opulybbob

So I'm a newbie to the Android os, and last week I upgraded from the ancient, and now obsolete palm pre, and bought the Samsung Nexus S..

There is nothing wrong with the way this phone operates in anyway, I'm having a hard time getting used to the touch screen typing and I am ALWAYS texting. The touch screen is super sensitive and I am constantly making typo's and I’m not one to abbreviate..
Another small thing that I miss is LED notifications.. For some reason or another, Samsung did not want to include a LED blinking light for missed texts/calls and as stupid as it sounds I miss this a lot.

The point: I am going to be returning this phone and was very interested in the HTC EVO Shift but a couple of people have told me to stay away. Does anyone have any recommendations on other phones based on the complaints I just had? Possibly a phone coming out in the near future that I might want to wait for???
Any feedback would be helpful
Thanks.

GR8BigCheese

It would be helpful if you told us the reasons the couple of people had for telling you to stay away from the Shift!

The Shift does have an LED that reminds you of unseen notifications (email. text, etc.)

It has a slide out keyboard that is pretty good.

opulybbob

Thanks for the response.
my brother works for sprint and isn't crazy about the keyboard, especially if I'm going to be putting a case on it.. the other reasons would be the slower processor then the newer phones, and the fact that it doesn't have a front facing camera. I'm not into video chat right now but it is convenient for quick photos with friends .

vw driver

I've had the Shift since early April. It's not quite as fast as the Nexus S, but not a slug like the Hero was. I like the keyboard better than my wife's Epic. My only complaint is position of the volume toggle, but I've learned how to hold the phone so I don't hit nearly as often.

For someone who wants a qwerty keyboard, I'd recommend it.

AlphaQ

I do not know the name of the case that I have on my phone; I purchased it the same day at the Sprint store when I got the phone. I haven't had any issues with it interfering with the keyboard while typing. The LEDs that light up when pressing the shift key or the function key aren't as visible when pressed because of the case, but it is not a deal breaker.

The lack of a front facing camera is also not a deal breaker. Video chat in my opinion is overrated. Having a view screen when taking personal photos is a luxury that i can also do without, especially since there are so many picture editing apps on the market to enhance and crop photos taken with my Parkinson's like grip.

I would highly recommend this phone to anyone i come in contact with. The reasons I didn't go with the EVO 3D is the price and the fact that 3D seems like a novelty that will soon wear off and not to mention it hurts my eyes after about 20 seconds of looking at a 3D image on it.

Joshbear

I got my Shift at the beginning of April primarily because I wanted a physical keyboard. I do absolutely love this phone, but if I were looking to buy a new phone in the near future, the Photon would be it.

Androidalltheway

how is gaming on the shift? I love the keyboard, but does gaming lag because of the slow processor?

330D

It does not have a "slow" processor. It may be rated lower than others, but it is very robust. I have never had an issue with gaming.

edp

the shift is a beast. and the processor is anything but slow. even before i rooted/overclocked it, it ran with/out ran the best of em.

PattiCakeUS

I used to have the Hero and several months ago I changed to the Shift because I really missed having a keyboard (I used to be a Treo user so I had always been used to a physical keyboard). When I first started using the Hero I bought the SlideIT onscreen keyboard app. Now that I have the Shift I hardly ever use the physical keyboard because I'm so used to SlideIT and the physical keyboard feels a little awkward to use.

If you DO decide to get the Shift, it comes with Swype which is really similar to SlideIT. Basically you just drag your finger from one letter to the next instead of typing, it takes a little getting used to but works pretty well.

SteveO_148

I just traded in the Shift for the EVO 3d, because I had an upgrade bc sprint messed up. I went to the shift from the Samsung Moment. I knew that I didn't need the keyboard, but chose the shift because of its nice size. Now I don't want a phone with a keyboard ever again. I can type so fast using swiftkey keyboard app in portrait or landscape. It has assume word prediction and before that I used swipe. My daughter chose the shift because she won't let the keyboard thing go...I get it.
People at Sprint say it is "slow" because it is 800MHZ, but they don't realize that it is a Snapdragon 2 and performs/benchmarks as well as the long time flagship Evo 4g which is 1000MHZ snapdragon 2. Also, the shift has assume battery life compared to my moment, wife's evo and the hero, because of the processor. The physical keyboard works well. I miss my shift at times over this last week. I would highly recommend it. I was going to get the nexus s. for a 4in screen it is big and I hate the button lineup...messes me up.

slurp812

I love my hardware keyboard Shift!