Android/WM7 phones with Numeric KeyPad?

T

Thundordan

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Feb 12, 2010
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Hello,

Are there any?

It's time for me to change my phone. I haven't really looked into the phone market too carefully over the past 2 years, so I need help in picking a genuinely useful one.

First, I'd like you to read through this http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/feat..._Fashion-10_Reasons_Why_Touchscreens_Suck.php <- I really agree with that guy.

Ideally I'd want my phone to follow these rules/guidelines:
1. Steve Jobs is the very icon of what I DON'T want.

2. It must have a physical numeric keypad AND a joystick/d-pad. (just out of curiosity, is there any phone out there with an analogue stick similar to the one on the PSP? would make my snes emulator games much easier to play) ..Also, I could compromise and get a phone with a qwerty keyboard (which I kind of hate), but only if it's not too expensive and meets the rest of the requirements.

3. I'd very much like it to have a proper OS like Android or WM7 (though I've googled and android doesn't seem to have any numeric keypad phones).

4. Touchscreen is a nice bonus (though I'd sacrifice it over a numeric keypad and d-pad). (but touchscreens are lower quality than regular screens, harder to read on in the sun also)

5. In more detail, It has to: be a good ipod/mediaPlayer; have a reliable camera; decent processing power and no file size restrictions and whatnot; must have WIFI; mini usb port and normal/mini headphone jack.

6. I would prefer if it wasn't a slider phone, I definitely don't want it to be a flip phone;

7. I consider Samsung and LG to be probably the most superficial and trend-focused pieces of crap out there.. I'm a computer science student, so I don't want any of that completely useless mainstream trendy novelty stuff.
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In short, I want a practical phone, which you can use with one hand, with your eyes closed, be able to install "my own" software on, have wifi and play any media/flash on it.

Oh, I haven't mentioned that my budget is 300$ or 200 euro. I will most likely not be able to get anything more expensive than that. (nor do I consider that an $1000 phone is in any way worth it)

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PS: Nokia's touch-and-type seems decent:
http://www.touchqwerty.com/upcoming...ouchscreen-with-alphanumeric-keypad-phone.htm
http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39051199,45286779p,00.htm
ONLY it has one ridiculous flaw: NO D-PAD? WTF, are they serious? Those phones look like they're crippled/handicapped.. I could try to get used to it, but it would mean no more battletoads :(

Thanks a lot for any help!:)
 
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You're really not going to find anything with a numeric keypad that has WM7 or Android. Pretty much the only modern smartphones that I know of that have them are the Nokia E52 and HTC S740. A portrait keybaord layout might be the closest thing to your requirements. With all that said however, I believe the closets you're going to find that runs WM7 or Android is either the HTC Desire Z or Dell Venue Pro. Motorola makes a couple Android phones with a portrait keyboard layout, but I don't believe they're available in Europe. All those Nokias you linked to don't run Android or WM7 either of course (and instead run Symbian).
 
Grab a BlackBerry of some kind and be happy, 'cause that's the closest you're most likely going to get. BlackBerries are designed for the more "serious" user, they're not supposed to be pretty toys or gizmos as most people consider such devices, and they're tough as hell and quite capable to boot.

I've never seen an Android or WM7 device of any kind that would even meet maybe 2 or 3 of your requirements, let alone the whole list.

But, if you've got about $2.5 million laying around, there are plenty of small east Asian electronics firms that would be happy to build you a phone from raw materials that's exactly what you want. ;)

As for that article you linked to, that guy needs to take a vacation or something, geez. Maybe he's got some Luddite in him, who knows. :p
 
Thanks for your replies guys,

Bahamut said:
But, if you've got about $2.5 million laying around, there are plenty of small east Asian electronics firms that would be happy to build you a phone from raw materials that's exactly what you want. ;)
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Hmm $2.5mil, let me just check my.. nope. Maybe by the end of the month.
Bahamut said:
As for that article you linked to, that guy needs to take a vacation or something, geez. Maybe he's got some Luddite in him, who knows. :p
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:D Hah, Luddite, fair point. Still, what I need is a phone you can use with one hand and which has something called a "tactile response display". Otherwise known as BUTTONS..

I've looked around on gsmarena and found:
http://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_curve_8520-2889.php --too expensive, but the OS seems better than: http://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_pearl_8120-2136.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e63-2599.php --seems solid and powerful enough.. too many buttons though
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_g900-2247.php --this one seems very interesting on paper, but it's quite thick and I'm sure it's not that great software-wise..

It's very weird that there's such a huge design gap between the classic phone and the iPhone..
 
My HD2 has haptic feedback which tells me when I've touched the screen, especially with the keyboard, works great. Just a tiny little "buzz" from the vibration motor in the device but it's enough to get the job done. A lot of touch screen devices have that functionality nowadays, precisely because people want some kind of kinesthetic feedback of some kind, not just a tiny "beep" that usually they can't even hear, and since they're holding the phone in the hand the vibration provides exactly that.

Once you get used to a specific device, looking at the screen is almost an afterthought of sorts; I can do almost anything with this HD2 and most all of my handheld devices simply because I've used them so much I always know right where I am, and if worse comes to worse, one press of the Home button gets me right back to square one.
 
Why not the Nokia E52 I mentioned? That's a smartphone with a numeric keypad and a directional pad. CPU in it is rather modern and is actually quicker then the ones you linked to.
 
Blue Fox said:
Why not the Nokia E52 I mentioned? That's a smartphone with a numeric keypad and a directional pad. CPU in it is rather modern and is actually quicker then the ones you linked to.
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Oh, dude, that phone would be nice(though expensive), except I really really hate the nokia interface in it! My dad has a Nokia 6730 from work and boy is it annoying. It takes an hour to figure out how to set the light timeout or to use the "gps". That 6730 also has a flashing mail icon on the top right of the screen, which can't be turned off and has nothing to do with the mail status or the sms messages.. (I'm sure it has some function but I can't figure it out) I also really hate the way the homescreen is set up.
Point is, E52 has the same OS and UI as the 6730 and I loathe it with all my heart.:rolleyes:

Bahamut, haptic feedback is great and all, but what I need is to feel the button before I press it :)

For instance, I had a nokia 6300, on which I could set the alarm without even looking at it. It was unlock - centerButton - left - centerB - centerB - centerB - setTime - redB - lock :p
All this in a few seconds, no need for extra large icons on screen so I can precisely touch them with my thumb, no mistakes on typing the numbers, no need for 2 hands and no need to look at the phone at all.

When I have more time, I'll try to filter my searches based on the Symbian version or Blackberry OS version etc, and see what I can get.. BTW, any recommendations on what smartphone OS versions are out there that aren't too old (like 3 years old would probably be too old)?
 
Well, the E63 you were looking at is going to be no different. It's actually running an older version of S60 than the E52. I had an E72 for a while (same thing as the E52, just with a keyboard) and I thought it was fairly easy to use. With all that said and done however, my recommendation to you is to go to a local shop and try out some devices. You don't want to be stuck with something that you don't like. The only other T9 smartphone that I can think of is the BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9105. No idea if it fits your budget though.
 
Why hasn't anyone mentioned the Droid Pro? Seems like the best fit if he doesn't want to use a Blackberry device. It just doesn't have a D-pad. Can't have everything on bar phone. I think you'll have to get a slider to have a d-pad (at least on Android phones, dunno about BBs).
 
T4rd said:
Why hasn't anyone mentioned the Droid Pro? Seems like the best fit if he doesn't want to use a Blackberry device.
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They're in Europe and I haven't heard any mention of that being available outside of the US. At least that's why I didn't mention it.
 
Blue Fox said:
They're in Europe and I haven't heard any mention of that being available outside of the US. At least that's why I didn't mention it.
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Ahh, didn't catch that he wasn't in Europe. Well regardless, I think OP is going to have to sacrifice some of his "requirements" in a phone. I know of no phone that has a d-pad (at least that's big/good enough for gaming) that is not a slider or flip phone.
 
True. I'm also starting to think weather or not I actually need a Smartphone. It's not like I'm going to synchronize my emails and calendar from Outlook/Thunderbird and do business on it..

The main reason I wanted a smartphone was that I liked the degree of customization you can bring to it and also the less restrictions (in file types, file sizes etc.)

I can't believe I'm saying this but, I should probably look for a good feature phone.
Nokia C3-01 seems nice. http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_c3_01_touch_and_type-3525.php
But the screen could be better and I'm not sure how bad the S40 os is..

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[EDIT] Also, I AM in Europe, the Droid probably isn't. :)
 
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