Looking for a lower-end Android with full keyboard...

[phucheneh]

...yeah, I'm just difficult like that. I can/will not use touchscreen keyboards. My fingers are simply too big and too calloused for me to hit the buttons on anything phone-sized. And they're entirely non-functional when I'm working...I'll generally either have greasy hands, gloved hands, or sweaty hands (because I just took gloves off). Just not feasible for me. Also, if you don't like any of those reasons: I just hate them. If it wasn't for iTrends, we would (IMO) still see buttons in higher-end phones, rather than looking at them as The Mark of the Poor Person.

Enough commentary, though. Basically, I'm fine with the phone I have right now (Kyocera Rise). But VM's service seems to get sketchier by the day. Their phones are SIM-less, so switching carriers (...to another pre-paid. Will not double my monthly bill for the privilege of a two year contract...) means I need a new phone. Your standard unlocked GSM should be fine; not sure which carrier I will use, but there are plenty of options to bounce between with an unlocked phone.

My dilemma: I paid fifty whole dollars for my phone over a year ago, and can't seem to find an equivalent for double the price. Yeah, the princely sum of $100.

I'll probably pay up to 200. But preferably less...my phone does not get treated well and it's just not worth having a pricey one. All I want is the same stuff I already have- full keyboard, a non-antique version of Android, livable performance (1Ghz Qualcomm, 512MB RAM), and a 'full-size' (albeit low-res HVGA) screen.

Choices...limited. Looking around yields lots of old phones. The Kyocera seems to still qualify as 'recent.' It would be nice to upgrade to a 480x800 screen and maybe some more RAM. I can't really find anything else to care about, TBQH.

What I'm seeing: Galaxy Relay for a little over 200. An upgrade. Samsung Galaxy Appeal for a little under 100. 'Sidegrade,' at best.

And then there's...damn, what is there?

 

[Crono]

Last time I checked, a few Android smartphones with keyboards were available. Ones I found were: LG Mach, Motorola Droid 4, Motorola Photon, NEC Terrain

None of those fit your requirements, though.

 

[phucheneh]

I saw the Mach and Photon. AFAIK both are pretty expensive.

Add Samsung Captivate Glide. Part of the Samsung Words Words Words line. God I hate how convoluted and dumb the phone market is...I can't figure out how this is different from the Galaxy Relay. Oh, and the Galaxy Stratosphere II, which inexplicably costs twice as much for no apparent reason.

 

[Crono]

If you were open to Windows Phone, I'd say get a Dell Venue Pro. It's a bit long in tooth now and on Windows Phone 7.8, but it's cheap (less than $100 used on ebay), the keyboard is good, and the screen (while low res) is a decent AMOLED one.

Would probably be smoother experience than Android with equivalent specs. I very much liked my Venue Pro, though it's been a while since I had it.

Blackberry is the only smartphone company that still has a focus on physical keyboards, and they are barely alive.

 

[phucheneh]

Yeah, and unforunately, I don't really even like BB-style keyboards.

Sigh. If it comes down to getting something old as dirt, or paying $200 for $100 worth of phone, I guess maybe I'll just accept my touchscreen fate and hope something else eventually comes down the pipe.

Not sure about the Windows phone. I am not a 'phone person,' and it makes my brain hurt to even think about introducing more variables. There is, at once, so much out there...and nothing. Some of the supposedly newer models, I can't even find being sold anywhere. I'm not even sure what the street price on the Photon Q is, 'cause I can't find it.

 

[jpeyton]

You want a used Captivate Glide.

 

[phucheneh]

I believe you won the game. I was leaning toward that option, what with the good internal hardware on that phone. Plus the nice screen (4" 480x800 might be old hat, but I think it's about the perfect format for a 'normal' phone). Decent camera is a bonus.

I still didn't wanna drop the cash, though...but working ones are going on ebay for under a hundred bucks.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-SAMSUNG...1179960643?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item2a2f2acd43

That's $143 shipped for a new one, albeit in a plain box. How leery should I be of overstock, de-branded, or whatever kinda stuff? There are some pretty huge price differences, given the constant volatility of the phone market. It'd be nice to actually just be able to buy a new phone in a store, but I guess that's going the way of the dodo...if you want something between a very expensive contact phone and a disposable prepaid 'burner.' Wait until the Wireless carrier doesn't want the phones anymore, buy them from grey market retailer...profit? Or get a decent cheap phone, anyway.

 

[Jeraden]

My son had the myTouch 4g slide (tmobile), which is a slide phone with decent specs. I think it was the last physical keyboard phone tmobile put out. Might want to check into that - he's not using it anymore, I'd even offer to sell you it if you wanted.

 

[s44]

I think it was the last physical keyboard phone tmobile put out.

Nope. The Galaxy S Relay was a dual-Krait Samsung released a year ago. Probably the most advanced GSM keyboard phone you can find. (The Captivate Glide is Tegra2.)

 

[Megatomic]

Nope. The Galaxy S Relay was a dual-Krait Samsung released a year ago. Probably the most advanced GSM keyboard phone you can find. (The Captivate Glide is Tegra2.)

My wife has this phone and while she loves the keyboard she hates the phone. Lots of lockups and reboots. She's not extremely tech savvy but she's not an idiot, you may want to avoid this phone.

 

[s44]

Did she take the JB upgrade?

 

[bearxor]

How open are you to getting a better phone and adding on one of the keyboard cases?

Like a SGS3 with this case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA1PU0M13698

That might run you about $300 though, but would be a huge upgrade. I believe they make similar cases for the SGS2 if that's more your budget.

 

[Megatomic]

Did she take the JB upgrade?

Yes, though that was my doing. It did improve things but she has issues I (being an iOS user) can't resolve. The T-Mobile store has replaced her phone twice over various inexplicable and unfixable things. I only posted to give my take on that specific phone, this is not a judgement of the platform.

 

[phucheneh]

The keyboard case thing is interesting. Almost an 'oh, so THAT'S why no one makes phones with keyboards anymore' kinda thing.

But they all seem really cheap. Flimsy and with nots-so-great buttons. And then there's having to have bluetooth on all the time, and just general reports of flakiness with those things.

I said fudgit and ordered a Captivate Glide. It's old but I don't see anything better for the money. Even discounting the keyboard factor, it's surely a >$100 phone. Paid 150.

 

[gmaster456]

I would bite the bullet, get the galaxy relay and call it a day.

 

[phucheneh]

I would bite the bullet, get the galaxy relay and call it a day.

In 'as cheap as I can find it actually NIB' terms, it's 150 versus 230 between the Captivate and Relay. 80 bucks for what is, for me, an inconsequential processor upgrade, does't seem to make any sense. Everything else seems the same.

 

[phucheneh]

Shiz. I thought I bought an unlocked phone, but I just noticed today when reviewing the shipping confirmation that it is ATT. I guess I got mixed up when I was going through listings looking for the lowest price from a reputable seller that didn't say 'ships from Hong Kong.'

Not a huge deal. ATT's prepaid is actually not that bad...$60 a month for unlimited, instead of the popular 45-50, but I would assume I get the same service as their regular customers? I.e. not Virgin and Boost's shittier versions of Sprint (which is not great around here, anyway). 2GB data cap, though...but I really don't use it enough for it to matter.

An ATT phone won't work on StraightTalk or related companies without unlocking, right? If nothing else, I'd just chalk this up as an 'oops' and resell the phone for little to no loss. The same seller has already moved a lot of these and even upped the price to $160 today. It's amazing how long phones are staying technologically valid these days...but then again, these were going for the exact same price 1.5-2 years ago...with a two year contract. So easily 400-500 outright, I'm assuming.

 

[s44]

AT&T phones work on AT&T MVNOs like Straight Talk (AT&T flavor) without an unlock.

 

[TerryMathews]

Sprint Epic Touch. Equivalent of the Galaxy S with a slide-out keyboard. It's CDMA too, so if you've got someone local that can flash it for you, you can still use VM.
http://www.cellularcountry.com/used...rdnLoCFUdgMgod9BYACQ#googlebase&utm_term=8545

If you're switching to GSM: https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...=X&ei=lT9fUtTjEJDG9gTWkoGgAg&ved=0CIwEEPMCMAA

 

[shortylickens]

Phone scoop has a finder option:

http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/finder.php

http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/finder_results.php?m=s&w=s&avr=r&av_1=y&av_2=y&plr=r&pl_20=y&f58r=r

 

[shortylickens]

I like this,

http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=4167

Android 4 and genuinely rugged, not just rain resistant.

 

[phucheneh]

Ah, good to know that the phone will work with the prepaids with no additional cost. May even come with an usable SIM then, no?

VM phones don't work on anything else, unfortunately. Same CDMA network as Sprint, but the phones are SIM-less. You can get used ones to work, but it's through calling VM. No SIM swapping and no AFAIK no way to unlock and/or reprogram it to something else.

Luckily, I'm not too concerned. I've chosen to congratulate myself on the thrifty purchase of a $50 smartphone. It's a cheapo phone, but price/performance wise it was a steal. And now I don't feel bad shelving it.

Will be going from 1Ghz single core, 512MB, 320x480, to 1Ghz dual core, 1GB, 480x800. Pretty good leap...it's just like with gaming PC's: leapfrog generations of hardware and always upgrade to last year's tech, at best. Saves lots of money, heh.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Ah, good to know that the phone will work with the prepaids with no additional cost. May even come with an usable SIM then, no?

VM phones don't work on anything else, unfortunately. Same CDMA network as Sprint, but the phones are SIM-less. You can get used ones to work, but it's through calling VM. No SIM swapping and no AFAIK no way to unlock and/or reprogram it to something else.

Luckily, I'm not too concerned. I've chosen to congratulate myself on the thrifty purchase of a $50 smartphone. It's a cheapo phone, but price/performance wise it was a steal. And now I don't feel bad shelving it.

Will be going from 1Ghz single core, 512MB, 320x480, to 1Ghz dual core, 1GB, 480x800. Pretty good leap...it's just like with gaming PC's: leapfrog generations of hardware and always upgrade to last year's tech, at best. Saves lots of money, heh.

If you want my input, even at 3 years old, the Tegra 2 still holds it's own pretty well when internet surfing, and light gaming are involved. Overclocked (1.5 ghz in my phone), PS1 and N64 emulators are quite feasible. The gpu is quite slow, so don't expect any demanding 3d gamrs out of it.

 

[phucheneh]

If I wanted to pay a bit more, or forgo the QWERTY keyboard and pay a little less, the competition is all dual core Snapdragon S3's, I think. In the .8-1ghz range. I think the Tegra2 is a bit of bargain in comparison. More typical technology- yesterday's high-end often makes for the best 'value-priced' hardware once newer stuff rolls out.

 

[phucheneh]

Just figured I'd provide an update, in case anyone else is looking for a phone like this.

The Captivate Glide is a nice phone. It's very much what I like in tech...a big step up from what it's replacing, for not a whole lot of money. It might not be a perfect device, but it feels like my money went where I wanted it to go; nothing seems extraneous. Overall the phone feels very solid, but there's nothing fancy about it. Screen is very nice...not the biggest, not the newest tech, but looking at it next to a cheaper phone is like looking at an IPS desktop monitor next to a TN panel. Very responsive, plenty fast for my purposes. Camera seems rather impressive. Ect.

Cannot complain for $150. Even came with Android 4.0.4 installed, which I never saw mentioned anywhere. Must have been a late change.