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so how many of ya have gotten better with hardware keyboard?

have you gotten alot faster as you use it more?


  • Total voters
    180
The keyboard is actually pretty nice when coming from a touch pro. Its the dpad that sucks. takes up tooo much space and you cant really feel it that well. a trackball like the heros is soooo much better. does the same functions in a fraction of the space and can be used in portrait, which is critical for precise cursor pacement, easier web browsing and overall one handed navigation.
 
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And what is the D-Pad good for? I can't seem to find any time when I use it.
I use it a lot for navigating around web pages. I have big fingers, so sometimes it's easier for me to just use the D-pad to navigate to a link rather than trying to zoom in or click on a tiny link with my finger (although the Droid is actually pretty good at detecting where you are trying to click on the screen). I also use it to navigate around inside email text if I find I made a mistake or want to change something.

Oh, and it's really good for playing SNES/NES games ;)
 
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I don't mind the keyboard. Its size is about like the vx6800, which I had before, so that wasn't a difficult transition. What has been difficult is where different punctuation marks are. I have to pause and think every time I need an apostrophe or question mark. And for some reason I type "o" instead of zero every time!
 
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I thought I would never use the hard keyboard since it just seemed impossible. But I have forced myself to work on it and have gotten much better.

BUT, the one big problem I have is that the delete key (which I still need a lot) is RIGHT above the enter key which causes a lot of problems.

And what is the D-Pad good for? I can't seem to find any time when I use it.

sorry if this is already posted in here, skimming...

if you hold shift and press left/right you can select text. then hold the gold button to bring up the long-press cut/copy/paste menu. that's the best use i've found of the dpad so far
 
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1. The hardware keyboard was a big reason I bought the phone. I'm actually using it less than I thought (I figured I would use it exclusively). I use soft keyboard for searches and quick texts and the hard keyboard for emails, long texts, and forums.

2. I love the D-pad. It is huge for me. The thing I use it for the most is correcting typos. I hate using the touch screen to try to get the cursor just where I want it. IMO the d-pad is the only way to do this without going insane. And, you know, games.
 
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2. I love the D-pad. It is huge for me. The thing I use it for the most is correcting typos. I hate using the touch screen to try to get the cursor just where I want it. IMO the d-pad is the only way to do this without going insane. And, you know, games.

+1 on this. impossible to edit using the soft keyboard. it *never* properly guesses where i'm trying to put the cursor.
 
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I must be in the minority. I never had a problem with the keyboard. I actually like it a lot - outside the fact the 5-way should be on the left.

Then again, I never owned a smart phone before the droid.

I've seen other people with this opinion. Why should the 5-way be on the left? It makes more sense to me for it to be on the right, but that's just my opinion. The people who think it should be on the left are pretty serious about it. What advantage would be gained by having it on the left?
 
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I've seen other people with this opinion. Why should the 5-way be on the left? It makes more sense to me for it to be on the right, but that's just my opinion. The people who think it should be on the left are pretty serious about it. What advantage would be gained by having it on the left?

short of playing games with emulators, i can't see a benefit either. any other phone i've had with a d-pad or similar had it on the right. as mentioned above it's also similar to the kbd/mouse layout for most righties at their desks. so, count me in as genuinely curious why people who want it on the left are so adamant about it (emulators aside). it really feels backwards to me.
 
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I wouldn't disagree that it is kinda awkward and not even close to providing navigation as effortlessly usable as a keyboard and mouse, though. I'm just guessing that was what Motorola was going for. :)

Hadn't thought of that either till now. Makes sense tho considering the majority of the population is right-handed, (including myself). I find the biggest advantage of the D-pad, (as previously posted,) is copying, editing and pasting. HUGE advantage over my Storm. Biggest gripe would be the spacebar... why not have a single button instead of three underneath a cover? Always find myself accidentally hitting the / button. Other than that I'm starting to really like this keyboard. :)
 
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I'm sorry but this is the worst keyboard Ive ever used. Coming from a Bold which I could type on without looking, this is horrid. Honestly, I don't even use it since I'm so much faster with the on screen vertical keyboard.

There's absolutely no feel to which key your hitting. Plus, none of the keys are actually independent, its just one solid panel with perforations around the letter. I constantly hit multiple letters at once and reaching over the track pad thing is uncomfortable at best.

Just my $.02
 
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