More on the DROID: thoughts from the rest of Engadget
By Nilay Patel 
posted Oct 30th 2009 6:10PM
posted Oct 30th 2009 6:10PM
Nilay:
Keyboard aside, the DROID is very much the ultimate phone for phone geeks. It's not "friendly" in the way that the iPhone is immediately intuitive and welcoming, but that's not what it's trying to be -- at all. It's like a muscle car and a Mercedes: most people are going to take the Benz, but the people who know they want a '69 Boss 429 aren't going to settle for anything less. The Droid is big, heavy, and intimidating, and if you take the time to learn Android's quirks and how to use it, it'll do everything you could ever want -- but at the price of some refinement and style.
I don't think I'm alone in thinking this -- Verizon seems to know it too. Why else would the DROID Does ad focus so heavily on things that are only important to geeks, like open development and customization, and then end with what appears to be a Transformer attacking the Matrix? Hell, every single notification on an out-of-the-box Droid is accompanied by a robot voice intoning DROIIIIID, a sound that appeals only to the nerdiest of the nerds.
But you know what? I am a nerd. The DROID may not be for everyone, but it's very definitely the right phone for some. And in the end, that's really quite encouraging. I just wish Moto would have re-thought that keyboard.
Paul:
I think the DROID is the best phone on the market that isn't the iPhone. Unfortunately, I don't have a car, so Google Navigation doesn't help me, I don't use Exchange, so that's out, and I can't bring myself to pay Verizon contract prices. I'm also slightly more productive on the touchscreen keyboard than the physical keyboard, which isn't saying much for either of these input methods. What's left after all this negativity? Gmail, one of the best screens money can buy, and great coverage / voice-quality, all three of which are so absolutely clutch that it has me considering making it my primary phone. However, at the end of the day I think I'm going to hold out for something touchscreen only with a similar processor / screen resolution and perhaps T-Mobile for a network. If anything the DROID has convinced me that it's almost time to switch to Android, even if this specific phone isn't the exact fit for me.
Chris:
It's a rarity in the wireless industry when the design of a phone -- at a glance, anyhow -- actually rises to the challenge and matches the fanboy fantasy: the original RAZR, the original iPhone, perhaps the Sony Ericsson X1. The realities of designing a working handset just don't often allow for it to hold up against the stratospheric, unrealistic expectations of an overstimulated fan base that's always on the hunt for The Next Big Thing. And even on the rare occasion when it does happen, that initial launch-day euphoria is usually squashed by the time phones are in customer's hands, flaws are rooted out, and the once-untouchable device has suddenly been made human -- case in point, the X1, which launched in the US three full seasons after it was announced and never had a prayer of living up to the hype that had reached a rolling boil.
That's why I know the DROID is a special phone: it pushes my geeky fanboy buttons in ways they haven't been pushed in a long, long time. Unlike the CLIQ or any other Android phone before it, Motorola's second Android handset literally looks like it sprung to life out of a fake, pie-in-the-sky rendering posted on some Taiwanese forum, and handling it just puts a smile on your face. Can you say that about a Storm2? A Pure? An Imagio? Hell, in the year 2009, can you even say that about an iPhone 3GS, which looks nearly identical to the iPhone of 2007?
Of course, it's like dating a supermodel: just because the DROID is unbelievably attractive doesn't mean you want to marry it. Those that aren't used to Android (or have tried it before and didn't like it) might cringe at some of the platform's nuances, and it's still not as visually slick as webOS or iPhone OS is. I personally found the physical keyboard to be a pretty miserable experience -- worse than the G1 and the CLIQ -- an inevitable casualty of trying to fit this much technology into a space less than 14mm thick, but the good news is that the capacitive display is large enough to make the soft keyboard very usable for me. It's also the smoothest, fastest, most satisfying Android experience on any device to date, a combination of 2.0's enhancements and the speedy OMAP3 heart powering them.
At the end of the day, realities of the US wireless industry are as likely to decide whether you're getting a DROID as anything else. For Verizon -- historically known for one of the worst smartphone selections of any carrier in North America -- the DROID instantly vaults to the top of the heap, so if you're on Big Red or you want to be, the phone may very well be a no-brainer. If you're not on Verizon but you're an Android fanatic, the DROID's also almost impossible to resist -- yeah, it's just that good. Seriously. For the rest of the wireless world, though, the DROID is little more than "another really good smartphone," and regardless of carrier, those are easier to come by than they've ever been before.
i love it. hello moto
Somebody buy Paul a car. :)
Just tape it to the bike helmet, and put on some magnets...
@onelove
Nope, he's still waiting for that 69 boss 429 Nilay promised him... god i hope they use that car as a recession antidote.
btw, whatever happened to those, engadget?
So uh, what's the word on the N900, a phone with real open source capability (Maemo 5)??????
Sorry but the Touch HD2 with it's 4.3 inch capacitive screen and snapdragon proc is way more appealing to me right from the get go.
Also is the dpad good or not? If it is then why not include it on the face of the phone? What makes a dpad useful when the keyboard is slid out but not when it's not?
I'm not even slightly interested in this device. But that is my opinion.
Haven't heard a single thing about the night shot capability of the Droid. That was a big part of the commercial of what it had over the iPhone. Come on Engadget you took one picture with the camera, how about a few more of different objects/distances/lighting?
I guess I'm the nerdiest of nerds, then, Nilay. Please upload the droid sound. I NEEEED it.
From your sig:
Dude!? There's already an app for that. And it will cost you $2.99 with 8bit mono audio I bet.
@recharged Dude, chill. God can't there ever be a review on engadget without someone spoiling the good vibe
Getting it for $150 on friday, hooray few new every two!
Or I could get the Verizon (Hero) for $50. What a decision, I really like the Video quality on the Droid though.
Go for the Droid. Down with ARM11!
How for $150? I have a Verizon contract with three lines and they are all due for new phones.
I'm due for a new every two. i was wondering how that'd work.
For those of you who are wondering - if you're up for a NE2 and you didn't jump the early credit gun, you can still get the full $100 off for new phones. You can do this online, on the phone, but not sure about in-store.
The lowest discount that you'll get is $50 off.
So to wrap up.
$299 price point
-$100 rebate (mail-in or instant online)
-$50/$100
-----------
DROID for $100/150
:D
Really appreciate the other takes, hoping we can get more of these 2nd/3rd/4th opinions on future reviews, helps put things into perspective better than just one reviewer.
I for one don't consider android to multitask. After switching from the Palm Pre to the Hero androids so called multitasking is lame. Want to take a call when navigating? You can but the navigation stops when you answer the call, kind of sounds like this one phone we all hate. True multitasking like webOS has rocks, bumming I gave it up.
Shit wrong spot maybe I should learn to multitask.
Problem is, when you have a superb marketing org like Apple's, all these opinions start using the same buzzwords, same tone and basically the same content...and the true opinions and devil details are lost in the chatter.
It happened with the iPhone and 3GS (not the 3G actually)--Apple paid the marketing price hence it's life-marriage to AT&T. Verizon has enough marketing might to do the same, but up until now, so what if the iPhone makes more sales (look at the Treo vs. the BB same scenario in 2004) I hope they don't over advertise it and just go it grassroots style. With the amount of hardware, openess and Android, the phone will have surpassed any other phone's capability in the next 6 months from OTA updates, hacks and hopefully make people rethink the netbook angle, not the iPhone angle.
It's good to hear that Josh isn't alone in disliking the keyboard layout and design -- I hate it just looking at it. These combined reviews make me want to thank Motorola, if only for showing HTC they need to bring out the Dragon sooner not later, hopefully with a QWERTY like the HTC TouchPro2. Just to make that stick...
"Yo Moto, I'm really happy for you, ima let you release, but the HTC [TouchPro2] had the best keyboard of all time!" -Kanye
Now this is how things should be reviewed! 2 is better than 1 and 3...well you get the picture. And yes, someone should donate a clunker to Paul!
Agreed. The multiple opinions were very helpful. I highly encourage you to continue this practice when something is particularly notable.
I can see the keyboard sucks just from looking at it. But how come you guys aren't going on more about the screen? The screen seem absolutely AMAZING. Over two and a half times the number of pixels on an iPhone display! Can you use those pixels in any material way like say web browsing, or is everything just so tiny it doesn't matter except it just makes everything seem a little sharper?
@schmidtdustin: Well, it depends on the apps I think. Some programs run perfectly fine in the background, some don't. I suspect that is for battery life reasons. Though obviously navigation apps should run in the background. They can at least keep the GPS signal so when you switch back it can quickly continue navigation. And probably directions should still be given. Does the Pre do that? Haven't tried it, the build quality appeared horrible... I'd even say the Motofone F3 is feeling expensive compared to the Pre... ok, almost.
Heh, I was wondering why there were Pre comments on this. I am a very happy Pre owner, and Android 2.0 isn't doing anything to sway me, but I can see why its so appealing to others.
I'll be shocked if this sells.
lolwut
you best be trollin'
Well considering it's not out yet, and I'd already be willing to drop my iPhone to give it a try, as well as have friends who are waiting to sign a new contract for it, I'm not so sure I'd jump to that conclusion just yet.
My iPhone don't multitask, but droid does.
The original poster of this comment did not mention anything about the iPhone...
Obviously, but what I'm saying is I'm willing to drop my iPhone, which is reguarded as "the" smartphone right now, for this phone. I was simply making a point that he doesn't think it's going to sell, but that others are willing to drop their "god" phones for it, therefore making his point completely incorrect.
Just "ll be shocked"? Thought you will hang your head in Shame you iExtremeTroll.
@AgentFed
Why are you assuming Brien is an "iExtreme Troll"? He could be a Pre fanboy, or Symbian... Why do people assume that if someone says something negative about a phone, they are automatically iPhone users? Seems pretty closed-minded in an open-source discussion.
Who are you kidding? Every day, after work, and all day on the weekends I've been going to Verizon store and Best Buy one after another- and every one of them has been asked about the DROID on multiple occasions. Best Buy preorders started silently today at around 12pm- with no official news whatsoever, and by the time I got there to put in my own at 2:00pm I was already 6th on the list. That's saying alot. This phone is going to sell, and sell out. Period.
@Jimmy
You are right, he could be anything you mention. The problem tho, is either
1. engadget's commenter really hate ifanboys that much, or
2. ifanboys troll too much that everyone assume any trolling is done by ifanboy.
This phone sounds real cool. The only problem is it is ugly. they should call it the itank.. or ibulk or just iugly.
@uUgly
Well considering when you put an "i" in front of something, it's supposed to be directed towards the iPhone, you'd be saying those things about the iPhone and not DROID. I think it's hawt, and the iUgly is the one that needs a facelift. Maybe you're cool with your Ngage styling, but I'm definitely trading in my LG Dare for this when my contract runs out in April (unless somethings better comes around).
Well.. I think it's ugly too =/
Heretics! Burn 'em at the stake.
/sarcasm
I never really liked motorola handsets, IMO i think they are rushed and poorly designed..
The android phone I am really looking forward to is Sony Ericsson Rachael!
"I can't bring myself to pay Verizon contract prices"
I hope you don't pay AT&T contract prices for the iPhone then, cuz they are the biggest rip-off around.
Took my boss who had a basic phone, NO data over to AT&T and iphone. She saved money but nice try!
Why would you subject your boss to such crappy service? You'll probably get fired now. I've never used another phone on AT&T, so maybe it's the iPhone that sucks and not the networks, but I wouldn't want to subject my boss to such torture.
You, Sir, have never been to Canada.
Who would want to go to canada tho?
So this guy doesn't have a car, and is too cheap for Verizon plans (which are roughly equivalent...so it doesn't even make sense)
YET..he's a writer for engadget?
How does this work? Is AOL paying you guys in gadgets...or....were they not willing to expense more than one calling plan?
We'll see how much verizon manages to charge for the "free" navigation. Probably have to pay monthly to turn on the gps just like in my razr.
No kidding... iPhone call and data prices are literally the same cost if not just a bit cheaper (maybe $5-$10), and Verizon's network kills at&T.
@scott... The GPS will be open and free as long as you sign up for the PDA data to use the google apps.
I do not think it is ugly.
... As the International Model he was introducing his mother to nodded in agreement.
Droid + Verizon Cell Coverage = KickASS
Kickass but no voice and data simultaneously? How you figure?
Although I use and develop for the iPhone, Eclair and this devices mark the point where Android is going to become a solid platform. I am sure the development issues will be dealt with for games and general media, perhaps 2.5. But, this is great for both Google and Moto. It does make me think of some of the cooler SE products as well as the nifty sub-notebooks from the past, like the Libretto.
Dear Engadget editors, can you please give a concrete specific example on how the iPhone is intuitive and the Droid is not? We hear this argument in nearly all smart phone reviews, but no one ever gives an example.
Thanks!
Please, don't insist on this. This have enough references to iPhone already.
What Engdget calls "intuitive" I call "over-simplistic" (ie boring)
I'm an an iPhone to Android convert so I know where they are coming from.
Example: in iPhone apps everything you need to use the apps are quite clearly set out on the screen. Where as in android options are often hidden behind the physical menu button. You probably know how this works as I guess your an android user but when you first switch its a bit like 'right so how do I use this app there's nothing on screen to click on'.
But at the end of the day its easy to get used to and that menu button is hiding all that lovely customisation android is famous for.
My guess would be on an iphone, every control/option is layed out in a linear fashion for the user. Choices on the left bring you back or closer to the home screen and choices on the right dive deeper into settings/navigation. Not a lot of choice of how to get from A to C except through B for the most part.
Android on the other hand has more options, back doors, ways around so you can go from A to D to B to E. There is simply more to learn about the device/OS. In time and practice, my opinion is that it can be more efficient if you're willing to take the time to learn the features.
That's my best shot at an analogy, anyone out there agree or do you think I'm off?
Just how people sayin Megan Fox is the world's sexiest woman in the Planet, Sir.
I get what you guys are saying. But honestly, for anyone who is even modestly comfortable navigating the UI of an electronic device, is this really an issue? Is the few minutes/hours it takes to get used to a new mobile OS, that big a deal? Why bother even bringing it up as a major point in nearly every smart phone review then?
Intuitive in the way that you can give the iPhone to a soccer mom and she can probably use it.
Android? Not so much.
I've been wondering this too. . . and I think Brian & Fais nailed it. Thanks guys.
Try an iPhone from a friend. Then you'll see, then you'll know what they mean.
To use an analogy as well using an iPhone is a bit like using a web browser you can click away and its quite strait forward. Android is more like playing an RTS or RPG you need to learn some crazy mouse and key combinations but once you've got all the shortcuts down it's pretty bad ass and of course very geeky.
I have both an iPhone (for work) and a WinMo 6.1 Touch Pro (for personal use).
I'd rather spend (a) the hours up front customizing my WinMo phone so it does what I want it to do with the least amount of finger input, than (b) the hours I waste all week (collectively speaking) swiping my finger across that damn iPhone screen to accomplish very simple, oft-repeated tasks.
Android on VZ's network? I'm definitely giving it a try. Worst case, I return the Droid within 30 days and go backto my TP for everyday use.
I am fascinated by those comments, too.
My mom has an iphone, and i have an android phone.
She started using both of them almost at the same time, and guess what, she finds mine much more intuitive.
Why?
The iphone has some VERY unintuitive things, like having just one button, whereas on android you have dedicated buttons for going HOME, going BACK, showing the MENU, CALL, etc..
How on earth could THAT be more intuitive on an iphone? Its just NOT. At least not for someone who was not previously influenced by being used to one of those two platforms.
On the iphone everything except for going home differs from app to app, and i found that to be very confusing for beginners, whereas in android you have a BACK, HOME and MENU key which are much more intuitive.
oh and the on-screen keyboard, as good as it is on the iphone (i think its actually one of the best i have tried!) is brought to its knees because of the un-intuitive way the autocorrection works. Click on the suggestion to cancel it? wtf?
My mom was having so much trouble with it, she almost went back to her old phone because she was not able to type on it.
Oh, and the iphone does not come with an instruction manual, which would be much appreciated for non-geeks like my mom who doesn't have someone explaining to her what should have been written down on a freaking USER MANUAL. (EVERY software needs a manual, thats one of the BASICS of software engineering. In fact, documentation is contemplated as being (part of the) software, too.)
More people should have a look at HTC's input keyboard. I think THAT's the best, and would work even better on a 3.5'' screen.
I would love to see a comparison between that on the droid and the iphone's keyboard.
At least on android you can change the behavior of the spelling suggestions, corrections, and can even add and remove your own words to the dictionary! I think that works so much better on the hero than on an iphone, screen size aside.
Anyways, I am not anti-iphone, i have one myself at home, but saying that android is still lagging behind iphone on user-friendlyness is just plain ignorant. It lacks some stuff, and the UI speed should be improved much more.
Like others have already mentioned, I think part of the reason why Android is less intuitive is that it has a very strong reliance on the "menu" button. In my personal opinion, I think the menu button should only be reserved for secondary or tertiary actions such as editing and settings. It's confusing, to a first time user, when adding a new item to a list is hidden in the menu instead of with an obvious "add" button in the GUI. I think most users will consider actions such as that a primary action.
At least the menu key doesn't pop up a Start Menu like menu like it does in WinMo and BB
If I didn't get a discount from ATT, I'd switch to Verizon for the droid.
Same here, but family plan means I get my iPhone plan for ~$50/month, and that's just too good to pass up...
I'm starting to get really worried now. I already preordered mine from bb but some of these reviews are much less flattering than the previews on bgr and other sites. I am switching regardless to a phone I don't have to jailbreak to get innovation I just hope I don't live to regret it.
Sent from my iPhone
The main negative review was pretty much only the keyboard, and most reviews on the keyboard have been rather mixed, seems to be more of a personal preference. I reserved mine from Best Buy as well, I suggest you keep the pre-order (since it will be difficult to get one of these from BB close to launch w/o one), you have 30 days to try the device and if you don't like then simply return it.
Can you guys tell us if you can turn the robotic voice off? I'm definitely getting one of these, and I don't want to hear that all the time honestly.
Awesome looking phone though!
AT&T has tons of issues but Verizon's CDMA network not handling Voice and Data simultaneously cripples the Droid IMO. LTE can't come soon enough.
If Verizon can't do voice and data at the same time... is it that big of a deal?
Looking at all the business users who use Blackberries and WinMo phones... wouldn't they miss that feature the most? Like if they were on the phone and had to look something up online or something...
I'm a Verizon Blackberry user. But the first time I heard about this was on Engadget... when people said Verizon can't do voice and data at the same time... as a slam against Verizon. I guess I don't miss something I never knew I didn't have...
As long as the phone has Wi-Fi (and in a hotspot) you should be able to get voice and data at the same time. I know the new VZW BB's with Wi-Fi will do both at the same time.
Accessing data while carrying on a conversation is essential for such a feature rich device like the Droid. Verizon used the term 'multitasking" as a selling point but at the end of the day simultaneous Voice and Data is basic multitasking for today's smartphones.
CDMA limitation I believe. Sprint has the same problem.
That was a problem with the iPhone when it first came out too (pre 3G) and I didn't hear complains from the fanboys. It's all selective memory I guess.
So which would you rather have? A 30% drop call rate and data at the same time so you can keep browsing while waiting for your friend to call you back or, the largest network in the US?
Personally I think I'll go with the largest network before the 30 % dropped calls.
Apparently you can voice dial via bluetooth, which kind of negates the whole point of voice dialing (and also kinda make bluetooth a bit useless as well).
Look at the way Blackberries handle bluetooth voicedialing: you never, ever need to touch the phone; it stay's in your pocket the whole time. That's the way it's supposed to work.
For anyone doubting or hating the physical QWERTY and the intuition of Android, as with all the "greats" give it a chance. Just because it doesn't fulfill your wildest expectation within 1 day of using it, doesn't mean you won't be having the time of your life in 1 week.
If the keyboard sucks so much they should've just gone without it and made the device thinner.
I'm sure this will sell lots on Verizon though.
I'm with Paul. Lose the weight/mechanism/expense/thickness of the keyboard, and this is my device.
Helly yea
I just wonder how a company can release a phone with only 256mb of memory?
16gb flash isn't gonna matter much if you can't store your apps on it.
Andoird apps put content and data on the SD card, the apps binary is typical much less. Have you seen the size of the Windows Kernel? It's 2MB.
The benefit on putting most stuff on SD is that when you drop your phone or let the battery complete dissapate, it's still on the SD card. Also, you can backup your phone on SD on the spot. Not need for iTunes or such desktop sync.
You sure about that
http://androidandme.com/2009/10/news/google-fails-to-address-app-storage-issue-with-droid-and-android-2-0/
First of all most apps come in under 500k. The larger ones are in the couple MB range. So 256mb will fit 100+ apps easy. The G1 only had ~70MB and developers will keep this in mind when developing applications. This internal storage size is in line with many smartphones, for example Blackberry or WinMo phones.
The article you are linking is talking about Apps to SD, which people are calling for, but Google is reluctant to implement for a couple of reasons: one being easy piracy, and the other being the likelihood of a user removing the SD card while it is in use or switching it for a different one.
What recharged95 is talking about is many of the resource intensive apps (mapping software, 3d games, etc which require a lot of data, sounds, textures, etc) download the data off the internet onto the SD card on first load. That is the official way around the internal memory limitation. The actual executable of a program usually tends to be quite small, it is the data that takes up the most space and that data can be put on the SD card.
I suppose the way Google can make this easier for developers who want to make large apps by:
A) providing free server space for developers to store application data files online
B) adding in support for downloading application data files onto the SD card during install and handling all the conditions where the SD card might be missing.
Given this, I can see why Moto didn't really see the need to add too much internal memory to the phone. I foresee that most Android phones will have internal storage of about the same size to keep costs/space down and rely more on the SD card to provide larger storage.
I'd own a Pre right now if they weren't only on Sprint. Sprint is just not an option in this area.
I guess I'll just have to keep rocking my Treo 680 until something does what I want and isn't on Sprint.
@Jake
The very reason the apps are 500k is BECAUSE OF this problem. It's why the devs don't make nice graphic apps for Android and a contributing reason that the games are an afterthought on the Android platform.
Shame on Moto for cheaping out and using inferior SD cards instead of FAR superior internal memory where the users and market suffer because of needless complexity and space issues.
"I think the DROID is the best phone on the market that isn't the iPhone."
Oh boy...
*rolls eyes*
Yeah... and it's not even Gizmodo *sigh*
Oh noes! He stated his opinion and he likes the iPhone more then your phone of choice. Run for the hills!!!
If you want unbiased research, I wouldn't be looking at this 'Opinions and Thoughts' article.
Or you just commenting to get upranked by all the iPhone haters?
Has everyone forgotten the pre?
The pre` is one of the tightest phones I have ever used. The multi-touch is just as good as the iphone, the processor is speedier than any android device, the interface owns all, the web-browsing is actually really nice, it has a physical keyboard, and the list goes on... I am not trying to be a fanboy here (heck, I don't even own one) but it seems so many people are forgetting a major contender here.
I was tempted by the Pre, but I refuse to pay that much money for a device that only runs JavaScript enabled web pages masquerading as applications. That's not an OS, that's a glorified browser. Yes, it's a very slick and pretty browser with nice contact integration, but at the end of the day that's all it is. That's why it's so speedy; it's not really doing anything at all. "Apps" can barely touch the hardware, and Palm's given no indication of when or even if we'll see support for any kind of real native applications. That's why I'm going with Android.
n_shakuras... the way Palm is behaving you can tell that they have a bunch of Apple employees working there. The application limitation was exactly the same with the release of original iPhone. Plus missing a bunch of little things that we've come to expect as standard in phones. Following the same script without bothering the correct the original mistakes. Their silence on the topic isn't helping matters either.
I'm so glad I just renewed my 2-year contract and went with a terrific Samsung Omnia two months ago
[/sarcasm]
Now I'm probably going to have to pay Verizon an exorbitant amount of money to get a Droid, because, well, the Omnia is crap (even with the fancy hacked WM6.5.1 firmware I have on it) and I don't want to put up with it for another two years.
I'm in the same exact situation you're in. Does Verizon offer 1 year up-grade pricing? I thought I read that somewhere...or maybe it's just wishful thinking.
and yea, the Omnia blows. I had a Winmo 6.5 rom too and it didn't help at all :(
If you are the primary account holder on verizon you can upgrade at the 2 year price every year....
you would think they WOULD miss it. I know I would because I often have to do exactly that, look something up WHILE talking to the person on the phone who needs the info...let alone remote desktop functionality etc etc...there are more uses than just "looking something up" but this is the first I heard of it on Verizon.
Now maybe it's that you never had that feature available to you? I know with my original iphone on tmo I had that issue and it pissed me off to no end. Now with the 3gs I can do things like that and going back would just suck.
Coming from a Blackberry AND AT&T, the physical keyboard is of the utmost importance to me. Could the reviewers post an update after using the device for a couple of days to see if you get used to the keyboard?
If you love the BB keyboard, I'm just going to guess that you'll hate this keyboard. I played with a review unit for about 30 seconds (granted, a short time) but the keyboard is terrible. It's tiny and mushy. The Pre's keyboard is tiny and mushy, too, but at least it's laid out like a keyboard. KEYBOARDS ARE NOT GRIDS. They are rows of keys, each offset about 30% of a key width. The benefit of this is if you miss a key (as I do with my sausage fingers), you will still hit the intended key with the most force, since the row below or above is offset. If you miss high or low, you are pressing in the space between 2 keys. When the keyboard is a grid and you overshoot, you hit another key.
Whether it's a hard or soft keyboard, it should be laid out like a keyboard!