AT&T goes wild with texting, announces four QWERTY phones

If you're into that whole SMS craze and you're on AT&T, you're in luck -- four times over. The carrier's gone ahead and announced not one, not two, but four QWERTY-equipped dumphones today, including a dual slider and a Pantech being billed as "the world's thinnest device with a full QWERTY keypad."

First up, the Pantech Matrix is available now in your choice of blue or green, with red being added on Thursday, October 16. It slides two ways -- a conventional vertical slide to reveal a numeric keypad, and a second side slider for the full QWERTY action. It's got 3G, AT&T Navigation, Video Share support, and a 1.3-megapixel cam, running $79.99 on contract with rebate. Next, the Samsung Propel apes the i620's industrial design -- but make no mistake, there's no Windows Mobile to be found here. It also does 3G and features the full host of AT&T services, packs a 1.3-megapixel cam, and will run the same $79.99 as the Matrix when it hits in late October in blue, green, red, and white with red accents. Next, the Pantech Slate is pretty appropriately named -- if its claim of being the thinnest QWERTY device in the world ends up holding water, anyway. It'll be available in late October alongside the Propel for $49.99 on contract with a 1.3-megapixel camera, but there's no high-speed data to be found in this sucker. Finally, the long-rumored Quickfire -- you may know it better as the Knick -- will come in November bearing AT&T branding and a Sidekick-esque style that'll likely appeal to the young'uns among us. It's got a touchscreen in addition to a slide-out QWERTY deal, a 1.3-megapixel camera (notice a trend here?), and 3G in your choice of orange, lime, and silver for $99.99 after you've inked up the dotted line.

[Freakin Ijit @ Oct 14th 2008 11:54AM]

Sort of destroys the Centro market.

[Thomas LoCurto @ Oct 14th 2008 12:38PM]

Err, at least the Centro has Palm OS. I think this is a really smart and somewhat fortuitous move on AT&T's part. Teenagers and young adults who have very little cash or rely on their parents (read: are added onto their parents plan) want simple phones that look somewhat different and have qwerty/picture/maybe video.

[Freakin Ijit @ Oct 14th 2008 12:48PM]

Yes, that was my point. The Centro is overkill for what the Centro's market til now was served.

[CAHLITO @ Oct 14th 2008 11:55AM]

I remember back when QWERTY was a big deal. Now these things are getting pumped out like nothing.

[Nitric Oxide @ Oct 14th 2008 1:51PM]

And that was only like 3 years ago....

[Homer @ Oct 14th 2008 11:56AM]

Argh! Where's my new Macbook?
Hurry up Apple.

[disciple83 @ Oct 14th 2008 12:00PM]

aww...poor baby clicked the wrong thread to troll on...

[who? @ Oct 14th 2008 12:36PM]

If (for some godforsaken reason) they announce new iPhones today as well, then I guess it would fit into the "AT&T+QWERTY" category.

[johngalt @ Oct 14th 2008 11:58AM]

genius.
lets release text friendly phones with horribly overpriced text message plans!
yay!

[Shea @ Oct 14th 2008 5:21PM]

My whole family gets unlimted txt, MMS, IM etc every month for a total of $30...
That's expensive?

[butts @ Oct 14th 2008 11:59AM]

They "go wild" with texting because it is a HUGE profit center for them. As their costs keep going down, they keep charging more and more for text.

[kojo87 @ Oct 14th 2008 2:13PM]

i spent $130 on text messages one month with AT&T. thats when i switched to unlimited lol

[garrenteed @ Oct 14th 2008 12:00PM]

Everyone who doesn't have Alltel is always getting new phones

[Kespar @ Oct 14th 2008 12:00PM]

Is there that big of a market for dumbphones in USA land?

Insanity I tell you...INSANITY

[Jason @ Oct 14th 2008 12:48PM]

Well, I work as a sales rep for At&t, and there is actually a significant base of customers who will never care about data (web browsing, email, etc) on their device, but go for a Blackberry, Centro, Blackjack, or Duo just for the keyboard. They often return these devices because they have more capabilities than these customers can handle. It's unfortunate, but a dumbphone with a full keyboard is a godsend, considering the number of people who simply can't operate a smartphone.

[kojo87 @ Oct 14th 2008 2:18PM]

but you people told me i couldn't get a Blackberry Pearl without getting a ridiculous data plan! now im stuck with some boring Sony Ericsson flip phone because i can't afford $80 a month. and right now a silver Quickfire is looking pretty damn sweet

[disciple83 @ Oct 14th 2008 12:03PM]

How do these phones sound when you, you know, call someone with them, as opposed to just sending texts?

[jdechko @ Oct 14th 2008 12:09PM]

Why would you want to do that? (Kidding, of course).

But in all seriousness, I think something like this would be good for someone like my wife. Definitely not a power user, so she doesn't need a BB or WinMo but loves to text and hates the T9 mode. I was thinking the new Pearl would be good for her, but I'm sure the BB OS would confuse the hell out of her and I'm just not that experienced with the BB to want to constantly troubleshoot for her (or the Palm OS on the Centro for that matter).

[Adam @ Oct 14th 2008 12:09PM]

whats the deal with el cheapo 1.3 mega pixel cameras in these phone...god knows they can easily do better than that in this market. I swear manufacturers must think the USA doesn't need good phones like over in Europe... hmm lets dumb them down a little and they will eat it up. When will companies learn we are huge market for them and they just look us over with cell phone technology.

[Hey Ya @ Oct 14th 2008 12:13PM]

Do non-smartphone users only like phones with stupid colors?

These things look like something you'd find in a kid's toy box.

[Kespar @ Oct 14th 2008 12:15PM]

I would go Blackberry any day over any of these, You can pick up pretty much any of the current-gen BB's for free on a standard £20 a month deal with most networks here at the moment.

HELL o2 were clearing out XDA Stellars for nothing to make way for their own brand diamond not long ago.

[mikeedoome @ Oct 14th 2008 12:21PM]

i'd take the Blackberry Messenger over all these! Plus, it's free with data plan!

[kjb434 @ Oct 14th 2008 12:22PM]

The people who get these are not people who care about silly things like OS's, Megapixels, and even brand.....

A cheap phone that can easily be text on, make calls and maybe a picture is all they want.

The reality is that most cell phone users out there don't give a crap about fancy smartphones and all the bell and whistles.

[Nicky-Larson @ Oct 14th 2008 12:22PM]

Oh America. what have thy done to Deserve the Ugly Phones of the World shipping your way? Is it because thy people are cheap and would not want to play full price for top end phones? I shall never know.
Seriously, why ATT why? Why must all these ugly phones come this way. I tell you Africa has better looking phone market than what people get here, with no disrespect to any country or continent.
Americans need to tell their carriers to STOP THINKING FOR THEM.

[Mark @ Oct 14th 2008 1:30PM]

B-fucking-S. The US gets great phones and we get them subsidized and with cheap voice and data.

I pay $30 a month for talking, texting and internet, and I can have a subsidized Touch Diamond right now.

Not only that, but most of the stupid Nokias and shit that people drool over are actually available here too. But who knows, maybe you're talking about Haier and Fly and Bird phones.

[derX @ Oct 18th 2008 3:09AM]

No, Mark, you're the one that's dead wrong. European carriers subsidize the hell out of phones--like offering the n95 for free. The European cell phone market is a wholly different beast, as the customers often shy away from contracts.

Europe does get the amazing phones. Name ONE amazing phone that lacks European coverage.

[David @ Oct 14th 2008 12:43PM]

All these phones yet no new plans. The minds at ATT are still stuck with one of the crappiest text plans. 200/month or 1500/month (not counting unlimited). In my humble opinion, it's ridiculous. How about a plan in the mid range for the mid intensive texter?

[Cardbored @ Oct 14th 2008 12:51PM]

I have a full qwerty on my enV and I use the front numerical pad more often to text than the keyboard. Can't type one handed with the keyboard.

[Cardbored @ Oct 14th 2008 12:51PM]

I have a full qwerty on my enV and I use the front numerical pad more often to text than the keyboard. Can't type one handed with the keyboard.

[Battlekat @ Oct 14th 2008 1:20PM]

The Ocean 2 will pwn all these phones. i hate AT&T and verizon for always pumping out really mediocre featured phones. step it up biotches! and stop overcharging! i'm good with my helio ocean for now.

[Frank @ Oct 14th 2008 1:40PM]

I pretty much have to disagree with the tech snobs on this thread. Not every phone needs to be a top of the line "Smart phone". I have a "Smart Phone" called the Motorola Q and the thing can't hold a charge for more than 12 hours. If I dont charge it overnight, it useless. Cell phones should be first "phones" and reliable at that.

[Frank @ Oct 14th 2008 1:41PM]

These cell phone companies (at&t, Verizon, Alltel, Sprint, T Mobile) give us everything but lower rates. you would think rates would go down with so much competition... but when they price fix with other companies and the government/FCC looks the other way because they're making so much money off of the wireless communications taxes, I guess we the consumers get screwed. Lesson of the day: We're basically paying outrageous taxes on our cell bills for the government and cell companies to rip us off.

[neodorian @ Oct 14th 2008 3:06PM]

But I *do* have cheap rates. I only pay $15/month for unlimited 3G data. Shop around.

[mike @ Oct 14th 2008 2:09PM]

My god, at&t takes forever to release anything. I got tired of waiting for the Fuze and just splurged and got an unlocked Touch Pro this past Saturday... Thanks for nothing At&t

[go seki @ Oct 14th 2008 3:31PM]

Looks like the US just got a bunch of really old models dumped on it. Maybe AT&T got a job-lot from some guy in a bar
.. are these the phones for people AT&T can't sell its over-priced iPhone plans to?
.. and this whole "SMS craze" thing are we talking new to the US or just people in the US over 25? Most people in the world don't use/need qwerty for SMS .. and its often refered to as TXTing (texting) SMS isn't a widely used term elsewhere.
.. Don't buy Carrier locked phone plans .. Do yourselves a favour and buy unlocked phones .. think freedom USA .. you do have number portability right ??

[David @ Oct 14th 2008 4:14PM]

F@

[David @ Oct 14th 2008 4:15PM]

F$

[David @ Oct 14th 2008 4:18PM]

All these qwerty dumb phones, the samsung eternity(a dumb touchscreen phone), and the LG incite (an ugly WinMo phone).

What they should have released is the Samsung Omnia or Touch HD, which is no highly doubtful........at&t has ruined Christmas

[PenguinCarl @ Oct 14th 2008 5:21PM]

Of those 4 phones, I only seem to be mildly interested in only one of them (the Knick), and that still looks like a kid's playtoy. Couldn't they just stick with silver? Or maybe even black?

[BLee @ Oct 14th 2008 6:29PM]

Hrm.. a 3g enabled QWERTY phone? So finally they're releasing the Bold?... oh... no?.. i see...

[lolwecsan @ Oct 14th 2008 7:05PM]

wow. these phones are ok, but 1.3 mp camera? and att, could you have released these a month earlier? i just bought a subsidized pearl last month.

[bob sakamano @ Oct 15th 2008 11:47AM]

subsidized? shouldn't you be spending that on your government cheese?

[derX @ Oct 18th 2008 3:12AM]

Bob I just thought I should let you know that I low ranked you.

[TeleVision @ Oct 14th 2008 11:44PM]

OHHH great now att is starting the keyboard thing while T-Mobile already started w/ the sidekick and its starting the G1 keyboard

[kimberly @ Oct 16th 2008 2:08PM]

I work for at&t and I think this is a godsend for us. We have so many parents call in wanting a phone with a keyboard for their kids to text and we never have anything except the blackberrys and smartphones. Most parents don't want to get one because they worry that their kids will use the internet and they don't want to pay $30 a month. They call in asking for the sidekick but we don't carry it and they end up not buying anything or if they do they call in a month later cause little bobby ran the internet bill up $500 because mommy and daddy didn't want to block the internet and cause the kid to lose pic messaging and ringtones. These phones are geared towards teenagers that only want to text but they're also geared towards the people that want to text but hate to pay a lot for a phone. Most people do not care about the camera just as long as it takes a picture. All I have to say is it's about time.

[kebabrhyl @ Nov 4th 2008 2:40PM]

yuck, yuck, yuck and yuck. It doesn't matter what the specifications are, by using one of these you are announcing to the world that you have no style and don't care about usability. Thumbing a full qwerty with both hands is great if you can reach all of the buttons without repositioning your hands, but if you need your phone to be resting on a solid flat surface in order to use it efficiently then it's arguable whether you can call yourself mobile.