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I was tossing around the idea of getting an HTC Magic when it comes out on T-Mobile just because it looks really slick, but now that I've finally got Android 1.5 installed on my G1 and I've had some good time to get used to the Virtual Keyboard I'm totally relieved that I don't have to rely on it.
I don't know how the iPhone people do it, I just can't imagine ever getting half as fast on a Virtual Keyboard as I am with the G1's physical keyboard. It's just cumbersome and difficult, and requires a level of concentration to type that I just don't have to use on real keys. It gets the job done, and the auto-complete suggestions are pretty intelligent, but it's just damn hard to use compared to the real keyboard. If it was all I had I would get fed up with it and just wait until I can use my laptop to compose a longer email.
I hope we continue to see a lot more phones with keyboards, because right now they seem to be the exception, and I'm afraid my upgrade options will be limited because so many of the big Android phones coming out are touchscreen-only.
chefgon said:
I was tossing around the idea of getting an HTC Magic when it comes out on T-Mobile just because it looks really slick, but now that I've finally got Android 1.5 installed on my G1 and I've had some good time to get used to the Virtual Keyboard I'm totally relieved that I don't have to rely on it.
I don't know how the iPhone people do it, I just can't imagine ever getting half as fast on a Virtual Keyboard as I am with the G1's physical keyboard. It's just cumbersome and difficult, and requires a level of concentration to type that I just don't have to use on real keys. It gets the job done, and the auto-complete suggestions are pretty intelligent, but it's just damn hard to use compared to the real keyboard. If it was all I had I would get fed up with it and just wait until I can use my laptop to compose a longer email.
I hope we continue to see a lot more phones with keyboards, because right now they seem to be the exception, and I'm afraid my upgrade options will be limited because so many of the big Android phones coming out are touchscreen-only.
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Not to mention times when you want to type but you aren't in the OS environment (like recovery terminal).
I definitely miss it. But, I got this free Google Ion phone, so it's obviously fun. But the battery is YARDS better than the old battery. This one is 1340mAH, so obviously it'll last a lot longer.
oxeneers said:
I definitely miss it. But, I got this free Google Ion phone, so it's obviously fun. But the battery is YARDS better than the old battery. This one is 1340mAH, so obviously it'll last a lot longer.
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You bastard.
You're one of the lucky IO attendants? I envy you.
if someone asked me to trade my G1 for a Magic I would have to say no...because I adore my physical keyboard...
The reason for me to buy the G1 and not to wait for the Magic was... I think you already know it: the physical keyboard.
A friend of mine owns an IPhone and I tried and tried and cant get used to the virtual keyboard.
I'm able to type nearly blind on the physical one... show me how you do that on the virtual one.
I remember on my first touch screen phone (mda compact) actually having to explain to somebody that you touched the screen the dial. ;-) Often wonder how I survived on that phone, fortunately it had a good dial pad input with T9.
Yep, lets face it, if Apple did a iphone with a proper keyboard a lot of people would buy it in an instant, (heresy I know!)
I'm always surprised that nobody has attempted to copy/license the keyboard of the Psion 5mx.
Proper keyboards are for people who actually use their phones for communication longer than a txt message. But there is also a significant proportion of the market that just txt, thus hopefully there will always be two categories of phone.
I agree. I love having the newest, coolest, most awesome device on the market, but if it doesn't have a physical keyboard, it gets immediately dumped from possibility.
chefgon said:
I was tossing around the idea of getting an HTC Magic when it comes out on T-Mobile just because it looks really slick, but now that I've finally got Android 1.5 installed on my G1 and I've had some good time to get used to the Virtual Keyboard I'm totally relieved that I don't have to rely on it.
I don't know how the iPhone people do it, I just can't imagine ever getting half as fast on a Virtual Keyboard as I am with the G1's physical keyboard. It's just cumbersome and difficult, and requires a level of concentration to type that I just don't have to use on real keys. It gets the job done, and the auto-complete suggestions are pretty intelligent, but it's just damn hard to use compared to the real keyboard. If it was all I had I would get fed up with it and just wait until I can use my laptop to compose a longer email.
I hope we continue to see a lot more phones with keyboards, because right now they seem to be the exception, and I'm afraid my upgrade options will be limited because so many of the big Android phones coming out are touchscreen-only.
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Click to collapse
Same here. I hate the g1 keyboard but I need it and the on screen one as well.
totally. a physical keyboard is what makes this smartphone basically a laptop in my hands. i just hope that we get a hardware refresh with new chipsets and hopefully an internal ati gpu backend for media. "HTC DREAM 2 - the clunky old bastard is back with a fresh new look"
haha no physical keyboard. hey how do you like playing the nes, snes, sega emulators? OH WAIT, YOU DONT! hahahaha.
That is the SOLE reason I will never own a Magic. I was so excited when I first about the g2, but I was hoping against hope that it would have a physical keyboard. They should totally manufacture it both ways!
My G1 is the first phone ive had with a physical qwerty keyboard. I now know that i will not ever buy another phone without one.
Im happy with my phone for now but i am getting a bit of jealousy looking at that new Samsung jobbie - please Samsung, make one with a qwerty!
my pros and cons of the virtual and physical keyboard
Virtual Win:
Nice to have a quick keyboard to type like a 4 letter txt or something
Virtual Lose:
no matter how hard i try i cannot get this to type at my speed. tried 1.5 stock keyboard, chompsms', and betterkeyboard
BRING BACK CHOMP'S VIRTUAL KEYBOARD PRE CUPCAKE, that was the best
Physical Win: keeps up to my speed, need i say more?
Physical Lose: i have a paranoia that if i slide it out enough, itll eventually break
I'd like an upgraded g1 with more ram and a faster processor, as long as the hardware keeps up to date i would own a g1 for life, obviously i'm in agreement with the physical keyboard.
I'm looking at the samsung with android but no physical keyboard only downfall...sooo...i'll have to wait for an upgraded g1....and i'm thinking about doing some sodering myself to see what i can accomplish....
I've switched to Magic from G1 because the build of the slide out keyboard is just too scary for me - the chance of the ribbon pulling out, the wobbliness of the keyboard, the tiny hinge it all rests on...
It's always going to be apples and oranges with hard and soft keyboards. Some are happier with hard keys and others with Soft.
For me personally, the extra memory, and much better battery life, and whizzy fast ROM (I have a google ion Dev Phone) combined with a really solid feeling, slick fone that feels fabulous to hold are the reason why I ADORE my Magic, and no, I'm personally not missing the physical keyboard at all - I have the HTC keyboard installed as an extra keyboard and can swap between the standard and HTC ones. I can type as fast as I need to for using my phone, and I love the predictive text and user dictionaries.
For me, it's a Fone first and foremost, and as such the lighter and slicker magic is the one I prefer to the chunkier clunkier G1. I have a netbook, laptop and PC to do all the other stuff (LOL because I'm a Gadget Addict..)
Erm LOL but having said that, the G1 is a brilliant handset and if anyone wants a very well looked after rooted G1 then check out my sig...
Dayz xx
I strongly favor a hardware keyboard. The ability for me to do administration at any time is very important to me and this is simply not practical with the virtual KB (VKB). Connectbot does not seem to let the VKB be used for terminal (though you can type in your password with it). I have never tried using remote with the VKB but I can not see that working well either.
I also leave my gtalk on my phone all the time so type a lot. For short messages the VKB is fine but the hardware KB is better, especially when you are typing more than a few words.
If donut includes the HID profile for bluetooth though the landscape changes. At that stage the Samsung i7500 is tempting with a stowaway BT keyboard. The downside to that is the Samsung is not an HTC device thus no custom ROMS on XDA. XDA-dev is half the reason I have stuck with HTC devices for the last few years.
Just wondering if any of you nexus one owners happen to text frequently and if you have a hard time with the virtual keyboard. I can type at light speed on my G1 and frankly, the only thing that worries me about the nexus I ordered is not having this physical keyboard. So let's hear it. Is it awful, usable, good, or downright amazing?
That has been my largest worry as well. I'm a G1 user who is very fond of the hardware keyboard. However, I am forcing myself with the Nexus One to learn to love the Onscreen. It seemed like all the best and newer phones were not coming with keyboards, or when they did the keyboard was not very pleasant to use. At least once I(we) get over the hump of getting used to the onscreen with the N1 we can then go to ANY other android phone and be satisfied.
My Nexus One SHOULD be waiting for me on the counter when I get home... will pop my SIM in and away I go.
I'm in the same boat although I've noticed on my G1 I'm better with the HTC_IME keyboard than the stock. I'm hoping we can push the HTC_IME keyboard to the N1.
It's actually not as bad as i thought it would be. I wish it had the HTC IME, so I wouldn't have to click a button for numbers or exclamation points. FYI: I installed HTC IME, but it doesn't look that great on the screen.
I don't have a nexus one and part of the reason why I love my G1 is because of the physical keyboard and I also like the HTC IME over the android one by leaps and bounds. I am currently using "shapewriter" from the market and it took about a few days to get used to and see the benefits but since i got used to it, my texting is now almost twice as fast as the keyboard. I haven't used the keyboard for texting for a couple weeks now whereas before i would only use the keyboard during texts. Shapewriter is making me really consider getting a nexus.
The keyboard in landscape mode is great. Plus I've been using the voice input to send texts and its pretty accurate for the most part, awesome new feature. I'm not missing my G1 keyboard at all.
I'm sure the VK will be good. My G1 physical spacebar broke (go figure..) and I have been using the HTC_IME on it for months now :\. Can't wait for the N1 though. It should be here tomorrow
Glad to hear all that! I've switched to using on vk on my G1 to get ready lol. But unfortunately I'm using HTC_IME and it's awesome. I think cyanogen said he plans on porting the HTC_IME for nexus shortly. Let's keep our fingers crossed
Well I have never used the HTC IME and always had a hardware keyboard (except the Artemis where I used a stowaway bluetooth when heavy typing).
I can not type at the speed I could on the G1 keyboard but it is not bad. I do not like that I can not see my IMs/SMS when typing in landscape but the keyboard is good for the most part. In portrait mode I rely a lot more on autocorrect but mistakes are not terrible there either. Of course I have only been using an on screen keyboard for about 2 hours so hopefully with experience it will get easier. Even now though for texting where typos are not a huge concern it gets the job done.
It is a trade off, no hardware keyboard but it is very thin. I would have gone the other direction but I can understand the choice.
I went from a g1 to an iphone and really missed the keyboard. Once I got used to the iphone I was able to type quickly and accurately. I send/receive about 2200 texts a month so I would say I'm an avid texter (not a fan of talking except to certain people).
I expect the n1 to be similar to the iphone in terms of texting.
matt_stang said:
Just wondering if any of you nexus one owners happen to text frequently and if you have a hard time with the virtual keyboard. I can type at light speed on my G1 and frankly, the only thing that worries me about the nexus I ordered is not having this physical keyboard. So let's hear it. Is it awful, usable, good, or downright amazing?
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I send about 2K-3K texts a month in addition to my email, Web browsing and other keyboard use. The physical keyboard was a must for me for years. Two months ago I traded one of my G1s for a myTouch. I decided to play with the myTouch and then ended up using it. While I sometimes miss the keyboard I got very used to the onscreen keyboard. Now that I have the N1 I can say that I don't miss the keyboard at all. Besides, with ShapeWriter (simply amazing) and Swype (haven't tried it yet but will now that I have an N1), onscreen keyboards are very good.
So far, I have found that using speaking to send the texts are remarkably easy and accurate. I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of speaking to "type" my texts.
The VK isn't that bad though... seems really accurate and there is no lag so its easy to deal with.
Speech to text has removed my need for keyboard use of anykind at home/work/walking.
On screen is accurate enough not to annoy me when speaking out loud would look weird.
I would try better keyboard if default is no good. User dictionary is a must.
I was really worried about this, too -- I got really used to the physical keyboard on my G1 and was really fast at it, although I sometimes used the HTC IME (the Android one sucks).
Now that I have my N1, I'm finding that both Swype and ShapeWriter are AMAZING and with them I can type nearly as fast as I could on a physical keyboard. Definitely give them a try.
i typed a couple hundred text messages yesterday without really any issues, and i come from the ultimate text whore from the Bold 9700 but i had the mt3g b4 then so im not a total noob haha
mlevin said:
I was really worried about this, too -- I got really used to the physical keyboard on my G1 and was really fast at it, although I sometimes used the HTC IME (the Android one sucks).
Now that I have my N1, I'm finding that both Swype and ShapeWriter are AMAZING and with them I can type nearly as fast as I could on a physical keyboard. Definitely give them a try.
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I have to agree with you about Swype. I've not owned a phone without a physical keyboard since before 2005 and I was worried about the N1 not having a physical keyboard as I'm a big texter/GTalker. The standard keyboard is 'OK' but Swype is pretty damn good. It takes a little getting used to but when you've learned the basics, you get pretty quick at typing out long texts/messages.
Can I ask if it's the beta that was released for the Droid that you're using? I get a silly message box every time I switch to landscape or open the camera app.
Every phone I've owned has had a physical keyboard until my MyTouch, although I still used my G1 as my main line, but I can say that while I would prefer a physical keyboard, I don't really miss it. The screens big enough that it's really easy to type, I use Better Keyboard which doesn't have the voice key, but I'm not that interested in the voice typing. I'm not having any problems or regrets though.
When using this phone in landscape mode, I type as fast and accurately as I did with my Tmo wing. It's very responsive and the keyboard is plenty big.
The HTC keyboard does work on the nexus one, the person on this video has it running
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB8Xv3qpEDs
Almost all my phones have had physical keyboards and i text a lot... I've been using the nexus one for only about a day now and the keyboard is OK but... sometimes it doesn't register keys. I don't know if it has to due with the lack of multi touch but it doesn't catch some of my button presses especially space bar.
i owned an iphone for about 4 months and while I'm not a huge fan of the iphone I have to admit that their virtual keyboard works a LOT better...
I could be persuaded to use this instead?
Whats the on-screen keyboard like? I know the screen is HUGE so i'm guessing the on-screen is fairly big? I need to be able to type fairly fast for taking notes in meetings etc and this is why I normaly buy phones with keyboards.
Thanks!!!
(please be honest, i'm about to spend £400 on this and I don't want that to be a waste of money)
The onscreen keyboard is good, but don't expect magic - if you feel you need a hardware keyboard then you will most likely be disappointed with what the HD2 offers.
In all fairness I never owned a WM phone with a full hardware keyboard, but I still make mistakes on the HD2's virtual keyboard same as I did with the virtual keyboard on my previous phone - so my conclusion is that it's not perfect.
Personally, I find FingerKeyboard better than HTC's anyway, I use that most of the time. Swype is good as well for accuracy but I find typing stuff is a bit slow because you're having to swipe your finger across a huge screen without lifting off to enter words.
I normally prefer hardware keyboards, however I have found that the HD2's screen is fairly large enough to work with. Also, use XT9 and go at it like you don't care if you misspell words, generally it will auto-correct you fairly well.
I personally prefer touchscreen keyboards rather than hardware keybaords, I find hardware keyboards a bit fidly to use.
The HD2 keyboard is pretty good, I think it's as good as the one on iphone, which I have just come from. The keyboard automatically corrects the majority of your mistakes, but you will still make the odd one. However, I also make the odd mistake using any keyboard, such as my laptop. In fact I probably make more errors typing on a PC/laptop keyboard as there is no auto correct function.
there's a thread about this on here somewhere with a lot of people complaining about the keyboard. it seems you either love it or really hate it. I would suggest going in a shop and ask to try it before you buy it. me personally I think its fine but don't take mine or anyone else's word for it, like I said a lot of people hate it, WITH A PASSION!
I owned a touch pro 2, which has the best hardware keyboard out there, and sure i was afraid i'll lose that sweat keyboard, but in the end i can say that i'm happy with the hd2's keyboard. Sure, i'm not as fast as i used to be on my tp2 but still...
I think you will be fine.
I've always had a HW keyboard since 2005, but after a few weeks practice with Swype, I'm very fast and more than happy given it means my phone is much thinner.
thanks for all input guys, very much appreciated!
Some touchscreen keyboards are ok, some are usable and some are good. Don't think that because a touchscreen keyboard on X device is good, therefore the HD2's will be good too. It isn't. It's a pig of a keyboard. Typing on it is one of the most frustrating tasks known to man. Sure it's a great device but you're asking specifically about typing on it.....and typing on it is horrendous. YMMV.
I can Swype faster than a HW keyboard
eskasi said:
I can Swype faster than a HW keyboard
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A lot of people prefer to type rather than sliding their fingers around in a whole new style. It shouldn't be necessary that we have to install new keyboards and get used to whole new styles of inputting text, just because the supplied keyboard isn't up to scratch. Personally I don't want to learn how to 'swype'.
Swype is the best solution for 1 handed typing. I dont see how its better than the regular keyboard unless you prefer to use 1 hand to type all the time.
sunking101 said:
A lot of people prefer to type rather than sliding their fingers around in a whole new style. It shouldn't be necessary that we have to install new keyboards and get used to whole new styles of inputting text, just because the supplied keyboard isn't up to scratch. Personally I don't want to learn how to 'swype'.
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Jeez, lighten up - there's nothing to learn, you just swipe your finger on the letters and that's it. If I wanted to type 'jerk' I would put my finger on J, drag to E, then drag to R and finally drag to K and that's it.
Hardly involves a learning curve... plus, that's just one option. If you don't like HTC's keyboard try another normal QWERTY keyboard, nobody's forcing you to try one of these newfangled keyboards. FingerKeyboard is a standard one and works better than HTC's IMO.
I use the standard HTC keyboard. I grip the device with my palms and type using my thumbs. My hands are freaking huge.
I can get approx 30wpm.
The auto-correct feature is simply amazing
I just came from a TYTNII with Hardware keyboard and we VERY worried about getting the HD2 without a keyboard as i type e-mail and SMS from my phone regularly for work purposes. So my choices were the HD2 or Touch Pro 2... The HD2 just had WAY too many PROS compared to the Touch Pro 2, so i took the plunge and got the HD2 and resolved myself to if i can't type well enough, then i'll just put up with the frustration or wait till i get back to the office to reply. Well, i was pleasantly surprised and can type fairly fast, probably SLIGHTLY slower than the hardware keyboard. I also have FAT fingers. I think the capacitive screen and multi-touch work in its favor to make typing a bit better on this phone than a normal (old type) touch screen. So, all in all, VERY happy with the HD2 without hardware keyboard. Oh, and i type in PORTRAIT mode, not Landscape!!! If i could marry my HD2, i would!
stickydonkey said:
If i could marry my HD2, i would!
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Hmm, I think that's in legal in Kentucky actually.
Well, in my country, our president just married his 5th wife with another on the way. He now has 18 children (of his own)! There should be no problems marrying my HD2...
stickydonkey said:
I just came from a TYTNII with Hardware keyboard and we VERY worried about getting the HD2 without a keyboard as i type e-mail and SMS from my phone regularly for work purposes. So my choices were the HD2 or Touch Pro 2... The HD2 just had WAY too many PROS compared to the Touch Pro 2, so i took the plunge and got the HD2 and resolved myself to if i can't type well enough, then i'll just put up with the frustration or wait till i get back to the office to reply. Well, i was pleasantly surprised and can type fairly fast, probably SLIGHTLY slower than the hardware keyboard. I also have FAT fingers. I think the capacitive screen and multi-touch work in its favor to make typing a bit better on this phone than a normal (old type) touch screen. So, all in all, VERY happy with the HD2 without hardware keyboard. Oh, and i type in PORTRAIT mode, not Landscape!!! If i could marry my HD2, i would!
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He he nice! I love my HD2 too. I came from a Kaiser as well and my reservation was losing the superb hardware keyboard.
I found the HD2's standard keyboard flawed. The problem isn't the sensitivity as such but the fact that the keys are too small and close together. With an improved design it could be great.
BUT I found my solution, SWYPE! What a god send! I'm actually significantly faster with Swype than I was with my old Kaiser hardware keyboard. It really is that good. I am almost as fast as a PC keyboard.
And as for learning it, well it takes no time. I have demonstrated it to several people who have had a go and within a minute they are Oooing and arrring as they Swype words with ease. It's so intuitive there really is very little learning or adaptation required.
Hi All,
I am thinking of switching my Energy Rom TP2 for the HD2 from Tmobile USA.
It is almost a no brainier for me, I can get two for the price of one at 200 bucks thru t mobile for me and my wife. I plan to sell one of ourTP2's for 200 bucks to get my money back.
My question for all you HD2 owners, what do you miss most about the TP2??
I think I will certainly miss the stylus.
I have been using Swype for some time now and rarely use my keyboard but I do open it out if I need to type special charactors and stuff, it is just a little faster.
The first thing i would do when I get it is to load the Energy rom on it.
So anyway, what do you miss the most about your TP2 going to the HD2???
Thank you,
Jeff
I miss the qwerty it was nice to know you can type a long email with no problem. other than that i really have no complains about it built quality is wayyyyy more solid than the tp2. I wont mentions the bugs and lags since you already know it can be fix with a rom. you will find your self like this is your new home when you try the camera and you put your normal 3.5 mmm head set into your phone to me thats was my geeky orgasm to see the screen and the camera i almost cried. lol but the battery doesnt last too long i think some what worse than the tp2
I've had my HD2 for less than a week now, and I still have my TP2 (also Tmo version) right here as a security blanket during my 2-week test drive...and I'm eaaasing into the new phone, getting comfortable with all the new ways of doing things, and learning as I find solutions to new (to me) issues.
Yes, I miss the hardware QWERTY most of all...but, nowhere near as much as I was worried I might. Once you get over the initial learning curve of Swype, and quit flipping the unit into landscape out of habit whenever you want to type (seriously...you will catch yourself doing this), you'll find that screen-based texting, and in portrait mode at that, is nowhere near as painful as you might fear.
The next thing you'll find noticibly different in the HD2 is the feel and operation of the capacitive screen as opposed to the resistive in the TP2. It's not a bad thing, and I'm quickly learning to love the HD2's screen...but coming from the TP2 or resistive devices in general, there'll be an adjustment period for you, during which you'll damn near drive yourself crazy with accidental screen taps due to your fingers not being used to the buffer zone they need to leave between themselves and the surface. Don't worry, there's cabs available to adjust the sensitivity of this, but it will still take a little getting used to. But, like most of the changes, I think it's worth it in the long run.
Lastly, I miss the 1500mAh battery in the TP2...I was shocked (and felt pretty stupid) 2 days after I bought my HD2, when I first realized it only has a 1250mAh batt. That's just rediculous! So, for whatever is "standard" use for you on a cellphone/PPC, just know this one will probably run out of juice before your TP2 would have under the same circumstances.
Now, if this is your first time running this version of WM and Sense, well then there's a whole other can of worms for you to learn and get used to. It's not all bad news...just some significant changes, especially in regards to where settings and other critical items can be found. If you haven't already, you might want to throw a ROM on your TP with the same versions (6.5/2.5.2012) as the stock HD2 ROM, just to get used to the feel of those ahead of time.
Other than that, there's not a whole lot else I miss about my TP2...well other than the fact that it felt a bit sturdier than the HD2 does, just in the sense that the thicker form of the TP2 gives it much more rigidity, especially lengthwise. Once you hold a HD2 in your hand, you'll see and feel what I mean...it's clearly much easier to snap this thing in half with some careless misplaced torque on the shell. So...just keep that in mind when pocketing it
I miss the keyboard the most (physical AND on-screen). Typing is a pain for some reason on the HD2. I went a couple days of nothing but onscreen typing on my TP2 and things went great so I went ahead and got the HD2. Im gettin better but on the HD2 I feel I have to press a little higher than my target to get the correct character.
Other than that I have no issues with the HD2 and loving it especially the Snapdragon. Everything is running smooth and no crashes. I have Energy ROM loaded up and things are great.
My only advice is to make sure you get a class 6 memory card. The one that comes with the HD2 is a class 2 so read/access speeds will be slower and mess with program performance.
s0leFUNK said:
I miss the keyboard the most (physical AND on-screen). Typing is a pain for some reason on the HD2. I went a couple days of nothing but onscreen typing on my TP2 and things went great so I went ahead and got the HD2. Im gettin better but on the HD2 I feel I have to press a little higher than my target to get the correct character.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, using the stock tap-type keyboard is an almost identical experience to the one on the TP2...ok but cumbersome. s0leFUNK, I would really recommend you give swype a shot...it at least has much better word prediction than the stock one, and just feels smoother and less frustrating to use, even if you don't speed up much.
There's one other thing I realized I miss from my TP2...the tmo model has the reset button exposed on the side of the housing, so just a simple stylus poke is all it took for forced soft-resets. I honestly haven't had to reset very often, but I definitely miss the simplicity of that when I needed it.
Thank you all for your input on this. I think I am going to go ahead and get the two HD2's for my wife and I. I will sell one of our tp2's to get my 200 bucks back.
I will likely make a simple stylus that is easy to carry.
Again, thank you,
Jeff
innovator8 said:
Thank you all for your input on this. I think I am going to go ahead and get the two HD2's for my wife and I. I will sell one of our tp2's to get my 200 bucks back.
I will likely make a simple stylus that is easy to carry.
Again, thank you,
Jeff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to help...good call!!
If you haven't been checking out the HD2 forums here yet, it's time for you to start. Here's the first thread to take a peek at, you'll find links #5, and 9-13 particularly useful:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=663845
I am currently using a T-Mobile TP2. I'm considering upgrading to the HD2.
Anyone out there who has had the TP2 and upgraded, can you provide me with your opinion?
I'd say do it. I had the Touch Pro originally, loved it. Got the Touch Pro2, brilliant. Upgraded to the HD2, AWESOME. It's definitely worth doing but you REALLY REALLY will miss the keyboard and the tilt. The speed is ridiculously better, screen quality is way better. The capacitive screen will take a bit of getting used to but once you have had it for a couple of weeks you'll feel right at home.
Although I cannot stress enough how much you'll miss the keyboard.
mcspikesky said:
I'd say do it. I had the Touch Pro originally, loved it. Got the Touch Pro2, brilliant. Upgraded to the HD2, AWESOME. It's definitely worth doing but you REALLY REALLY will miss the keyboard and the tilt. The speed is ridiculously better, screen quality is way better. The capacitive screen will take a bit of getting used to but once you have had it for a couple of weeks you'll feel right at home.
Although I cannot stress enough how much you'll miss the keyboard.
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I'm not sure - the HD2 doesn't have a stylus, correct? I'm not sure I can live with that... LOL.
EDIT: Plus, I have to talk the wife into allowing me to spend the $$.
stevedebi said:
I'm not sure - the HD2 doesn't have a stylus, correct? I'm not sure I can live with that... LOL.
EDIT: Plus, I have to talk the wife into allowing me to spend the $$.
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Click to collapse
i don't miss the stylus.. screen is big enough that its easy to type and pinch to zoom is useful... question is do you use the keyboard?
crispy514 said:
i don't miss the stylus.. screen is big enough that its easy to type and pinch to zoom is useful... question is do you use the keyboard?
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Actually, I use the keyboard only to select text. There seems to be no easy way to select text on the HD2 soft keyboard. Otherwise I actually generally use the soft keyboard.
Can you cut and paste from one document to another on the HD2, for example?
if you text a lot or use speaker phone tp2 rules, otherwise hd2 is better in every way. typing on hd2 jittery screen is a pain.
i've been using my HD2 for the past 3 weeks, coming from a kaiser (tytn2). and i can't stress enough how much i miss the hardware keyboard!
i have briefly used excel on the kaiser and i had to recently use excel on the HD2...with the kaiser's hardware keyboard that doesn't take up any screen space and hardware D-Pad, even the smaller QVGA kaiser screen was enough to give a pleasant user experience. but with the HD2, its...just...not...the...same!!! screen is big, but onscreen keyboard in portrait is not nearly as easy to use as a hardware keyboard. and the landscape keyboard is much easier to use but leaves little room for much else on the screen, especially in programs like excel.
still, the HD2 is an incredible device and i'd highly recommend it!
ASCIIker said:
i've been using my HD2 for the past 3 weeks, coming from a kaiser (tytn2). and i can't stress enough how much i miss the hardware keyboard!
i have briefly used excel on the kaiser and i had to recently use excel on the HD2...with the kaiser's hardware keyboard that doesn't take up any screen space and hardware D-Pad, even the smaller QVGA kaiser screen was enough to give a pleasant user experience. but with the HD2, its...just...not...the...same!!! screen is big, but onscreen keyboard in portrait is not nearly as easy to use as a hardware keyboard. and the landscape keyboard is much easier to use but leaves little room for much else on the screen, especially in programs like excel.
still, the HD2 is an incredible device and i'd highly recommend it!
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Have you tried the SPB Keyboard?
I went from a TP to the HD2, and I too really miss the hardware keyboard. As has been mentioned, the on screen keyboard takes up a lot of space and leaves almost exactly 2.8" free above it. On the plus side it is so much smoother and faster : ) Watching films or tv shows is a pleasure (indoors). The capacitive screen does take some getting used to, but several months into ownership i really like it.Unless the rumours about an HD2 with a keyboard are true, i'd say go for it....
Ouzo said:
I went from a TP to the HD2, and I too really miss the hardware keyboard. As has been mentioned, the on screen keyboard takes up a lot of space and leaves almost exactly 2.8" free above it. On the plus side it is so much smoother and faster : ) Watching films or tv shows is a pleasure (indoors). The capacitive screen does take some getting used to, but several months into ownership i really like it.Unless the rumours about an HD2 with a keyboard are true, i'd say go for it....
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What about cutting and pasting in, say, a Word document, for example? I can't select text on my TP2 without using the hardware keyboard (Hold "Shift" key and use arrows).
Can you easily select text on the HD2?
stevedebi said:
What about cutting and pasting in, say, a Word document, for example? I can't select text on my TP2 without using the hardware keyboard (Hold "Shift" key and use arrows).
Can you easily select text on the HD2?
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Ì say go for Touch HD. The screen is very responsive, I can easily copy and paste.
However I am experiencing some 3G network problems which might be hardware related, I've read more people with this problem. But there are a lot of users without these problems so probably a poor production batch or something, That is what warranty is for And I could also recommend a custom rom
Beside the solvable networkproblem, in my opinion Touch HD is a great phone.
TP2 to HD2 - Pros & Cons
First - full disclosure, I'm on AT&T so I went from the Tilt 2 to an Australian Telus HD2 - flashed it for the latest Official HTC ROM. I understand you are on T-Mobile, which uses slightly different devices, so your milage may vary
The TP2/Tilt 2 was a great machine for typing lots of involved messages and emails. However, the hardware was still struggling to keep up with things, and it would frequently freeze or crash if I was muti-tasking or typing an email when a call came in. And don't get me started on how wonky it was if there was an Notification that hadn't been delt with. In other words, it was deficient in the same way that all WinMo phones seem to have been- namely the hardware wasn't able to adequately support the processor cycle/memory hungry OS. And the much-lauded graphics were frequently laggy or even frozen too.
To be fair, there was much less of this than any of my previous WinMo devices (I go back to the days of the MPX-200 so that's a lot of them), but fundamentally, after the Carriers steal all the memory for their Crapware, it was still not quite there - often in a disappointing or even dysfunctional way. I use my phone a lot for my business, and it's not funny when you miss several calls in a row due to phone freezes, re-boots and or lags due to Notifications. On the other hand, the Keyboard was fabulous!
The HD2 is a completely different experience. The processor, available memory and memory bus are almost as fast as the OS can handle. Freezes, lags and delays are almost (not quite) non-existant. It will still occasionally slow down if several Notifications remain un-acknowleged, but now this is a rarety, not a daily issue. It multi-tasks almost seamlessly and yes, I find it easy to cut and paste. The graphics capabilities are excellent, you can brows at high speed and not see the annoying Opera checkerboard for hours!
In terms of reliability, going from the TP2 to the HD2 has been kind of like going from W95 to XP. Finally you can actually count on being able to do everything the manufacturer said you could do, with minimal freezing and crashing. After 7 odd years of WinMo it is finally an almost seamlessly pleasant experience.
I'm still missing the keyboard when I type, but overall if I had to choose I'd say the HD2 wins hands down. The annoyingly less efficient keyboard still takes far less time and energy to deal with than the other performance issues of the Tilt 2. Add to that it's a LOT easier to see things on the bigger screen, it runs programs MUCH Faster and MUCH more reliably, and there's no doublt which I prefer. I still have my Tilt 2, but I will probably be porting Android onto it just for fun.
In the meantime, I'm still increasing my typing accuracy and checking out alternative keyboards, so the HD2 is closing in on the Tilt 2's better typing experience.
If typing information is almost all you do, then I'd keep the TP2 assuming you aren't going nuts with the it freezing up or lagging.
If you make good use of your phone for other things - browsing, games, music etc, then I'd say - go for the HD2 - you will wonder where this gem has been!
MadSci
There are several cabs to improve the accuracy on tapping the onscreen keyboard.
No keyboard is not a deal-breaker.
I got used to it very fast and never been a crybaby over 'missing the keyboard'
Unless, using MadSci's term, you'd rather pamper yourself with Win95.
Thanks for all the replies
I think I will go for the HD2, but it turns out it will be some months before I qualify for the lower pricing on T-Mobile.
Thanks to all who gave their opinion. I'm sold on the HD2!
I love my HD2 the only drawback from going to the tp2 to the hd2 is they ease of typing, it took me a while as well but with the help of swype i can type just as fast if not faster. but the processor the response is amazing the camera is much better and i love the addition of a flash. i know you already made up your mind and you are better off going on Craigslist and buying one in case you dont have a data plan because you will not a discount from t-mobile with out adding an unlimited data plan. Good Luck!
Finally Got One
Well, I finally got my TP2. I must say that is is vastly superior to the Rhodium. I don't miss the hardware keyboard all that much.
The only drawbacks so far:
The small battery and large screen make for a somewhat shorter time between recharge.
The device is so large that I generally find myself using two hands to operate it; the TP2, because it was narrower, could be done with a single hand.
Not that I'm complaining...