June 15, 2015 at 05:27Last of the Mohicans: QWERTY-smartphones with Android 2012 - 2015
Despite the fact that touch keyboards on smartphones have long become the standard, there remain a number of QWERTY models that can still be operated in our time. They are not easy to find on sale, their filling is hopelessly behind modern flagships, but there is still some choice.
Most of my friends have long forgotten about the existence of some kind of physical buttons and are quite happy with the sensor. Personally, I like the physical set more cornythan driving a finger across the screen. Another argument: the need to occasionally write program code from the phone or work in the console. Therefore, especially for those who did not like touch input, I prepared a selection of models of Android smartphones with QWERTY-keyboards that can still be used in our time - some with difficulty, some with comfort.
Pros :
- Design and quality
- Decent "hardware"
Cons :
- Out of production, not sold in Russia
Motorola Droid 4 appeared in 2012, but its filling allows you to use it with relative comfort in our time: SoC TI OMAP 4430 is used ( 1.2 GHz), 1 GB RAM. The screen with a resolution of 540x960 (4 ") has mediocre color reproduction, but at the same time it has normal viewing angles.
For those who are too few, Motorola created a similar but more powerful Photon Q model - it uses Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 ( 1.5 GHz), a larger screen (4.3 ") and more colorful is installed. There is also a big drawback: for Photon, you have to independently find and solder the SIM slot.
Pros :
- Works like a walkie
- talkie - Complies with IP67 standard
- Bright flashlight, laser pointer
- Battery capacity: 3800 mA / h
Cons :
- Can not be found on sale
- Iron is weak at present (800 MHz / 512 MB RAM)
Large, multi-functional, protected apparatus for outdoor activities. There are quite good reviews about him on the network, but it is almost impossible to find a phone on sale. Which is not surprising - two years have passed since its inception.
Pros :
- Officially sold in Russia under the DEXP brand (introduced in 2015)
Cons :
- Everything else
Perhaps the most affordable QWERTY smartphone for Russians - you can purchase it in any DNS for less than 3,000 rubles. If necessary? Judge for yourself:
- A nightmarish 3.5 "TFT-screen with a resolution of 320x480. The colors are immediately inverted, you should at least tilt it down a bit. There is no question about the quality of the picture. There is an immensely set contrast and a critical loss of halftones.
- Mediocre iron: a dual-core processor with a frequency of 1.2 GHz and 512 MB of RAM. If the processor copes with the assigned tasks it is still quite bearable (at least the interface works smoothly and without "friezes"), then due to the small amount of RAM you can forget about multitasking - many applications are unloaded from memory as soon as they are minimized.
Perhaps you can’t even talk about such things as a camera, speaker quality and battery capacity: it’s already clear that we have before us a usual, crookedly localized noname-brand device. It should also be noted that all such phones released before April 2015 had a virus sewn by the manufacturer (!). The possibilities are also disappointing: there is no proximity sensor and LED indicator. Actually, even with the backlight of the keyboard it will not be possible to signal events: it works exclusively in tandem with the backlight of the screen.
Less common is a similar device called the BQ Berkeley. It is not worth describing it separately, since both externally, in terms of characteristics, and in assembly, it is completely similar to the Ipro Q10. Using these phones in everyday life is difficult.
Pros :
- The hardware of the devices is comparable to the aforementioned Droid 4, i.e. not yet fatally outdated
Cons :
- The design is clearly inferior to Motorola products
- Not sold in Russia, it is difficult to find a decent copy on eBay
Interestingly, the Optimus F3Q was announced only a year and a half ago, at the beginning of 2014. In fact, this is the last serial QWERTY slider in the world. The phone is still sold by Western mobile operators along with contracts. Alas, despite its relative novelty, the hardware is still at the same level as the Galaxy S Relay (2012) - a dual-core processor with a frequency of 1.2 GHz and 1 GB of RAM.
Pros :
- Large, comfortable, removable keyboard.
Cons :
- Semi-handicraft manufacturing
- Difficult to purchase
- High price
Finally, we will talk about the TOHKBD keyboard (The Other Half Keyboard), created by enthusiasts for the Jolla smartphone. It’s worth mentioning right away that Jolla has Sailfish OS on board, but there is a compatibility layer with Android applications. Judging by various reviews, Jolla "pulls" from 80% to 95% of Android applications.
TOHKBD is one of the incarnations of The Other Half. The keypad is attached to the phone instead of the back cover.
Unfortunately, TOHKBD was produced in a small series - the manufactured samples were sent to customers on Kickstarter, and the second batch, according to one of the authors of the project, is not planned. In the minuses you can write down the price: 130 euros for the keyboard, 320 euros for the phone itself.
Most of my friends have long forgotten about the existence of some kind of physical buttons and are quite happy with the sensor. Personally, I like the physical set more cornythan driving a finger across the screen. Another argument: the need to occasionally write program code from the phone or work in the console. Therefore, especially for those who did not like touch input, I prepared a selection of models of Android smartphones with QWERTY-keyboards that can still be used in our time - some with difficulty, some with comfort.
Motorola Droid 4
Pros :
- Design and quality
- Decent "hardware"
Cons :
- Out of production, not sold in Russia
Motorola Droid 4 appeared in 2012, but its filling allows you to use it with relative comfort in our time: SoC TI OMAP 4430 is used ( 1.2 GHz), 1 GB RAM. The screen with a resolution of 540x960 (4 ") has mediocre color reproduction, but at the same time it has normal viewing angles.
For those who are too few, Motorola created a similar but more powerful Photon Q model - it uses Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 ( 1.5 GHz), a larger screen (4.3 ") and more colorful is installed. There is also a big drawback: for Photon, you have to independently find and solder the SIM slot.
Runbo x3
Pros :
- Works like a walkie
- talkie - Complies with IP67 standard
- Bright flashlight, laser pointer
- Battery capacity: 3800 mA / h
Cons :
- Can not be found on sale
- Iron is weak at present (800 MHz / 512 MB RAM)
Large, multi-functional, protected apparatus for outdoor activities. There are quite good reviews about him on the network, but it is almost impossible to find a phone on sale. Which is not surprising - two years have passed since its inception.
Ipro Q10
Pros :
- Officially sold in Russia under the DEXP brand (introduced in 2015)
Cons :
- Everything else
Perhaps the most affordable QWERTY smartphone for Russians - you can purchase it in any DNS for less than 3,000 rubles. If necessary? Judge for yourself:
- A nightmarish 3.5 "TFT-screen with a resolution of 320x480. The colors are immediately inverted, you should at least tilt it down a bit. There is no question about the quality of the picture. There is an immensely set contrast and a critical loss of halftones.
- Mediocre iron: a dual-core processor with a frequency of 1.2 GHz and 512 MB of RAM. If the processor copes with the assigned tasks it is still quite bearable (at least the interface works smoothly and without "friezes"), then due to the small amount of RAM you can forget about multitasking - many applications are unloaded from memory as soon as they are minimized.
Perhaps you can’t even talk about such things as a camera, speaker quality and battery capacity: it’s already clear that we have before us a usual, crookedly localized noname-brand device. It should also be noted that all such phones released before April 2015 had a virus sewn by the manufacturer (!). The possibilities are also disappointing: there is no proximity sensor and LED indicator. Actually, even with the backlight of the keyboard it will not be possible to signal events: it works exclusively in tandem with the backlight of the screen.
Less common is a similar device called the BQ Berkeley. It is not worth describing it separately, since both externally, in terms of characteristics, and in assembly, it is completely similar to the Ipro Q10. Using these phones in everyday life is difficult.
LG Optimus F3Q and Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G
Pros :
- The hardware of the devices is comparable to the aforementioned Droid 4, i.e. not yet fatally outdated
Cons :
- The design is clearly inferior to Motorola products
- Not sold in Russia, it is difficult to find a decent copy on eBay
Interestingly, the Optimus F3Q was announced only a year and a half ago, at the beginning of 2014. In fact, this is the last serial QWERTY slider in the world. The phone is still sold by Western mobile operators along with contracts. Alas, despite its relative novelty, the hardware is still at the same level as the Galaxy S Relay (2012) - a dual-core processor with a frequency of 1.2 GHz and 1 GB of RAM.
Jolla tohkbd
Pros :
- Large, comfortable, removable keyboard.
Cons :
- Semi-handicraft manufacturing
- Difficult to purchase
- High price
Finally, we will talk about the TOHKBD keyboard (The Other Half Keyboard), created by enthusiasts for the Jolla smartphone. It’s worth mentioning right away that Jolla has Sailfish OS on board, but there is a compatibility layer with Android applications. Judging by various reviews, Jolla "pulls" from 80% to 95% of Android applications.
TOHKBD is one of the incarnations of The Other Half. The keypad is attached to the phone instead of the back cover.
Unfortunately, TOHKBD was produced in a small series - the manufactured samples were sent to customers on Kickstarter, and the second batch, according to one of the authors of the project, is not planned. In the minuses you can write down the price: 130 euros for the keyboard, 320 euros for the phone itself.