It's the little things....

[BeachGirlNJ]

So I finally upgraded from my very basic first generation Droid to the Droid 4. Just got it over the weekend. Overall I do like it but, boy oh boy, there are a number of little things that are annoying the crap out of me. :dry:

Why must I unlock the phone twice? Press the big button, then again press the right button on the start screen. Completely unnecessary.

Battery life SUCKS. Big time. Ridiculous.

The keyboard has only the left Shift key. Seriously?! Anyone who types at all knows it is the norm to have a Shift key on both sides, and you hold the right shift to type capital left-side letters, and vice versa. This one-Shift set up is so awkward. What bonehead engineer thought it would be okay to eliminate one?

Also about the keyboard, the symbols are in odd locations and a few of the most used symbols are on the separate pop-up window. I realize there's limited space, choices had to be made in the design, but there is a wee bit of space on the sides that might've been used, and there is no need at all for a Caps Lock button, that's what the twice-click-Shift is for.

It's all just makes for such awkward typing. I chose this phone because I hate touch-screen keyboards, my fingers consistently mistype on them, and I was happy to see an almost "real life" keyboard on the Droid 4. I'm seriously wondering if I should keep it or not; but OTOH I don't know what I would get instead.

Sigh. Dilemmas of the Technological Age.

Cindi
who's been typing since manual, smack-the-handle-to-return-the-carriage typewriter days

 

[mikekhelxD]

You're spot on with the battery life. This forum covered that issue and i'm comfident you'll find the threads pertaining to that issue. As for the slide unlock, you can disable it on the settings. About the caps and shift, it's personal preference at this point. I personally like the shift and the caps lock button. I know you hate the elimination of the right shift button, but why would you suggest eliminating the caps as well from the layout ? That would just cause more irritation won't it?

Anyway, enjoy your D4.i have to open mine since I think the ribbon for the screen and keyboard snapped from the holder. Typing with the keyboard, but no light for the screen. Other than that and the sucky battery life then, it's a great phone even with the sub par specs.

 

[BeachGirlNJ]

....why would you suggest eliminating the caps as well from the layout ? That would just cause more irritation won't it?...

Not necessarily, Mike. On my old Droid keyboard, if I clicked the Shift twice that was Caps Lock, then I clicked it once to return it to normal.

I have seen other posts saying that the backlight on the keyboard goes out often. So that worries me too, altho it's not often that I'm typing entirely in the dark. And I suppose if I'm in total darkness--assuming I haven't been kidnapped and am trapped in a gangster's trunk--maybe I don't need to be texting anyway. :happy3: