Well, my over-loved, over-used poor Droid 1 is finally starting to have issues. The keyboard slider sensor has been glitchy for a few weeks and today the i/o (power) button lost its springy-ness (have to press it really hard to get a response).
That plus the 4g rollout in my area (SC) has me thinking I should start looking at upgrading. Mind you, my Droid 1 is still working and I can get around its existing issues for a few months, if soon-to-be-released wonderphone(tm) warrants such.
Trouble is, the hardware keyboard on the Droid completely spoiled me. I have hammered out lengthy emails on that thing at an excellent pace and keeping 100% of my screen real estate while typing has been a great help.
Ok, so the big question: Is there any 4g hardware keyboard device even rumored on the horizon for Verizon? The D3, by all accounts, is not going to have 4g, and I have not been able to find even a whisper of a Verizon 4g android device with keyboard.
If the answer is, as I suspect, that we are likely 12+months away from a 4g hardware keyboard android device on Verizon, then perhaps I need to bite the bullet and get comfortable with a software keyboard (yuk), at least for a little while.
I guess all this leads up to a request for a recommendation.
Here are my actual priorities, needs, and most common uses:
4g -- no use me upgrading without it.
Radio quality -- Colorado mountains, the interstate overpasses across the blue ridge, downtown NYC, outback nowhere TN, etc. I am on Verizon because I expect a signal everywhere (and usually get it).
Good battery life. I run my Droid 1 down to dead on a normal day if it is away from the chargers. I keep a jump battery in my bag, chargers in the office, car, etc. You get the idea.
Email, email, email. I crank out a couple dozen a day, often lengthy, on my D1. I hated the Samsung Omnia precisely because of how awful it was to type out a long email with that keyboard taking up 2/3 of the screen.
Handling sizable PDFs and word docs. I use Docs2Go for this, but the attachments can sometimes be of some size.
Web browsing (incl. flash). Yeah, some of the websites for orgs I work with still use flash. Most of my web use is forums and news sites (NYT, CNN, etc.)
turn-by-turn nav (google maps nav) -- phone is my gps when travelling. Absolutely rely on it to get me from A to Z (and the Droid 1 has been 99% reliable).
MUST work as a phone. This phone is my primary mode of contact. That includes a good speakerphone and bluetooth connectivity.
Text messaging of course. I use about 400 txts a month on average.
---- other notes on usage ----
I do use the camera on my phone to snap pics of docs (and sometimes at concerts or for non-business uses), but I don't require anything fancy.
Only videos I watch are usually youtube.
I have few games installed. Rarely play them.
I do keep a sizable music library and listen to those. I also stream online radio and some podcasts over bluetooth to the car stereo.
Wifi tethering a must.
As I do a lot of road travel, I want to be sure the phone does not have quirky tower hand-off or 3g/4g switching behaviors. The D1 has been excellent at keeping a solid connection driving all across the country.
International not a priority. My travel is usually domestic and when overseas I just use wifi connections for email or VOIP (Line2).
--------
Well, that's my story. I am really unhappy about having to give up the hardware keyboard and, honestly, if their coverage and 4g speed was better, I would seriously consider switching to Sprint just because of the device options. Their phones are light years ahead of Verizon's for my uses, but on top of the speed and coverage issues, I would have to pay ~$20-30 a month more for Sprint and an ETF.
Thanks for reading and apologies for being verbose. Hopefully this thread can help some other folks who are in a similar boat.
-PC
That plus the 4g rollout in my area (SC) has me thinking I should start looking at upgrading. Mind you, my Droid 1 is still working and I can get around its existing issues for a few months, if soon-to-be-released wonderphone(tm) warrants such.
Trouble is, the hardware keyboard on the Droid completely spoiled me. I have hammered out lengthy emails on that thing at an excellent pace and keeping 100% of my screen real estate while typing has been a great help.
Ok, so the big question: Is there any 4g hardware keyboard device even rumored on the horizon for Verizon? The D3, by all accounts, is not going to have 4g, and I have not been able to find even a whisper of a Verizon 4g android device with keyboard.
If the answer is, as I suspect, that we are likely 12+months away from a 4g hardware keyboard android device on Verizon, then perhaps I need to bite the bullet and get comfortable with a software keyboard (yuk), at least for a little while.
I guess all this leads up to a request for a recommendation.
Here are my actual priorities, needs, and most common uses:
4g -- no use me upgrading without it.
Radio quality -- Colorado mountains, the interstate overpasses across the blue ridge, downtown NYC, outback nowhere TN, etc. I am on Verizon because I expect a signal everywhere (and usually get it).
Good battery life. I run my Droid 1 down to dead on a normal day if it is away from the chargers. I keep a jump battery in my bag, chargers in the office, car, etc. You get the idea.
Email, email, email. I crank out a couple dozen a day, often lengthy, on my D1. I hated the Samsung Omnia precisely because of how awful it was to type out a long email with that keyboard taking up 2/3 of the screen.
Handling sizable PDFs and word docs. I use Docs2Go for this, but the attachments can sometimes be of some size.
Web browsing (incl. flash). Yeah, some of the websites for orgs I work with still use flash. Most of my web use is forums and news sites (NYT, CNN, etc.)
turn-by-turn nav (google maps nav) -- phone is my gps when travelling. Absolutely rely on it to get me from A to Z (and the Droid 1 has been 99% reliable).
MUST work as a phone. This phone is my primary mode of contact. That includes a good speakerphone and bluetooth connectivity.
Text messaging of course. I use about 400 txts a month on average.
---- other notes on usage ----
I do use the camera on my phone to snap pics of docs (and sometimes at concerts or for non-business uses), but I don't require anything fancy.
Only videos I watch are usually youtube.
I have few games installed. Rarely play them.
I do keep a sizable music library and listen to those. I also stream online radio and some podcasts over bluetooth to the car stereo.
Wifi tethering a must.
As I do a lot of road travel, I want to be sure the phone does not have quirky tower hand-off or 3g/4g switching behaviors. The D1 has been excellent at keeping a solid connection driving all across the country.
International not a priority. My travel is usually domestic and when overseas I just use wifi connections for email or VOIP (Line2).
--------
Well, that's my story. I am really unhappy about having to give up the hardware keyboard and, honestly, if their coverage and 4g speed was better, I would seriously consider switching to Sprint just because of the device options. Their phones are light years ahead of Verizon's for my uses, but on top of the speed and coverage issues, I would have to pay ~$20-30 a month more for Sprint and an ETF.
Thanks for reading and apologies for being verbose. Hopefully this thread can help some other folks who are in a similar boat.
-PC
