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I really, really want a physical keyboard.

catmanjan 13y ago
Me too, I've just bought a HTC ChaCha! I was disappointed in my research that Android phones haven't been built with physical keyboards in years! I don't like the sliding keyboard either.
- ekianjo 13y ago
  There were a couple of Android phones in Japan with sliding keyboards, but they were kind of crap...
- barbs 13y ago
  That's why I've held onto my Sony Xperia Pro for ages...
- brdrak 13y ago
  > Android phones haven't been built with physical keyboards in years Droid 4 is a currently shipping phone that has one. I've been using it since Droid 2. Don't care for the extra heft and sub par picture quality, but love the keyboard when an emergency comes up and I have SSH into a server while away from a proper computer.
shinratdr 13y ago
This may be true, but it doesn't make a phone with one any less outdated. Almost every company has eliminated phones with physical keyboards from their portfolio, and even the company that pioneered them is downplaying them and has shifted them off of the flagship models. They're as outdated as rotary phones or cellphones with a physical number pad. Can you still buy them? Sure. Are there still those that desire them? Absolutely. None of that makes them any less arcane.
- PhasmaFelis 13y ago
  The fact that they are actually practical makes them not "arcane." A rotary dial is an affectation for anyone; a physical keyboard is a valuable tool for some users. You seem to have a problem distinguishing between "useful" and "trendy," based on your other comments in this thread. Mass-market popularity of a feature has no bearing one way or the other on its usefulness or "outdatedness".
  - shinratdr 13y ago
    > A rotary dial is an affectation for anyone; a physical keyboard is a valuable tool for some users. I entirely disagree. They are both simply examples of what one is used to and therefore prefers. The only difference between a "valuable tool" and an arcane affectation is your personal preferences. I have no problem distinguishing between useful and trendy. We're not talking about just mass market popularity, we're talking about these niche devices no longer existing. "Because it's trendy" isn't the reason that even companies that have no problem with spitting out endless models and variations have also abandoned hardware keyboards. A full size phone headset, a rotary dial, a landline. All arcane affectations in the eyes of most, useful tools in the eyes of those that swear by them. In 10 years, we'll look back on hardware keyboards on phones the way we look at floppy disks. Most already do.

Me too, I've just bought a HTC ChaCha! I was disappointed in my research that Android phones haven't been built with physical keyboards in years! I don't like the sliding keyboard either.

ekianjo 13y ago
There were a couple of Android phones in Japan with sliding keyboards, but they were kind of crap...
barbs 13y ago
That's why I've held onto my Sony Xperia Pro for ages...
brdrak 13y ago
> Android phones haven't been built with physical keyboards in years Droid 4 is a currently shipping phone that has one. I've been using it since Droid 2. Don't care for the extra heft and sub par picture quality, but love the keyboard when an emergency comes up and I have SSH into a server while away from a proper computer.

shinratdr 13y ago

This may be true, but it doesn't make a phone with one any less outdated. Almost every company has eliminated phones with physical keyboards from their portfolio, and even the company that pioneered them is downplaying them and has shifted them off of the flagship models. They're as outdated as rotary phones or cellphones with a physical number pad. Can you still buy them? Sure. Are there still those that desire them? Absolutely. None of that makes them any less arcane.

PhasmaFelis 13y ago
The fact that they are actually practical makes them not "arcane." A rotary dial is an affectation for anyone; a physical keyboard is a valuable tool for some users. You seem to have a problem distinguishing between "useful" and "trendy," based on your other comments in this thread. Mass-market popularity of a feature has no bearing one way or the other on its usefulness or "outdatedness".
- shinratdr 13y ago
  > A rotary dial is an affectation for anyone; a physical keyboard is a valuable tool for some users. I entirely disagree. They are both simply examples of what one is used to and therefore prefers. The only difference between a "valuable tool" and an arcane affectation is your personal preferences. I have no problem distinguishing between useful and trendy. We're not talking about just mass market popularity, we're talking about these niche devices no longer existing. "Because it's trendy" isn't the reason that even companies that have no problem with spitting out endless models and variations have also abandoned hardware keyboards. A full size phone headset, a rotary dial, a landline. All arcane affectations in the eyes of most, useful tools in the eyes of those that swear by them. In 10 years, we'll look back on hardware keyboards on phones the way we look at floppy disks. Most already do.