If you've lived on a Candybar phone for so long, you'd probably get a sense of freedom the day you use a QWERTY phone. A QWERTY phone, for the heavy texters and social networking enthusiasts, may feel like typing/texting utopia. The form factor is just ideal for hours upon hours of texting and typing.
On the other hand, touch screen phones are for surfing convenience. For the most part, Android devices have been using the touch screen form factor, and it's been working because consumers find the look of touch screen phones sexy, plus, it makes surfing a whole lot easier, not to mention more fun to do, especially with the touch gestures that are standard with iPhones and Androids nowadays.
But we have to face the fact that nothing beats a physical keyboard when it comes to typing and texting. And nothing beats the QWERTY if you want your typing on steroids. Given that, why would you even want to use a touch screen Android?
1. Because you want to read your emails with a bigger screen. Touch screen phones just have greater screen real estate. And let's face it, it's just better to read email on a bigger screen.
2. Because you want to read the blogs you follow on a decent, big-enough screen area. Just like email, reading comfortability is key in choosing a phone's display size.
3. Because you want to surf the web faster and easier. As mentioned, Androids, just like iPhones, come with multi-touch gestures. So you can surf your favorite websites with a few touches on the phone screen. You could also get familiar with touch gestures as shortcuts. It sure beats dragging a mouse pointer using a trackpad or a trackball.
On the other hand, you can actually compromise by getting a slider QWERTY Android Phone. The HTC Mergelooks like a great candidate, though the HTC Desire Zmay be more affordable because it was released a few months back. The Blackberry-type QWERTY Androids also come with touch screens. The screen sizes are just smaller, however.
As we keep saying, it's all about what you need and what you want in functionality. What is more important to you? Comfort in surfing or ease in texting? Thanks to the innovations in the Android universe, the choices are diverse.
With the collection of Android gadgets growing by the second, a gadget-crazy consumer may well get confused with the offerings of the market. From brand alone, the hapless consumer may already get a migraine from the choices to make. Add to that the form factor, the model, the Android version, and as the choices grow, more sources of confusion arise.
How about we start simple? Let's narrow down the choices to just basic Touchscreen or QWERTY?
Advantages of a Touchscreen Android:
1. Easier to play with. Most high-end Androids, especially from the HTC line, are equipped with Gorilla Glass, which is highly resistant to abuse. So if you're the type who likes decimating pigs in Angry Birds while you wait for your dentist's appointment, the Touchscreen Android is for you.
2. Easier to read with. A Touchscreen Android has larger screen real estate, so you can read emails, documents, and even e-books with better ease. Compare that with a QWERTY Android that may have a touchscreen but the screen real estate has to give way to the QWERTY keypad, reading would definitely be much better on a fully touchscreen model.
3. Easier to surf the Internet with. The Android's main purpose was to be a platform for a mini-computer that happened to be a phone. And if surfing is top priority with you, then you're letting the gadget serve its purpose.
Advantages of a QWERTY Android:
1. Easier to type with. If you're an email fiend or you just need to manically post status updates thrice an hour, then a QWERTY Android would be perfect for marathon Tweeting, Facebooking and even chatting. On a touchscreen Droid, you'll be all thumbs; on a QWERTY Droid, you'd still be all thumbs, but for better reasons.
2. No more iPhone Fail-esque typing fails. The big problem of touchscreen is that it's really not as good as a physical keyboard. Even the best of the lot, the iPhone (which isn't a Droid, but reportedly has the most-developed and best rendering of the Capacitative Touchscreen so far), still cannot perfect the precision of a physical keyboard. Thus a QWERTY Droid would offer the best of both worlds: a touchscreen display and a QWERTY keyboard beneath it (at least for the Acer beTouch E130, Acer beTouch E210 and HTC Chacha models).
3. Convenient texting, Facebooking, even chatting while walking, in a moving vehicle, or even surreptitiously during classes and meetings. Just don't get caught or have the phone snatched from under your nose.
The choices are going to be simple if you start with only these two options first. What functionalities do you need? What could you live without? The features are laid out for you to decide.
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