am I the only one that uses the physical keyboard?

[gatecitycanes]

I use it, and I wouldn't get a phone without a physical keyboard. My first smartphone was a BB and now a Droid. I tried doing touchscreen on the iPod Touch and in a pinch on the Droid and I just can't do it very well.

 

[supercripple]

I use the keyboard sometimes when I have long messages to type, but mostly, for quick responses and whatnot to text messages, I use Swype.

 

[xdreamer]

I use the hw keyboard all the time, even one handed. I only use the screen kb when my hands are very tired. I'm not a fast typist.

 

[mountaineerndixie]

Never use physical kb. Doesn't have a good feel to me. Too easy to mistype and I can't hardly use the top row of keys because they are too close to the edge of the sliding screen.

~ Droid ~

 

[shiccy]

I too do NOT like the glass keyboard and gotta have the qwerty keyboard. I came from Palm Treo 755P and BB Curve and found the Droid keyboard tough to use at first...then I discovered a trick. I let my thumb nails grow out a bit and can now type as good on the Droid as I did with either the Palm or BB ! The X is not for me for obvious reason, but maybe Droid 2 or better yet, Droid 3 way down the road. LOVE MY QWERTY KEYBOARD!

It's actually funny you say that b/c I can't type on my droid when I have fingernails at all ... I have to clip them to get really good fast typing.

That being said, I came from an HTC touch, and have vowed never EVER to go back to an all tactile phone. It made it SUPER nice for form factor (something they need to still work on / address a bit w/ the droid), but if the tactile portion of the screen starts dying for NO REASON - I'M LOOKING AT YOU HTC - TWICE, it makes texting a pain in the ass and a chore.

NEVER again. LOVE LOVE LOVE my tactile keyboard. LOVE my droid. Only qualm these days is speed. Once they put a chip that's worth a damn in this thing, and maybe make it a bit smaller, you've got yourself an amazing freaking phone!

 

[dolpns13]

I can't believe how many people can so seamlessly switch from the droid to the incredible, or x. I cannot stand onscreen keyboards and the physical kb was one of the main reasons I bought this phone. Swype is nice and all but I can't type 70+wpm accurately on swype as I can on my physical kb. I returned my iphone 3 weeks into my contract because I couldn't use a touchscreen kb. I sure hope future models of the droid beyond the droid 2 come with physical kbs. Am I the only one that uses this thing?

Im with ya bro... I typically use both swype and the external keyboard daily, but I prefer the external keyboard. Swype messes up on a contant basis, and the android keyboard freaks out when I try to type a word.

I got the droid mainly for the external keypad.

 

[WVOz1970]

My last phone was a Samsung Omnia with soft keys only. I was so glad to get back to having a hard keyboard with my Droid. If I'm typing a quick txt or such, I'll use soft keys. But if I'm using Office to Go and typing notes in a Word document, I need the keyboard. The biggest thing I need is the d-pad. If I have an error and need to go back and correct, I can't always get my fat fingers to position the cursor right where it needs to be. The d-pad lets me move it seamlessly to the error so I can fix it.

So no, you are definitely not the only one who likes the hard keys.

 

[bradvoy]

I never use the onscreen keyboard for anything that requires more than one or two words. The physical keyboard is much faster and more accurate; I won't use a phone that doesn't have one. However even though the Droid's physical keyboard is much better than the onscreen keyboard, it's pretty poor as far as physical keyboards go. My 2 previous phones (HTC Touch Pro/Fuze and HTC Hermes/8525) had much better keyboards than the Droid.

 

[JMU_Droid]

+1000 for the physical keyboard. It was a major selling point for me on the Droid. I just hope the Droid Pro doesn't snub a qwerty keyboard like most of the other high-end models are doing.

 

[icculusX]

I literally cannot get use to touchscreen keyboard. I need my qwerty. I don't plan on upgrading till December because I am so happy with my Droid1 still... but when Gingerbread comes out crazy new Droids will be coming out, and I hope one of them has a qwerty!!

 

[JaniceLF]

I like the idea of Swype....is this a free app? Also, and may be a silly question, but how do I know which Droid model I have? I JUST got it. :icon_eek:

 

[Niemo435]

I bought my droid because of the physical KB. I use all three them, but when typing longer messages im all about the physical one My gf is gonna get the 2. She likes the idea of it as well dancedroid

 

[mikeofmikes83]

HOLY CRAP!!! My phone has a physical keyboard!?!?!?!?! lol

 

[Audiophile]

I need my physical keyboard goodness too. Not only do I use it to type out long messages, but I also use it for navigation such as scrolling through webpages (forums) because tapping on the D pad is much easier for me to do than having to do mini-swypes. Also another thing is the fact that I just cannot see playing any emulator without physical keys..... you have the feel of actual keys that help you play your games better plus you can have the game take up the entire screen of your phone. Also having physical keys makes it MUCH easier and better when I run Remote Desktop.

 

[DaDroidDude]

Hmmm.
Here's my thoughts/questions.

I've used the soft keyboards almost exclusively since getting my Droid 2 months ago.
Sometimes I can really cook on them, even the portrait one, and the predictive text can help a lot.

It seems of late that my skills are waning and the keyboards are getting a bit flakey. I'll check into whether this is more prevalent when plugged in. I'm thinkin' it might be.

Questions:
Does the physical keyboard become less sticky and easier to use over time? I find that it is not very accurate.

I typed this on the Droid:
This sentence is typedx/pretty fast with as many errors/as sholw up hered.

The quick brown fox thing came out as
The quick brown fox jumped ovefr the lazy dog.

I type 50+ wpm on a real keyboard so I'm pretty good.
(to the guy who says he types 70wpm on the Droid I say "BS" ! lol)

Also, is there any way to get the predictive text to show up when using the hard kb?

Thanks all.

Droid Does!
B