VZW Upcoming Android Phones?

[Papacat]

I am hesitating on picking up a Droid as I know there are buckets of forthcoming Android-based phones. What I don't know is if anything rumored to be in the pipeline will actually be better for me than the Droid. My current phone is an Omnia and I am very ready to be done with WinMo and back on a hardware keyboard.

Here are my key needs/criteria:
Verizon Network (absolutely not negotiable)
Hardware Keyboard (the soft keyboard would have to be amazing to give this up)
Excellent Browser (full web or close to full web -- must at least match Opera on WinMo)
Tethering (pdanet fine, but something like wmwifirouter would be ideal)
Google Integration (my life is run through gmail, gcal, gdocs, gmaps, etc)
Good Phone Functionality (speakerphone, phone-to-ear, and wired headset fine, dont care about bt)
Attachment-Friendly (must be able to open Word docs and PDF files, at least)
Smooth / Lag-Free (or as close to it as the phone can be)

The Omnia has been mediocre on some of these counts and, of course, fails in the keyboard department.

The big question is this: Do you all see anything in the pipeline for the coming 2 months or so with a hardware keyboard that is going to be better than the Droid? I browsed the upcoming and rumored phones but found most lacked sufficient information for me to judge.

Thanks much for any advice or information.

 

[PetiePal]

Go with the Droid. The Eris is touch only and not for you. The Motorola Sholes will be the Droid minus the tactile keyboard. There really isn't anything in the next 2 months, that we know about, that will match what you want closely. So either you can go with the Droid now and get the whole shebang of features you want (minus tethering I think but that may be app enable-able) or have to wait till probably April

Stay AWAY from the Samsung. Most scathing review I ever read on Engadget, and I tested it out myself it's terrible. Nice hardware but the software is atrocious.

I like the Droid from what I've played with so far, I'm going to a VZW store again today to play as I'm due for an upgrade but waiting on the Dragon/Passion release this Dec just to see how much faster etc it is.

 

[Headsong]

Funny, your list and mine are so similar! And it just described the Droid! I'm getting mine within the next two weeks it looks like. Waiting for the 2.1 release, and just in case any others are released for Christmas that I should know about. I did get to play with a Droid unsupervised yesterday again, (they have them at Sam's if you can believe it!) and the keyboard's much better than folks are saying. If you want a keyboard, it's pretty good. There are always compromises...

 

[Ataranine]

Go with the Droid if you want a crappy hardware keyboard. The Eris is touch only and the virtual keyboard is amazing. The Motorola Sholes will be the Droid minus the tactile keyboard. There really isn't anything in the next 2 months, that we know about, that will match what you want closely. So either you can go with the Droid now and get the whole shebang of features you want (minus tethering I think but that may be app enable-able) or get a better phone (Eris) or have to wait till probably April

Stay AWAY from the Samsung. Most scathing review I ever read on Engadget, and I tested it out myself it's terrible. Nice hardware but the software is atrocious.

I like the Droid from what I've played with so far, I'm going to a VZW store again today to play as I'm due for an upgrade but waiting on the Dragon/Passion release this Dec just to see how much faster etc it is.

Fixed a little.

 

[hrbib21]

I am hesitating on picking up a Droid as I know there are buckets of forthcoming Android-based phones.

How do you KNOW this...

 

[PetiePal]

Keyboard isn't THAT bad. The main two complaints I had (I got to play with it again for about 30 mins yesterday) are that the top row of keys are a little too snug with the top slider body of the phone and the D-pad on the right is a little awkward to stretch your right hand thumb over.

Again we're in the cold winter months, so remember you'll likely (depending on where you live!) have gloves or mittens on, and then a touch keyboard may not help you so much ;P

 

[Barbara]

Keyboard isn't THAT bad. The main two complaints I had (I got to play with it again for about 30 mins yesterday) are that the top row of keys are a little too snug with the top slider body of the phone and the D-pad on the right is a little awkward to stretch your right hand thumb over.

Again we're in the cold winter months, so remember you'll likely (depending on where you live!) have gloves or mittens on, and then a touch keyboard may not help you so much ;P

I'd have to have some pretty thin gloves or the physical keyboard won't help me much either!

 

[PetiePal]

Touche!

I wish they'd announce or at least spec out the Passion/Dragon that's supposed to be out within the next 2 weeks...I really want to upgrade already.