I brought this up a few months ago asking how many people need keyboards and how many get used to the touch screens. While anxiously awaiting the Droid 4, the only thing that worries me about it is the battery life so I am going to be back and forth between that and the Maxx. Playing with the Maxx in the store for just a few minutes a couple of times, I was surprised that the on screen keyboard wasn't that bad, and swype actually worked well and I would imagine that more I get used to it the faster I would get. But one thing I didn't think about was how the keyboard takes up almost the whole screen. Does that become a big problem for anyone that you have this beautiful big screen and barely have any usable space because the keyboard takes up the whole thing? Its a tough call now between being having a battery that will last all day or having a keyboard.
With Motorola's recent trends, I wouldn't surprised if there was a Droid 4 MAXX coming out in three months at maximum. While I can survive using slab phones, I much prefer using sliders instead. A Droid 4 MAXX with a beefed up battery and 720P screen would be lovely!
The RAZR Maxx's beefy ~3000 mah battery makes me forgive the fact that it is non-removable.
Absolutely would not go back to a physical keyboard any more than I'd put training wheels back on my bike.
I use SwiftKey X on the virtual keyboard in the vertical mode.
Like I said before, I still like a "physical" keyboard and I'm still using my Droid 2. Can't wait to go look at and compare the Droid 4 and Razr Maxx tomorrow. I like the physical keyboard of the Droid 4 but the big battery in the Maxx would be nice.
Then again, I still have four months until I'm up for a NE2 - like someone else here said, they may have a Droid 4 Maxx by then.
It's a tough choice between the keyboard and big battery.
You might be alright having to wait 4 months. At least then we should know if there is a keyboard with a bigger battery. I think I have been waiting long enough though now. I am sure there a lot more people out there that use their phones to write several longer emails for business than I do. That training wheel point is a good one. I guess everything is adapatable.
Oh good grief, do we really need ANOTHER pointless thread about this? Your first thread went on and on for pages as people argued about something that is a personal choice. You couldn't just post your follow up question in the original thread? This is a PERSONAL CHOICE! NO ONE CAN DECIDE FOR YOU! Make an informed decision like an adult and go with it.
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This is a good question. I was an die-hard supporter of keyboards, until my carrier, unlike Verizon, didn't have any Android phones with a keyboard. I figured Swype would be the answer, and got the Captivate. Funny enough, Swype was horrible (although the world texting record was on an SGS with Swype), and I just used the stock Android keyboard, and it was good enough, if a little annoying at times.
I have the iPhone now, and to be honest, I think the battery life is a much bigger gain than the keyboard would be. It's amazing how having all day battery life makes the phone less to worry about and you can just use it without it going dead. It's exciting to see an Android phone with good battery life finally, so I'd say pick up the RAZR MAXX, but really it's a combination of preference and your physical hand attributes (although my hands are big and the iPhone is fine- go figure).
I usually support government regulation, but It is unfortunate that the government over-regulated and killed the AT&T/ T-Mobile Merger The best explanation of the pricing nutiness in the industry. Why Sprint and T-Mo will always suck.
The only way to end the pricing insanity is to eliminate contracts and subsidies.
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This is a good question. I was an die-hard supporter of keyboards, until my carrier, unlike Verizon, didn't have any Android phones with a keyboard. I figured Swype would be the answer, and got the Captivate. Funny enough, Swype was horrible (although the world texting record was on an SGS with Swype), and I just used the stock Android keyboard, and it was good enough, if a little annoying at times.
I have the iPhone now, and to be honest, I think the battery life is a much bigger gain than the keyboard would be. It's amazing how having all day battery life makes the phone less to worry about and you can just use it without it going dead. It's exciting to see an Android phone with good battery life finally, so I'd say pick up the RAZR MAXX, but really it's a combination of preference and your physical hand attributes (although my hands are big and the iPhone is fine- go figure).
Actually I'm tired of the idiots telling me how pointless a physical keyboard is. Just because we are able to adapt to not having one, does not make the keyboard any less of a desirable feature, esp for those needing to send longer messages and not wanting to deal w/the inaccuracies of Swype and other virtual solutions. I do however understand your plight entirely. The idea of the Razr Maxx with a battery that might actually last an entire day is very enticing. The Droid 4 with a physical keyboard also calls out my name. A Droid 4 Maxx might be exactly what I'd need to break out the checkbook and buy one unsubsidized. But seriously I'm sick to death of the idiots who wish to insist their willingness to be bound to a virtual keyboard supercedes my wish to have the option of having a physical keyboard available. So for you idiots which insist the virtual keyboard is the only way to go, shut up and accept the fact that not all of us need to be bound by your preferences and desires, some of us actually can think for ourselves and have our own personal likes, dislikes and preferences. We're not out here telling you that you have to have a phone w/a physical keyboard, we'd just like the option of having one for ourselves.
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Originally Posted by Sam73065
Actually I'm tired of the idiots telling me how pointless a physical keyboard is. Just because we are able to adapt to not having one, does not make the keyboard any less of a desirable feature, esp for those needing to send longer messages and not wanting to deal w/the inaccuracies of Swype and other virtual solutions. I do however understand your plight entirely. The idea of the Razr Maxx with a battery that might actually last an entire day is very enticing. The Droid 4 with a physical keyboard also calls out my name. A Droid 4 Maxx might be exactly what I'd need to break out the checkbook and buy one unsubsidized. But seriously I'm sick to death of the idiots who wish to insist their willingness to be bound to a virtual keyboard supercedes my wish to have the option of having a physical keyboard available. So for you idiots which insist the virtual keyboard is the only way to go, shut up and accept the fact that not all of us need to be bound by your preferences and desires, some of us actually can think for ourselves and have our own personal likes, dislikes and preferences. We're not out here telling you that you have to have a phone w/a physical keyboard, we'd just like the option of having one for ourselves.
I'll be the first to say that I wish that everything, iPhone included, offered really robust physical boards. However, it is pretty clear what the trend is, and after DROID 2, the flagship phones haven't been offered with keyboards. The GSM side has never had flagship devices with keyboards. DROID 4 is basically a flagship device, discounting the battery feature.
They also have to be done right. The OG DROID's physical 'board was pretty bad, I was shocked to find that it's easier to use the on-screen there. DROID 2 got a lot better, and DROID 3 got even better. Hopefully they have nailed it with DROID 4.
I hate when people come in a go "physical keyboards suck, they take up too much space blah blah blah". I'll defend virtual keyboards for being good enough, but they are never going to be as good as a good physical board.
I also found something interesting. The 4" size of the SGS was kind of awkward for a keyboard, as the vertical one was too small, but my hands couldn't get around the horizontal one. I'd imagine 4.3, even though it's a massive phone, gives more space on the vertical keyboard. The iPhone takes the other approach, and makes the horizontal keyboard just manageable, at least to someone with decently large hands like myself.
A DROID 4 MAXX is such a tantalizing idea! I hope that they continue selling keyboarded devices, and they probably will for a while on Verizon, but elsewhere, their future is bleak.
All that being said, if the iPhone wasn't on my plate, and Verizon was my carrier, I'd go RAZR MAXX without a doubt. The power to power 4G LTE is a bigger gain than the keyboard is a loss, IMHO. Imagine trying to run a hotspot off of 4G with the DROID 4. Battery dead. The RAZR MAXX might have a shot at surviving the day even with travel and 4G hotspot use.
I'm going through the same thing now, but am finding out that the advantages of the Maxx may outweigh what is an excellent, really excellent keyboard on the D4.
The D4, frankly, feels cheap compared to my Droid 1. Yes, in every other way it is superior. But I really like having a slab of metal and glass in my hand, rather than a slice of (admittedly high quality) plastic.
The Maxx feels like a real work of art, a single slab of metal, carbon fiber, and glass....with a super battery to boot. I like having nice things that are well engineered. The D4 is probably an excellent phone, but it clicks, pops and crunches while I'm using it (in the store, I haven't pulled the trigger), and the Maxx feels like it will last forever.
But durn, the D4 has the best keyboard ever on a phone.
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