Droid 4 and the future of QWERTY

[debdroid1a]

No Moto doesn't care too much, but trust me there was a BIG out cry. On this board. On websites that allowed comments. On their facebook page. On Twitter. They may not respond that they heard because it would mean they would have to reply to everyone who complains, but they heard the crying.

Yes it's Moto that's have the 4g droppage as well as others. Nexus owners had same problem. Unless you weren't in an area that wasn't effected, I'm not sure why your thunderbolt didn't drop 4G. Maybe HTC does have better reception. But does HTC make a 4G keyboard slider for Verizon? If so, please do tell. That's what we're looking at here in the Droid 4 section (um, yes that's why this is posted in the Droid 4 section).

Back to the topic at hand. Unless other makers (like HTC) come out with physical keyboards on phones, I see Moto have the monopoly on this and it not going away any time soon. They may not make as much as other phones they sell, but they won't stop unless someone else comes out with better specs for a physical keyboard phone.
Unless of course, like I mentioned in another post, they make bluetooth keyboards you can attach to a phone (like a slider keyboard) that is available for the iPhone. But users like more options then that--well Android users.

 

[JRParsons]

I do have a good friend who waited patiently for the Bionic, then was truly P.O.ed when they released the Razor. I think I convinced him they were different phones for different people and the Razor was not better, just different. Since then he has been very happy with his Bionic, no issues, no data drops etc.

Personally, other than 10 months with a Thunderbolt, I have always had a slider, dating back to the XV6800 which ran WM 5.xx and cost about $500 on contract (had a stylus and scroll wheel). Traded that for the Touch Pro II (just a stylus) (really good phone for its time by the way).

I really wish I didn't have to sacrifice so much in the way of specs to have a slider. I was really looking forward to the D4, but don't think I can live with the non-removable battery. I'm sure most people never take their battery out, but I replace mine at least once a day when I'm travelling. (No access to a charger)

There were rumers of an HTC Slider on Verizon ADR6410, (Fireball), havn't seen/heard anything lateley. The ADR6410 falls in between the Thunderbolt and the Rezound. (6400 and 6425) I was hoping for a slider with at least the specs of the Thunderbolt. In the meantime I'm rockin the Strat. LOL (that would be funnier if you knew I was a 40+ year old married, quasi professional, who lost any hope of being "cool" about a decade ago)

 

[jkaod]

It always amazes me when people get angry that a new phone is released in their opinion, "too soon" after they bought their new phone. Their phone is still the same, it's just that they don't have claim to "the newest phone" Sorry, but that's just plain stupid. There will always be new phones coming out which will be better in some ways than what we currently have...learn to deal with it. Life is way too short to have phone envy and be angry because a new phone came out too soon. The D4 will be an awesome phone in some ways, but not for everyone. It doesn't make the D3 any worse. Rant completed, off soap box now.

 

[hellmonkey]

It always amazes me when people get angry that a new phone is released in their opinion, "too soon" after they bought their new phone. Their phone is still the same, it's just that they don't have claim to "the newest phone" Sorry, but that's just plain stupid. There will always be new phones coming out which will be better in some ways than what we currently have...learn to deal with it. Life is way too short to have phone envy and be angry because a new phone came out too soon. The D4 will be an awesome phone in some ways, but not for everyone. It doesn't make the D3 any worse. Rant completed, off soap box now.

For me atleast, I would be pissed if I bought a phone, then saw a better one of the same type released just afterwards. I was about to get my wife a droid3, but then went out on the net and saw that the D4 is about to drop. Most people dont do that kind of research. I think its less about phone envy and more about buyers remourse and OOOOOO i shoulda waited one more month.

 

[debdroid1a]

The only problem is they can't wait several months before releasing a new phone. Even if the D3 had been out a year, someone would have bought it a month before the D4 release and without research never had known it was coming. So they may have buyers remourse anyway. And if it's time to upgrade the Verion rep would probably ster them to "the next big thing" not a year old phone (unless it's the iphone which the price doesn't drop until a new one is out).

And if, say Moto didn't have a keyboard phone out on the market so people wouldn't have buyers remorse, people would buy the Stratosphere if they were looking for an Android keyboard phone at Verizon, so then Moto would have lost money.

So Moto is going to get backlash if they don't wait or wait for a release. And I think earning money is more important to a business then letting buyers get some other phone and lose business. Every sales person does this. They try to keep the customers they have (admitedly Moto hasn't done very well with no updates on phones or late updates) and get new customers.

I think droping the price is the best thing for Moto to do. A free Droid 3, or even a $49 D3, is better then a $200 phone and then a month later the better one comes out. Now if you have buyers remourse because you got a free phone, then that's something you have to deal with. And maybe you were looking when it was $99 at Verizon and $49 on the web.

I bought a 7" tablet in July last year. Three months later a better Android table, Amazon fire came out. Was I mad? No. I wasn't happy about a better tablet coming out, but I was happy with mine. It did what I needed it to. I still have it and haven't even looked at buying another tablet (although I like to see what's out there).

OP
Sorry, forgot the topic with all these off topic posts... :happy3:

As I said, no matter what goes on, malware, better spec phones, etc., there will still be a need for a physical keyboard. Some people just prefer it. That's why people bought the bluetooth iphone keyboard MSN was selling a few weeks ago. And why they have one. Their customers would buy one no matter the price or specs (it was like $70 us ).

 

[bw13]

change of heart

I used to think I would NEVER use a phone without a keyboard. I used a Blackberry for years then switched to the Droid 1 and then the Droid 3. I just sold my Droid 3 and will buy the Razr Maxx tomorrow. It turns out that it's just a lot easier to use Swype. I thought it was a gimmick at first but if you give it a few weeks it's amazing how incredibly fast and accurate it is and you can do it one handed with your thumb. I just found myself using it instead of turning my phone horizontal and opening up the keyboard. Before I knew it, I was never using the keyboard. Without Swype this would never have happened, I hate regular virtual keyboards, especially the iphones.

 

[RoninX]

Swype works great for words that it knows. What irritates me is having to enter words that it doesn't know (uncommon names, passwords, URLs, etc.) letter-by-letter.

If I absolutely had to get a non-QWERTY phone, I would definitely be using Swype all the time.

 

[DF Smod]

I use Swype religiously, couldn't imaging typing on a touch screen without it

 

[bw13]

Swype works great for words that it knows. What irritates me is having to enter words that it doesn't know (uncommon names, passwords, URLs, etc.) letter-by-letter.

If I absolutely had to get a non-QWERTY phone, I would definitely be using Swype all the time.

But anything Swype doesn't know, you can add to it's dictionary by typing it in once hitting the space bar and then hitting the add to dictionary button that pops up. After using it for a month or so it will know all of your names, passwords, etc.

 

[kenoshabrew]

I think Motorola is still trying to target business users if you look at the Droid Pro and the bloatware they put on the Droid phones is business related (Citrix, GotoMeeting, etc). The big business phone brand is Blackberry and they've been known for their keyboards. The Droid 3 sold well, or better than Verizon anticipated as it was out of stock quite a bit in late July to early August of 2011. I imagine the QWERTY slider will be around for a while.

The Droid 3 was out of stock for a while there because they recalled a ton of them. They had so many problems at first release they issued a quiet recall to VZ stores. My friend went through 5 in a couple month due to hardware failures (no drops or abuse). His fifth one was post recall. They didn't tell the general public because if you weren't having problems, why replace it? But the failure rate was astronomical on the first batch of D3's.

 

[kenoshabrew]

I was able to swap a Tbolt straight up for a Stratosphere, I can notice the diminished performance, but didn't realize how much I missed my slider.
I would have jumped all over the Droid 4, a topline device with a slider, but they had to put that stupid non-removable battery in it. I travel a lot in a day with GPS running on a motorcycle, no access to a charger. I always just took a couple of spare batteries with me.
Hey HTC, any chance we could get a device with Rezound specs and screen size, and a slider. Personally I'd pay 399.
What also scares me about the Droid 4 is the delay. Something isn't working or it would have been released, I know Moto doesn't make any money back on the millions its got invested in the device until its released, so they have nothing to gain by sitting on it. Further, the technology in the device is getting older by the day. The last 2 devices that were delayed for an extended period of time were the Thunderbolt and the Bionic, we all know how those devices turned out. The thunderbolt wasn't "fixed" for about 6 months, and they're still working on the Bionic.
Sorry for the long post, but I have a keyboard again.

They delayed it because (imo) they didn't want to release the RAZR, Galaxy Nexus, and D4 at the same time. 3 top tier phones is a lot. I agree though, the removable battery is AGONIZING me. I'm going to get the D4 as soon as it comes out. Right now I am spoiled with 4 batteries on my D2Global. I honestly think in about 2 months they will release a Droid 4 MAXX with larger battery and slightly bigger dimensions. I was going to wait for that, but if you keep waiting for the next best thing you'll never get anything. I have a friend at Motorola who gets to tests prototypes. I'm going to try to find out if they have a D4 Maxx in the works and how long it will take to come out. My real worry is I'm grandfathered in with unlimited data and that keeps even when going to 4G. That isn't going to last forever. Sooner or later, VZ is going to cancel unlimited data for everyone. This way at least I'll be locked in another 2 years of unlimited data on 4G. My solution to the battery problem is going to be a portable rechargeable battery (Moto makes one that has great reviews). Yes it's more of a hassle than just swapping in a new battery, but it's battery then the thing dying when you want it to work. I'm spoiled with my 4 batteries, I use power like it's going out of style so it's going to be very hard for me to limit myself with this new phone. Here's a link for that battery I'm talking about. It's a link to Verizon Wireless's page. After you enter your zip it should come up.

Set Your Location

 

[kenoshabrew]

They delayed it because (imo) they didn't want to release the RAZR, Galaxy Nexus, and D4 at the same time. 3 top tier phones is a lot. I agree though, the removable battery is AGONIZING me. I'm going to get the D4 as soon as it comes out. Right now I am spoiled with 4 batteries on my D2Global. I honestly think in about 2 months they will release a Droid 4 MAXX with larger battery and slightly bigger dimensions. I was going to wait for that, but if you keep waiting for the next best thing you'll never get anything. I have a friend at Motorola who gets to tests prototypes. I'm going to try to find out if they have a D4 Maxx in the works and how long it will take to come out. My real worry is I'm grandfathered in with unlimited data and that keeps even when going to 4G. That isn't going to last forever. Sooner or later, VZ is going to cancel unlimited data for everyone. This way at least I'll be locked in another 2 years of unlimited data on 4G. My solution to the battery problem is going to be a portable rechargeable battery (Moto makes one that has great reviews). Yes it's more of a hassle than just swapping in a new battery, but it's battery then the thing dying when you want it to work. I'm spoiled with my 4 batteries, I use power like it's going out of style so it's going to be very hard for me to limit myself with this new phone. Here's a link for that battery I'm talking about. It's a link to Verizon Wireless's page. After you enter your zip it should come up.

Set Your Location

Sorry about the double reply but I did more research. Motorola is selling a P793 portable battery booster/charger/thingy (whateverthehell you want to call it) on their website. Verizon is selling the P893. From the looks of it, the P893 has about 30% more power available in it. I just wanted to warn people about this as I could NOT find the P893 on Motorola's website, only Verizon's.

 

[kenoshabrew]

I do have a good friend who waited patiently for the Bionic, then was truly P.O.ed when they released the Razor. I think I convinced him they were different phones for different people and the Razor was not better, just different. Since then he has been very happy with his Bionic, no issues, no data drops etc.

Personally, other than 10 months with a Thunderbolt, I have always had a slider, dating back to the XV6800 which ran WM 5.xx and cost about $500 on contract (had a stylus and scroll wheel). Traded that for the Touch Pro II (just a stylus) (really good phone for its time by the way).

I really wish I didn't have to sacrifice so much in the way of specs to have a slider. I was really looking forward to the D4, but don't think I can live with the non-removable battery. I'm sure most people never take their battery out, but I replace mine at least once a day when I'm travelling. (No access to a charger)

There were rumers of an HTC Slider on Verizon ADR6410, (Fireball), havn't seen/heard anything lateley. The ADR6410 falls in between the Thunderbolt and the Rezound. (6400 and 6425) I was hoping for a slider with at least the specs of the Thunderbolt. In the meantime I'm rockin the Strat. LOL (that would be funnier if you knew I was a 40+ year old married, quasi professional, who lost any hope of being "cool" about a decade ago)

Set Your Location

 

[notoriousplaya9]

And the Maxx only mentions "talk" time,not data or streaming movies time.

Sent from my Droid 1 using DroidForums[/QUOTE]

That's the dumbest thing ive ever heard first of all; second, I think the DROID 4 is a good choice and with the keyboard it makes it better. Physical keyboards are faster than virtual but being good at virtual u can be faster than phulysical. Also some ppl like variety with their phones


Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[kenoshabrew]

And the Maxx only mentions "talk" time,not data or streaming movies time.

Sent from my Droid 1 using DroidForums

That's the dumbest thing ive ever heard first of all; second, I think the DROID 4 is a good choice and with the keyboard it makes it better. Physical keyboards are faster than virtual but being good at virtual u can be faster than phulysical. Also some ppl like variety with their phones


Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums[/QUOTE]


Uhh yeah.. The Droid RAZR has a 1780mAh battery while the RAZR MAXX has a 3300mAh battery. That's 85% larger. And if you don't think that translates to more than just extended talk time, someone needs to learn more about batteries... It also DOES list on the Droiddoes website that the RAZR MAXX has 7hrs web browsing and 15 hours movie watching (it does not mention if this is 3g,4g or wifi). I'm sure real world figures will vary..but it's not like an 85% larger battery is ONLY going to give you extended talk time. For comparison, the D4 has a 1785mAH battery. Personally I wouldn't mind a fatter profile for a 3300mAh battery stuffed in a D4 to get those extended usage times. It makes me wonder about the screens on the two devices though... with the RAZR you have basically an advanced OLED that doesn't take much power. On the D4 it's an LCD that's going to suck more power (but be able to be seen better in daylight). There's always trade offs I guess, but I'm still going for the D4