Droid 3 and More

[mystik1]

This did not seem to be the perfect category for this post, but it was about the best I could find.

I am the type that needs a physical keyboard. I know there are a lot of people that don't need them and think those of us that do are crazy, but the fact remains...

I really wanted to buy the Droid 3 (I understand it's coming out in a week). However, I just can't bring myself to buy a 3G phone when 4G is available in my area (it has been for quite some time...and I had hoped exceedingly that there would be a 4G phone with a physical keyboard by now). Wilmington NC was in the first 4G rollout, and I am really close to that area...about 15 miles (I don't know if I was included in that first rollout for 100%, but I do know for 100% that I am covered now...I called them). So...

What do you guys think I should do? I am really iching for 4G. My wifi disconnects constantly...so, I am tired of that. ...and I do a lot of remote desktop on my phone. So, the faster speed would help immensely. I have looked at a couple of the keyboard cases for phones. Not sure how well they integrate, and I don't think any of them are illuminated (I do type on my phone in the dark often). Does anyone have a great idea or suggestion? Thanks much for any and all feedback!

 

[imnotmikal]

I also used to be very set on need a physical keyboard, but have you tried any of the available 4G phones? My mom just got the Charger, and the virtual keyboard is VERY accurate, and if we had 4G in my area, I would be passing up the D3 for a Charge.

 

[mystik1]

I have not tried the 4G phones, but I have tried the Asus EEE Pad, which has a large virtual keyboard area, and I still don't do well on it. Perhaps due to my vision issues (have 3%)...it just seems to work so much better for the keyboard to be off of the screen and actually be able to feel the push of the button. I do not look at the screen when I type on my phone...I look at the keyboard (can't see both at the same time due to vision issue mentioned),

 

[aostang]

I had an iPhone, iPhone 3Gs, Droid X1 and Droid X2. Before that, every single phone I had had a physical keyboard all the way back to the original Sidekick, and through 3 or 4 iterations of HTC phones on Sprint before they were know as HTC. I gave all those virtual keyboards time, and every single time ended up still missing the physical keyboard. I'll be ditching my almost brand new X2 that I've had since launch day for the D3. I just can't deal with not having a physical keyboard anymore. Physical keyboard is more important than locking into LTE right now. The D3 will likely have great resell value, so if a keyboard phone comes out later this year or next year that has tempting enough specs with LTE, I'll get that phone at that time.

 

[Barbara]

I don't think 4G is really here yet. Maybe in two years. I would rather have the physical keyboard than 4G right now.


4G is a myth (and a confusing mess) - Dec. 1, 2010

 

[rushmore]

I had an iPhone, iPhone 3Gs, Droid X1 and Droid X2. Before that, every single phone I had had a physical keyboard all the way back to the original Sidekick, and through 3 or 4 iterations of HTC phones on Sprint before they were know as HTC. I gave all those virtual keyboards time, and every single time ended up still missing the physical keyboard. I'll be ditching my almost brand new X2 that I've had since launch day for the D3. I just can't deal with not having a physical keyboard anymore. Physical keyboard is more important than locking into LTE right now. The D3 will likely have great resell value, so if a keyboard phone comes out later this year or next year that has tempting enough specs with LTE, I'll get that phone at that time.

Yep, the Inc was my first touch-only and I got the DX2 (which would have kept, sans the borked firmware). Before that, had the Tmobile Dash, G1 and Droid 1.

If the keyboard is good, will be handy for more interaction with Flash content, plus the three Quake games and old school emulators will play better- assuming the keyboard is good, of course.

I will at least buy it and test it out. If the keyboard is good and the firmware is not a cluster-bork like the DX2, I will probably keep it until second generation LTE devices prove more power conservative (and radio stable).

 

[mystik1]

(and radio stable).

What are the issues there? Are there problems with the current 4G radios? I may not be 100% up-to-date in that regard.

 

[aostang]

I will at least buy it and test it out. If the keyboard is good and the firmware is not a cluster-bork like the DX2, I will probably keep it until second generation LTE devices prove more power conservative (and radio stable).

Bingo. Looks like we're gonna be beta testers again in a few weeks.

 

[rushmore]

What are the issues there? Are there problems with the current 4G radios? I may not be 100% up-to-date in that regard.

A few issues:

1. 4G (for now) tends to only work well if in a strong signal area
2. Areas where 4G is fringe, can battle with the 3G radio
3. The first generation LTE radios consume about 50% more power than the 3G radios. People notice about one third less battery life, but the weight of the power consumption from the LTE radio is about 50% greater than 3G. Reason being the other things on the device are consuming power already, so are constants- the main variables then are what radio you are using and the signal level where you are at.

 

[rushmore]

Bingo. Looks like we're gonna be beta testers again in a few weeks.

Yep ......

 

[aostang]

It's the same problem as when 3G was first rolling out. Hunting for and switching between 3G and 2G was a big drain. That's also why I'm not overly worried about 4G right now. I'd rather have a stable battery. 3G does everything I need it to do now. Remote desktop works flawlessly, and that's the only "business" related app I use that is semi-high bandwidth. I can deal with slightly lower res Youtube videos for now lol.

 

[rushmore]

I don't think 4G is really here yet. Maybe in two years. I would rather have the physical keyboard than 4G right now.


4G is a myth (and a confusing mess) - Dec. 1, 2010

Agreed. People that get tiered data will REALLY figure that out fast. Both At&t and VZW lamely state historic trends, that most folks use less than 2gb of data, but (on purpose) conveniently do not consider FUTURE use. Not sure how folks are not getting this and seems to be accepting their stance.

1. 4G (people tend to use more data with faster speed)
2. Netflix
3. Hulu
4. Cloud data
5. Flash use
6. Larger game downloads
7. The install base and trend used for their usage statements has been mainly 2.5G/3G and NOT 3G/4G (as it will be very soon).

The cost curve dynamic for 4G is terrible in regards to both actual money verses usage and battery life. Tiered folks and people not planning on charging during the day should consider leaving 4G off.

One more time: The carriers are tiering based on archaic data and an aggregate of 2.5G/3G usage habits. The tiered allotments are probably 100% too low, in regards to the combined seven items noted above, for future usage trends.

 

[aostang]

2. Netflix
3. Hulu

Yeah, they're being really devious about it. Doing some simple math, a 128K stream will suck up an entire 2GB plan alone if used for barely over an hour a day. 3 streamed movies will also suck the entire 2GB down alone. That's not taking into consideration app updates or other regular use. My app install/updates alone are 1GB+ on average every month (the Amazon free app of the day is going to be a curse for those stuck in a tier).

 

[rushmore]

It's the same problem as when 3G was first rolling out. Hunting for and switching between 3G and 2G was a big drain. That's also why I'm not overly worried about 4G right now. I'd rather have a stable battery. 3G does everything I need it to do now. Remote desktop works flawlessly, and that's the only "business" related app I use that is semi-high bandwidth. I can deal with slightly lower res Youtube videos for now lol.

Hopefully, the next generation of LTE radios will provide both better power consumption and true, on the fly 3G/4G switching.

That all said, if the D3 has low ram issues like the DX2, I will probably get the Bionic and just leave 4G off.

 

[aostang]

It's a newer Blur, so hopefully a different team built it and the allocation is done properly. My biggest concern is as of right now, there probably won't be root for the short term on it, so a lot of the DX2 fixes we came up with (that have been extremely stable on my phone since making) won't be available to us from the start. At the same time, I'm sure it will be a LOT more popular than the DX2, so hopefully it will get dev and root attention quickly.