The death of Physical Keyboards, and what I should do about it.

[Retrowire]

So the time has come for an upgrade. I'll be trading in my trusty Motorola Droid 4 for a new phone...

Trouble is, I've always vowed that I'll never give up the physical keyboard. There are just so many benefits to having a physical keyboard that it makes my head spin. It's not just about ease of typing, it's about, no matter the extreme temperature outside, I can take a picture with my phone with the OK button. If I'm running a emulator, I can map the keys to the physical keyboard, much easier to use.

But here I am, using the search filter at both Verizon and Sprint's websites browsing for a phone with a physical keyboard that is an upgrade from my Motorola Droid 4 and look at that, they're all old. They're all obsolete. None of them are better than my Droid 4 that is over 2 years old.

I've decided that I have to give up the physical keyboard. But for what? Any advice for a lover of the keys? Any recommendations? And don't worry, I'm not looking for the latest and greatest, anything better than a Droid 4 is ideal.

 

[hang-the-9]

What's wrong with the Droid 4 you have? If it works and runs what you want and not broken and you like the keyboard, keep it.
You can always see if Blackberry has anything in the works, I keep reading rumors they may do an Android phone with their keyboard.

This probably is useful http/www.androidauthority.com/best-qwerty-android-smartphones-335748/

 

[ssddx]

you could always use a wireless sliding keyboard integrated into the keyboard case http/androidspin.com/2013/09/15/review-wireless-sliding-keyboard-case-samsung-galaxy-s3/

on screen keyboards really arent terrible though. my droid incredible 1 (yeah, i have an old phone) never gave me an issue in the cold or heat. you can even customize the keyboard to a style you like (i use hackers keyboard which gives full qwerty pc keyboard) and also the size you wish it to be.

i came from an envy and loved that physical keyboard too but i've been nothing but happy with my onscreen to tell you the truth.

 

[Retrowire]

you could always use a wireless sliding keyboard integrated into the keyboard case http/androidspin.com/2013/09/15/review-wireless-sliding-keyboard-case-samsung-galaxy-s3/

on screen keyboards really arent terrible though. my droid incredible 1 (yeah, i have an old phone) never gave me an issue in the cold or heat. you can even customize the keyboard to a style you like (i use hackers keyboard which gives full qwerty pc keyboard) and also the size you wish it to be.

i came from an envy and loved that physical keyboard too but i've been nothing but happy with my onscreen to tell you the truth.

Firstly, thanks for the link as I didn't know products like that existed, that will surely expand my selection!

But you're also right, I should just succumb to the modern age onscreen keyboard. I like Swype, and I once actually really favored the Blackberry Storm's onscreen keyboard, though that was partially because of the fact the entire screen was a physical button.

Either way, thanks for the advice!

 

[ssddx]

that is the one that i use. the vertical % of screen it takes up is customizeable as well as the spacing between buttons and the sizes. and its free (i think it does have a donate version available if you want to support them though).

except for the fact of it being on-screen and likewise taking up space on screen when you are typing instead of having the whole screen for viewing whatever you are typing it works out well. this is the one area that having a slide out keyboard was great for (it kept the entire screen open for viewing and didnt block anything). however, with the size of modern phones you can likely minimize the size of the keyboarod while still retaining the ability to type well. i'm just stuck using a 3.7" (yes its that small... its old) phone so i get the brunt of it when it comes to the onscreen keyboard size since any smaller and i cant push keys right.