgrade, my phone is getting old and I am a tech junkie at times. I think the time is now.
I am still interested in other peoples opinions, your experience has value, at least to me.

[Q] About to buy the Droid 3.

Hey everyone,
I'm about to buy the Droid 3, Bell version to work on the Rogers network. I have read there are issues with the speakers, random reboots, call quality issues? Have these issues been fixed? Should I avoid this phone or is it worth buying? I love Motorola. Would love to hear your experience with your Droid 3 since most of have had it since day one.
Thank you.

Had a problem with the headphone jack
The headphone jack stop working on my phone after a few weeks, couldn't return it or anything bought it off of craigslist. Wasn't a deal breaker for me though, got a pair of bluetooth head phones and been happy with it. Running the liberty rom with the sd card boost, and the phone flies.

Is the headset jack a known problem? I didn't read about that. Not a deal breaker for me because I use a BT headset as well. So everything is working great for you? Is the liberty rom better than steel droid?

Wirelessgirl said:
Is the headset jack a known problem? I didn't read about that. Not a deal breaker for me because I use a BT headset as well. So everything is working great for you? Is the liberty rom better than steel droid?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw it on a few phones, but I don't think it is that common. I don't know about steel droid. I'm waiting on the bugs to work out enough to load hash's ICS rom.

Wirelessgirl said:
Hey everyone,
I'm about to buy the Droid 3, Bell version to work on the Rogers network. I have read there are issues with the speakers, random reboots, call quality issues? Have these issues been fixed? Should I avoid this phone or is it worth buying? I love Motorola. Would love to hear your experience with your Droid 3 since most of have had it since day one.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thespeaker issue is really quite minor, a garbled ringtone occasionally that fixes right away, I've never had a random reboot, I know others have but I believe its been fixed with the latest update. Never heard of call quality problems
Sent from my R800i using xda premium

Endoroid said:
Thespeaker issue is really quite minor, a garbled ringtone occasionally that fixes right away, I've never had a random reboot, I know others have but I believe its been fixed with the latest update. Never heard of call quality problems
Sent from my R800i using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Thanks for posting. I see you're with Bell. How long have you had the phone for? How is it holding up so far? Also, were you able to root the phone? I want to get it and use it on the Rogers network.

Wirelessgirl said:
Thanks for posting. I see you're with Bell. How long have you had the phone for? How is it holding up so far? Also, were you able to root the phone? I want to get it and use it on the Rogers network.
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I've had it since shortly after release, when I first got it, on android 2.3.4 it was grabage, terrible battery life, issues with keyboard input so bad it was unusable, no dev for it. I was ready to sell it. Now that we have2.3.6 it an awesome phone. Between the software fixes and the ability to flash custom roms I have no issues with my phone. I love it. Rooting is no problem. Search for zergrush root method. Unlock for use on rogers is doable, I tried unlocking it for use when I travel in the states but had some problems getting a code but many others have sim unlocked theirs. I think its just persistance, if one place can't find the code, another will. I've heard a site called mobileincanada(I think) works well, I haven't tried it yet
Sent from my XT860 using xda premium

I played around with the XT860 last night and the keyboard is too wide for me to use. I have small hands and found there's quite a bit of travel when trying to type a sentence. I really want an Android with a physical qwerty keyboard but there aren't that many choices out there. I did try the Droid Pro but found the keys were too low and hard to press on. Any suggestions?

Wirelessgirl said:
I played around with the XT860 last night and the keyboard is too wide for me to use. I have small hands and found there's quite a bit of travel when trying to type a sentence. I really want an Android with a physical qwerty keyboard but there aren't that many choices out there. I did try the Droid Pro but found the keys were too low and hard to press on. Any suggestions?
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Click to collapse
Coming from a blackberry I found the same at first. Was hard to reach the middle keys but I'm used to it now
Sent from my XT860 using xda premium

Endoroid said:
Thespeaker issue is really quite minor, a garbled ringtone occasionally that fixes right away, I've never had a random reboot, I know others have but I believe its been fixed with the latest update. Never heard of call quality problems
Sent from my R800i using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I originally had a lot of problems with my keyboard, there's some sort of plastic overlay for the keys that wasn't seated properly or something. Moto fixed it. Have you played around with the SG 2 at all and just the onscreen keyboard? In portrait it might be exactly what you're looking for though I would expect in landscape it would be too wide again because of the size of the phone, other than that the Dext has a lot smaller keyboard but it's 1/4 the phone but it's also a slider.

Endoroid said:
Coming from a blackberry I found the same at first. Was hard to reach the middle keys but I'm used to it now
Sent from my XT860 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use a BlackBerry as my main device but I'm having a lot of problems with it. I was thinking about switching over to an Android as my main device and BlackBerry as my secondary device. But nothing beats the keyboard on the BlackBerry. It's so easy to type on them. Again the issue I have is the keyboard is a lot wider than the standard BlackBerry keyboard that I'm used to for so many years. There's no travel required when I'm typing on my BlackBerry. On the XT860 I find that I am reaching for a number of keys. I don't think this is a matter of getting used to. It's the fact that I have very small hands. For me to transition to a touchscreen keyboard is extremely hard at this time. I'm not saying it will never happen. But I don't know if I could live without a physical keyboard at this time.
Any other suggestions? Help me please! I love Android!

Willis111 said:
I originally had a lot of problems with my keyboard, there's some sort of plastic overlay for the keys that wasn't seated properly or something. Moto fixed it. Have you played around with the SG 2 at all and just the onscreen keyboard? In portrait it might be exactly what you're looking for though I would expect in landscape it would be too wide again because of the size of the phone, other than that the Dext has a lot smaller keyboard but it's 1/4 the phone but it's also a slider.
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I played around with the SG 2 but I don't want to get a Samsung because they don't have an led notification light for alerts. As a BlackBerry user, I got so spoiled with the led notification light for alerts and it's a must have for me. So it's either Motorola, HTC, or Sony. Too bad the Galaxy Nexus is such a big phone.

Is the QWERTY worth it?

Recovering flashaholic, recently went back to original Galaxy Nexus so I could avoid renewing with Verizon, on an old grandfathered (true unlimited) plan.
Missing a QWERTY and looking at picking up a used Droid 4. What are your thoughts, is the radio stable for tethering?

DNak206 said:
Recovering flashaholic, recently went back to original Galaxy Nexus so I could avoid renewing with Verizon, on an old grandfathered (true unlimited) plan.
Missing a QWERTY and looking at picking up a used Droid 4. What are your thoughts, is the radio stable for tethering?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you miss a qwerty you'll love the D4. Keyboard is great and CM11 has made me fall in love with my phone all over again. The only thing to really complain about is battery life. When I'm home on wifi I can make it through a day. Otherwise plan on charging it at least once during the day. Unless you pick up the extended battery that FINALLY came out about a month or so ago. Tethering has worked fine for me the few times I've used it.
Droid 4 - CM11

I just bought a used d-4 to replace my old d-4 mainly because i wore some of the keys off after 2.5 yrs. I could have used my upgrade for a fancy new device but I am sticking with the d-4 . Of course 2 weeks after I purchased it, the promise of a d-5 came out. But who knows how long we will really be waiting for the d-5. / extended battery??????? Whaaaaaat... I will have to check that out. My batt does last a full day with medium use.
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk

ricpdjrr said:
I just bought a used d-4 to replace my old d-4 mainly because i wore some of the keys off after 2.5 yrs. I could have used my upgrade for a fancy new device but I am sticking with the d-4 . Of course 2 weeks after I purchased it, the promise of a d-5 came out. But who knows how long we will really be waiting for the d-5. / extended battery??????? Whaaaaaat... I will have to check that out. My batt does last a full day with medium use.
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I think the biggest reason my battery doesn't normally last a day is because I have such a crappy data connection at work. Always switching between 2 bars of 3G or 1 bar of 4G. See the thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2541577 for more info and links regarding the extended battery.

kwyrt said:
I think the biggest reason my battery doesn't normally last a day is because I have such a crappy data connection at work. Always switching between 2 bars of 3G or 1 bar of 4G. See the thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2541577 for more info and links regarding the extended battery.
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Click to collapse
Good info, thank you both! I'm assuming rooting and all that is simple enough, I would probably root and stick with STOCK unless CM11 is really worthwhile. Any major bugs/flaws w/ this guy?

I've been running stargos cm11 since release and honestly it is almost flawless. He has been constantly updating and fixing wakelocks, along with other minor issues. Stock is.... well I was happy to get rid of all the bloatware crap and have my phone run faster. As for rooting and such, extremely easy.
Sent from my XT894 using xda app-developers app

I LOVE QWERTY Phones. I bought a used Droid 4 recently because the keys were falling off my old droid 2 and I didn't want to lose my unlimited data plan with Verizon. I have been going between Stock/CM11 and now SlimKat using SafeStrap so you can essentially dual boot your phone and keep the Stock rom there to always load as a failsafe.
I had waited 3-4 months for the possibility of a droid 5, and then almost went for the new Nexus 5 phone but of course Google had to release it for every carrier EXCEPT Verizon. Lame.

My phone MUST have a QWERTY keyboard. Likewise, I probably won't upgrade for another several years, since QWERTY phones seem to be dead, nowadays. I'm sticking with my Droid 4 until the community gives up on it, or it explodes.
I absolutely believe that it's worth it. I can type with the same speed and precision as I can on a regular computer keyboard, and I prefer that over relying on auto-correct, auto-fill, word prediction, or many of the other replacements for letter-by-letter typing. How I type on a computer - syntax, spelling, lack of shorthand - is how I type on a phone, and I'd prefer to keep it that way. I'm of the mindset that phone manufacturers have sacrificed the keyboard for a slimmer phone, and come out with virtual keyboards that try to emulate what was already there in the past.
EDIT: I would like to point out that the custom ROMs aren't perfect. They can be used as daily drivers, but MMS is a hit-or-miss (working on some uptimes, and not working on other uptimes), GPS works at random, and you'll experience the Sleep of Death more than a few times. Typically, if you have Touch Sounds enabled on your phone, and you suddenly hear the sound "die", you do NOT want to turn off the phone's screen or do anything involving media playback - if you do, you won't be able to turn it back on without doing a hard reset. Just reset until the sound works, again - of course, then you'll need to make sure that MMS works with that specific reboot. A good way to test that would be to send an MMS to somebody; if it sends, it works. If not, you'll need to reset the phone until it does, keeping in mind the (common) sound bug, as well. GPS is the same; if it works on a specific uptime, it'll work for the duration of that uptime.
If you're willing to put up with these three rather annoying bugs, the features of the custom ROMs more than make up for it. I'd choose CyanogenMod over Stock any day of the week.

Droid Turbo to N6

I maybe jumping to the N6. VZW just doesn't support the DT at all. For those of you who have rooted any problems? Also need to be able to WiFi tether. (Yes I still have unlimited). It is mostly for my daughter to home work and such while in the car. I may keep it stock for a while probably get the ROM bug again but we will.
What is y'all opinion?

I did the same thing, droid turbo is sitting in my desk drawer. I don't regret it at all. No problems at all. I don't tether but plenty of roms have the tethering check disabled. However with new Nexus devices on the horizon it may be smarter to wait and see what they release.

Thanks for the fast reply. Well I finally got fed up with VZW not updating so filed a complaint the the FCC for deceptive marketing. Just got the phone with Verizon and the short of the story is they may let me trade out my DT for the 6. I look ke it and with MOFO root makes it tolerable but I prefer to be on an updated device. Besides VZW just pissed me off by lying about keeping the DT the most to date device. So... We will see haha

I did the EXACT same thing. The Turbo is now sitting in my Desk Drawer at home and it's been relegated as an emergency phone since it has its own phone number (I simply swapped the SIMS when I got the Nexus). Too bad, because the Turbo is a beast but the lack of ANY sort of updates except the VOLTE update, lack of Root (except for MoFo, which isn't really root but different IMG's)....I couldn't take it any more.

KevTN said:
I maybe jumping to the N6. VZW just doesn't support the DT at all. For those of you who have rooted any problems? Also need to be able to WiFi tether. (Yes I still have unlimited). It is mostly for my daughter to home work and such while in the car. I may keep it stock for a while probably get the ROM bug again but we will.
What is y'all opinion?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You just told my story, lol. It works fine with root and a build prop edit.
Add this line to the buildprop: net.tethering.noprovisioning=true
Save,reboot, then enable it in the settings, and a toggle will appear in the 2 finger pulldown menu
Enjoy.

Did the same thing turbo is a great phone but for me it's root with xposed framework and GravityBox perfect

I just recently jumped from the droid turbo to the nexus 6 (after 8 lg g2's).
I guessyou can say I have bad luck with phones. I only had the droid turbo for a week and a half. After the first few days the cap buttons stopped working. Decided to root it to use button savior and things just got worse.
Charging was great and battery life was better than any device I owned on the turbo.
Since I've gotten the nexus 6, I've overall enjoyed it.
HOWEVER, a few days ago I noticed that the phone has a crack(more of a gap) between the glass of the screen, and the plastic/metal of the phone. Its like the screen wasn't centered on. I thought about making a post about it to see if others suffered, but if I tried to fix it or get it replaced I'd probably end up with a defective device(knowing my luck).