Quote:
Originally Posted by SaltyDawg
#1: You saying the keyboard sucks on the Droid only furthers my point. HTC knows darn well they can put out a better keyboard than the one on the Droid. So the fact that such a crappy keyboard was actually being marketed (and beating them handily in sales) had to make them take notice.
#2: Find me some posts with people complaining about the keyboard on their TP2. You won't, because everyone loves that keyboard and it has no major issues. We're not talking about devices from several years ago here, we're talking about the latest and greatest. And the TP2 keyboard was not defective, and there has never been a better keyboard on a device. Nobody is getting exchanges on their TP2 due to keyboard issues.
#3: Like I said from the beginning- if Verizon thought the Eris was a better device than the Droid, they would have marketed it as such. You keep acting like HTC went to Verizon and asked them not to sell it or something. Verizon picked the one they wanted to market, and one look at the numbers shows they made the right choice.
#4: Of course I want the newest OS. But that doesn't mean I was considering the Samsung Intrepid when I bought my TP2. I knew the TP2 was better, and I knew it would have an upgrade to WM 6.5 eventually (and cooked 6.5 ROMs even sooner). So the fact that the Intrepid had WM 6.5 and the TP2 only had WM 6.1 made no difference to me.
#5: So Motorola's handset division had some issues. I still don't see how that helps your point. Basically Motorola went for a home run and chose to put a keyboard on their last hope- and it worked. If it had failed, then maybe you could say "nobody wants a keyboard so it was a dumb decision" or something like that. But it worked, so clearly it was a good decision on their part.
#6: You keep saying how the error correction is great, and you can type fast, and all that. You keep missing the fact that your screen is only 3-4 inches, and you are surrending over half of that to the virtual keyboard everytime you use it. I like to see more than only 3 or so lines of text when I type a huge document (or a post like this one). If all I cared about was speed, I could probably get by with a virtual keyboard. I honestly don't think I could ever be as fast on a virtual keyboard, but I could learn to live with it. But I absolutely have to be able to type without looking at times, and I need the full screen to display what I am typing. If I am only typing a 2 sentence text message, fine, I can get by with the 3 or so line viewing area. But if I am typing up a huge document (or a long post like this one) then I need the full screen.
#7: There is absolutely no denying the keyboard played a role in the Droid's success. Verizon came right out marketing the fact that it had a keyboard, and I personally know people that chose it over the Nexus One (and changed carriers in the process) because it had a keyboard. You keep mentioning that the Eris wasn't marketed the same as the Droid, and I am saying the keyboard is a big reason why. If the Eris had a keyboard, maybe Verizon would have chose it as the flagship device. Maybe they still would have picked the Droid, but at least one of the main things they marketed about the Droid would have also been valid on the Eris.
Plenty of people want keyboards on their smartphones. This is not even debatable. There are plenty of people that want keyboards on their iPhones, and plenty of people using Blackberry devices with keyboards too. We don't have to only look at the Droid for evidence that people want a keyboard. I only mentioned the Droid because it killed HTC in a head to head sales battle on the same carrier. HTC seems to try to emulate successful devices, so hopefully we will see some keyboard devices from them. we all know HTC can put out way better keyboards than the Droid's, so lets all hope HTC shows us (and everyone else) what we already know they can do.
I personally want my smartphone to be able to replace my laptop And there is no way that is possible without a keyboard. I know there are kids out there who just want a smartphone for text messaging. But I actually use mine like a laptop. There is just no way I could take notes during a meeting/class/seminar/etc on a virtual keyboard with only a 3 text line viewing area.
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I'm not arguing keyboards have no purpose. But to say a phone without a keyboard is not a good choice, or that it won't sell is an incorrect statement. You mention you must see the entire screen when you are typing a long document. And you make a big deal out of the keyboard hiding the screen, allowing you to only see a few lines of text. There is an arrow, to minimize the keyboard, and show the screen in its entirety. When you are proof reading your document, you will need to click where you want to edit on both a touch screen only, or a touch screen with a keyboard, anyway. When touching the keyboard-less device, the keyboard will automatically pop up, and allow you to work. You would be performing the same operation with a full qwerty slide out. The only thing a software keyboard can't do that a hardware can is type without looking. If you gotta have that, no one can argue that point. But that's the only thing....
I almost bought a TP2, until I saw the price tag sprint wanted for that baby. I am all over the TP2 forum in the early, pre-release days, talking to the telus folks. So, you won't find me bad mouth the TP2 keyboard. But find people who have used a software keyboard on a capacitive screen for an extended time bad mouth their keyboards. About the only person who couldn't use an on screen keyboard would be some guy with Muhammad Ali thumbs. I know that dude had some big hands. And besides WM phones needed hardware keyboards, as you can't type for crap on a software only keyboard on a resistive screen. My fiancé's instinct is proof of that. The text messages I get from that phone are crazy. Also, don't sell yourself short, in that you couldn't learn how to use a touch screen keyboard. Auto correction is king.
I don't keep acting like HTC didn't want their phones to sell. I have been clear in that if the eris was given a better ad campaign, showing what the phone could do in a way that people could relate to, it would sell better than it does now. Period. End of story. I think I've said it numerous times in this thread. Please tell me how I haven't said that in almost every post I made in this thread.
My point with the Motorola financial woes was to your point about them being the big cheese in the wireless industry, using the Razr as your example. 3 years ago, yes. Then the industry changed, and Motorola didn't, and they lost 66% of their market share. They were in do or die mode. HTC has been slowly climbing up to the top in the wireless world, with Android paving the way for them. Which is why Apple has become sue-happy lately, with HTC being their target.
Also, you never answered how the Eris is slightly different than the Hero, despite people liking to call it a "re-badged hero".