For a company with as rich of a reputation for landscape QWERTY sliders as HTC has, you'd think they'd be tripping over themselves to release a truly high-end Android phone with a keyboard, but not so much -- the closest they've come so far would be the midrange
myTouch 3G Slide, and that puppy ain't even out yet. We broke the news last night about three seemingly new names for upcoming HTC devices --
Vision, LED, and Glacier -- and Dutch site
Tweakers.net is now reporting on a user agent profile for the Vision that lists the device featuring that mythical holy trinity: WVGA display, QWERTY, and Android. Furthermore, they've got the director of HTC Benelux on record saying that they're planning more Android phones with keyboards -- so that's a Good Thing to hear at a time when huge slates seem to be stealing the show in every segment of the market. With the
Nexus One,
Desire,
Droid Incredible, and
EVO 4G all alive and well, we think these guys would be well-served to play with other form factors for a minute or two, yeah?
posted May 21st 2010 2:02PM
YEEES
@Twoleaf YYYYEEEESSSSS!!!!!
Y-Y-Y-YEEEEEESSSSSSSS, I sure could use a Nexus with a keyboard!
exactly. I want my WVGA, I want my QWERTY, and I want android. But Engadget forgot one thing. I needz mah Snapdragon.
@Twoleaf YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
I hope, I hope, I hope it's one of those Tegra 2 Androids coming with Gingerbread..... if not, at least don't forget the front camera!
@Twoleaf: Am I the only one that thinks a Desire with a QWERTY would die next to a Evo with a QWERTY? If an Evo with a slider shows up, I will have probably have bought the Evo, and will throw it on the floor and scream.
My wishlist:
- Android (check)
- Keyboard (check)
- Snapdragon (very likely considering recent trends)
- HDMI
This means a very nice convergence device - i'll keep it for years even knowing a better device would be out in a month (oh, htc...)
@Twoleaf HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!! Just what I have always wanted! (But, I am still waiting out to see what HTC has up its sleeve for WinM7
@Twoleaf They shoulda slap an AMOLED screen, that would be glorious
@redman12 Oh God no please. AMOLEDs turn into mirrors outdoors. Super AMOLED is the new AMOLED.
The only thing that would take me away from the EVO, is an EVO with badass QWERTY keyboard (Touch Pro3?). But then again, with that huge screen, it isn't very much needed.
@MegaJapan
I like your thinking.
@MegaJapan
I have an Incredible and the horizontal width is slightly too small for convenient portrait typing and the vertical width is slightly too large for nice landscape typing. I suspect the Evo will be nice for portrait typing but too big for landscape typing.
@MegaJapan, if you also throw into consideration it has the same maXTouch screen as the Incredible a QWERTY isn't all that needed.
Personally I will always take a keyboard over just the screen every time if it is nicely designed.
@MegaJapan
a QWERTY keyboard is just about the only thing I desperately miss on my nexus... im just nowhere near as fast typing on a screen (this comment for instance... would be finished and posted by now)... not to mention the constant mistakes I make. I'd drop for one of these in a heartbeat. no, faster then that (if... that's humanly possible)
sounds beastly, Touch Pro 3 with Android maybe ?
@Bud92
touch pro 3 will probably be a windows device, brand identity and all that.
@HTC
UK RELEASE PLEASE!!
@tobsmonster2 Why would the TP3 be WinMo? HTC doesn't owe Microsoft anything; Microsoft kicked HTC to the curb with their restrictions in WP7. HTC should run to Android and give up on Windows Mobile/Phone.
Physical keyboards would be a nice welcome for high end Android smartphones
yes please! I feel stuck on my G1 and am ready to move up!
@quantumslip
Yes! Me too, but I can't justify moving to any phone that's currently out there.
@quantumslip
Exactly my point. Though Cyanogen is doing his best to keep my G1 up-to-date I could seriously need a hardware boost. There's just no phone right now to pick...
-HW Qwerty (actually Qwertz for me)
- Android 2.2 / Froyo
- Snapdragon CPU
- nice form factor
COME ON...
Isn't the Droid considered high end any more? :(
@ChazClout
The Droid keyboard is terrible.
@ChazClout
It is considered highend, but it's keyboard is god awful.
@Dafrety
I haven't had the pleasure of using a Milestone yet so I can't comment. If HTC pull some decent hardware (judging by their recent releases it's almost inevitable) with a decent keyboard, I suppose it's for the greater good!
@ChazClout The Droid isn't HTC.
@jonnythan I know that.
I was commenting on the headline "HTC 'Vision' finally bringing high-end QWERTY to Android?" because I considered the Droid/Milestone to be a high-end Android phone with QWERTY.
It appears I was wrong.
Jeez when does HTC rest? I agree with you Chris; HTC needs to take a break for a minute and develop something truly revolutionary.
I mean I'm very hesitant to pick up an HTC Android phone because it feels like a week later a new one is out. What's more, because they have so many damn handsets, it takes forever for official updates to happen.
@NaeemTHM
Why does it bother you that you don't have the best hardware, are you compensating for something? are you saying they should hold back innovation just so you can brag that you have the best phone?
@unf8605
No no nothing like that. Hell my phone right now is 2 years old, so I certainly don't care if I have the latest and greatest. However, I'm HIGHLY interested in the HTC Evo and would be very upset if just a few months later they announced a similarly spec'd phone with a physical qwerty.
And again, given HTC's update track record you have to wonder when and if all these phones will continue to see support (outside of the Android community I mean).
T-Mobile USA support, please. My G1 is old and oh so CRANKY!
@Dafrety
Seconded, to hell and back.
I guess T-Mobile is getting nervous, it must be high priority to get these things for sale before the end of the 2yr G1 contracts in November.
Verizon. Please let it go to Verizon. Please.
@Hazdaz Yes, because Verizon doesn't get enough of the awesome Android handsets
@Hazdaz No, you had your turn =P
AT&T needs to get it, and I believe that HTC won't succumb to AT&T's "creepy uncle" firmware attitude like Motorola has.
@N900
rofl "Creepy Uncle"
Maybe I'm alone, but I like the portrait layout of my Palm Pre
@poyo
If a portrait phone uses a keyboard layout like the BlackBerry Pearl and uses a SureType keyboard, then HELL YES.
If not either the keys are going to be too small (like the Pre) or the phone itself too big (like the rest of the BB line). Heck no.
@poyo
I agree... but candybar form (no sliding) like a BlackBerry or the Palm Treo Pro.
Since HTC doesn't have a default layout like RIM or Palm... they can certainly produce a competitor in that portrait form factor with hardware keyboard that many business users prefer.
Touchscreen with non-sliding keyboard = gud (and please don't remove the optical trackpad).
@BigNerd
Dell already has the solution for you guys. Do a search since I can't really provide you the link since I'm on my phone
@legendary1022 You mean the Lightning, or the Smoke?
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/21/dell-lightning-the-ultimate-windows-phone-7-device-leaks-out/ In the Lightning's case, it comes with WP7, and not Android, so that's a no-go. =(
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/21/dell-smoke-slaps-android-in-the-wild-form-factor-you-secretly-wa/ In the Smoke's case, it has a QWERTY form factor, but in the form of the Palm Pixi and not the Pre.
@N900
I am aware of the Dell models... but HTC is proven in the handset arena.
I actually like the Pixi form... just needs a bigger screen.
Finally! Too late for me though. :-(
Front QWERTY or I am going back to bed.
Wait, wait - I can only speak for Verizon 'cause that's what I'm on so that's what I'm familiar with. But there's 3 Android phones with a keyboard (Moto Droid, another Moto Droid, and a new LG Android phone). There's *1* without a keyboard.
If anything, they should just make 2 versions of the same phone - 1 with an slide-out keyboard, and 1 without the slideout keyboard but other wise the same.
I don't want a slideout keyboard. They're bulky, and I don't do that much text entry on my phone. I do want Android, as well as the large screen though.
What we need is more non-keyboard phones, or a way to add/remove the keyboard from a phone so you could go either way.
@PaulRivers
The Motorola Droid has good hardware, but awful keyboard.
The Motorola Devour and LG Ally have crappy hardware, but nice keyboards.
Androids with no keyboards they have the Eris which has older specs and the brand new Incredible.
@PaulRivers non keyboard high end Android phones
nexus one
Evo
Incredible
High end qwerty
Droid
mytouch slide (lol)
Moar keyboard please :-)
@PaulRivers
For a while, HTC did basically make the same phone with a keyboard and without a keyboard. They called them something different and they usually looked different, but the specs were exactly the same so if you were in the know, you could pretty easily figure out what phone was the same in a qwerty or non-qwerty version.
Lately they've just slowed way down on their qwerty releases - I think the last half-decent one was the TP2, but that's still running on a 528mhz Qualcomm processor and Windows Mobile 6.5.
I know I'm in the minority but I like the droids keyboard. I just wish it had text prediction/correction. I know bb keyboards give josh an orgasm but the keys are just too small for me.