Grr... need a "modern" GSM qwerty slider smartphone.

[SunnyD]

My wife is impossible. She insists on having a physical keyboard on her phone. Please AT, help me find one!

Anyway, we've been on PagePlus for some time, but unfortunately she's starting to outgrow the data limit. I can either move her up to the 2gb plan paying another $25/month, or I can find alternatives. My current notion is the latter. Unfortunately, the sticking point is phone choice, given her "requirement" for a slider.

Ideally, something T-Mo compatible that has a stock 4.0+ rom (I dislike 3rd party roms personally, historically too many compatibility issues to deal with). But any GSM slider with 4.0+ would be acceptable, as I can find an AT&T-based plan that would work as well.

It's a shame Verizon locks down the GSM capabilities on their "Global" phones to international carriers only, otherwise I'd just take my wife's Droid 4, which there currently is no domestic hack for, and drop a sim in it and be on my merry way.

 

[Red Storm]

A coworker of mine was the same way. She just got an S3 and could not get used to virtual keyboards. Then one day she saw me swyping on my phone and immediately fell in love (with the keyboard ).

The sooner she gets over "needing" a slider keyboard, the better off she'll be in the long run IMHO.

 

[s44]

Captivate Glide (Tegra2, ICS, AT&T)

Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G/Blaze Q (dual-Krait, ICS, T-Mo)

 

[SunnyD]

A coworker of mine was the same way. She just got an S3 and could not get used to virtual keyboards. Then one day she saw me swyping on my phone and immediately fell in love (with the keyboard ).

The sooner she gets over "needing" a slider keyboard, the better off she'll be in the long run IMHO.

Trust me... I've tried. Several times. It ain't gonna happen.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The best one out is the Photon Q on Sprint.

 

[SunnyD]

The best one out is the Photon Q on Sprint.

Unfortunately Sprint isn't a GSM provider, but thanks.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

Doesn't one of the new Blackberry models have a physical keyboard?

Otherwise check GSM arena or Mobile Burn websites. Failing that, go around to mobile providers that are GSM and look at what phones they have on offer.

 

[dagamer34]

You need to be frank with her. Slider phones are dead. Unless having a slider phone is so important to her that she'd rather suffer with a extremely terrible experience (and none of the phones you'd want would have a good stock Android 4.0 experience), it sadly is time for her to move on.

What I would show her is SwiftKey on a 4.5"+ phone. That would blow her mind.

 

[gmaster456]

She could wait for the BB Q10.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Unfortunately Sprint isn't a GSM provider, but thanks.

Yeah sorry. Your question just got me to research the options and by far the Photon was the only one I wouldn't mind having so I thought I would mention it.

 

[SunnyD]

Doesn't one of the new Blackberry models have a physical keyboard?

Otherwise check GSM arena or Mobile Burn websites. Failing that, go around to mobile providers that are GSM and look at what phones they have on offer.

She could wait for the BB Q10.

Last I checked, blackberries don't run Android. :hmm:

 

[bonkers325]

get a galaxy s3 and one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...+keyboard+case

 

[etrigan420]

My wife was the same way.

I told her that what she was looking for did not exist, and bought her an s3.

She's never looked back.

 

[cronos]

My wife is still holding on to her Droid Pro. She had Nokia E63 --> some Blackberry --> Droid Pro so it's been years since she didn't have a phone with qwerty keyboard on that form factor.

She's finally ready to move on though, and is eyeing the Note.

 

[s44]

If you want to go back to the touch keyboard well, I suggest Note 2. That absurdly large screen is SO easy to type on.

 

[boomhower]

She needs to move on. There isn't a decent one that won't provide a horrible experience out there. It's going to be slow hardware combined with bloated OS overlays.

 

[ChronoReverse]

If you want to go back to the touch keyboard well, I suggest Note 2. That absurdly large screen is SO easy to type on.

Exactly the reason why I liked my Note so much.

 

[poofyhairguy]

And pretty bad screens. Buttons are done for.

 

[Fire&Blood]

Mytouch4g slide is your most modern option on Tmo, one of the very few dual core keyboard phones, but I would still advise against it. Hard keyboard smartphones are a dying niche market and the devices have been terrible to reflect that.

 

[gorcorps]

I know they made some bluetooth keyboard "cases" for the iPhones that turned it into a slider. That's really the best you'll get and there's some obvious drawbacks.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

A coworker of mine was the same way. She just got an S3 and could not get used to virtual keyboards. Then one day she saw me swyping on my phone and immediately fell in love (with the keyboard ).

The sooner she gets over "needing" a slider keyboard, the better off she'll be in the long run IMHO.

yeah, theys a reason they dont make phones wiff keebodes innimo'

 

[MrX8503]

Trust me... I've tried. Several times. It ain't gonna happen.

Well high end phones with keyboards ain't gonna happen. They'll be phased out completely.

She can continue using older smartphones, but eventually she'll have to switch or put up with the old device.

 

[Zodiark1593]

I'm going with the minority and say I absolutely loathe typing on a touchscreen. Hate it so very much. Never going for a touchscreen-only phone.

 

[fahadmq]

She could wait for the BB Q10.

I agree, the BlackBerry Q10 will be by far the most modern QWERTY smartphone in the market when released in a couple months. The dual core Snapdragon S4 SoC and 2 GB RAM coupled with the Bold series keyboard will likely make for an overall snappy experience. Yes it doesn't run Android and is technically not a slider, but it sounds like SunnyD's wife's biggest concern put a premium on the physical keyboard experience. The Q10 is literally the only choice for a high end modern physical QWERTY smartphone at the moment.

In case my post sounds biased, I've never owned a BB phone, nor have ever been a BB shareholder.

 

[QueBert]

I'm going with the minority and say I absolutely loathe typing on a touchscreen. Hate it so very much. Never going for a touchscreen-only phone.

I sold my touch screen phone and got a Blackberry Bold 9900, it might not have all the wiz bang features, but the keyboard's fricking awesome. Since I only use my phone to talk and text I see no reason to ever get rid of it. if it dies I'll order another. Sweet ass little phone.