Is the thickness worth having the hardware keyboard?

[ScrapMaker]

Originally Posted by Cicatrize

All of the above. Did you not read my 10000 word post before that one?

Sorry, getting tired here... so you think that the TP has a better build quality than the 6700 and 6800?

Really, the only aspects of the build quality that bother me are the sloppy keybord (while closed,) the screen not working so well around the edges, and the high percentage of users with bad speakers (including myself.)

[Cicatrize]

Originally Posted by ScrapMaker

Sorry, getting tired here... so you think that the TP has a better build quality than the 6700 and 6800?

Really, the only aspects of the build quality that bother me are the sloppy keybord (while closed,) the screen not working so well around the edges, and the high percentage of users with bad speakers (including myself.)

Better build quality? I don't know, probably not. The 6700 was a complete brick, and the 6800 was kinda solid. I'm not sure why the Pro's is a little loose, but it still feels like it's quality and it's not going to break. The only frustrating part is when you're holding a certain way and press the volume buttons, it pushes the screen.

The screen not working so well around the edges is because it's a flush screen and the sides are pretty solid, and it's not terrible IMO. It's not like I have to press hard or anything, lol.

[gsvnet]

Note that the issue with the screen not working so well around the edges is also a problem with the Diamond.

[FoxRacR17]

Originally Posted by ScrapMaker

Have you ever used a 6700, Mogul, or Tilt? (just asking.)

Agreed, I really have no problem with the thickness... I just wonder if it's worth having the extra moving parts, especially when the slider feels a bit questionable.

The keyboard itself is a dream though... but the delay while typing is a nightmare...

True and True. Sometimes I do worry that the keyboard might break sometime in the future, but then I remember that i have insurance . And I'm sure if it starts to happen to alot of people sprint will start replacing it for free.

And hopefully some of these custom roms that will be coming out will fix the delay while typing, that so far is the only thing i REALLY do no like about this phone. Other then that, it is leaps and bounds better then my samsung a900 that i had before this

[Phreddo]

I find i can use the on screen keyboard on the TP much better than anything on the mogul.
howver, for typing up an extended email. I'll use the hardware keyboard.
also, this is the first SP that can properly display my telnet BBS, and the keyboard is a must for that.
and i like that this thing is shiny and solid and has heft. it's built like a freaking lexus or something.

[SprintTouch08]

Originally Posted by ScrapMaker

Build quality is a big concern to me as well... the phone feels like it could EASILY break, whereas my friends 6700 feels like a tank, and it only slightly larger.

I have heard that the keyboard mechanism on the Tilt has a sturdier design... and that TILTS!

I am really worried about the slider design... it has a sort of scraping sound when I open it... not nearly as fluid as I had hoped it would be.

I just hope when I get this replaced at BB, that a few of these things work themselves out. I cannot figure out why the keyboard has so much damn slack in it when the unit is closed... it feels like they aren't even connected... I can rotate the kb almost 5 degrees in both directions. So much that when I try to push the volume buttons (which are stupidly on the top section, the phone just moves, and the buttons don't get pressed.

Oh, and another thing. Why the FRICK does every HTC phone have to have a poorly designed battery cover that squeaks? That's my biggest problem will these phones... every time I press a button, or touch the phone, the damn battery cover squeaks... it moves like 1-2mm it seems... I try padding it with paper towels, but it doesn't completely solve the issue. Also, on my TP, there are places on the side of the battery cover that "poke out." like the cover doesn't play nice with the track it slides on, and I can feel where the cover is bending and sticking out... which is undoubtedly causing the squeak/movement...

Just venting...

mine has the same slack in it too, i just think how they keyboard was designed. That doesnt bug me nearly as much as when you tap the screen it "clacks" the 2 halves of the phone together. Try it, just give a swift lil tap on th eleft side of the screen and youll hear it clack (wont happen on the right where the hindge is), its a very annoying sound and poor build qauilty IMO. I know slide out keyboards are usually the weakest part, but i had a mogul and 6700 in the past and they felt more solidly built than this one is.

i noticed (accidently) if you press the chrome a little around the dpad, the dpad starts to pop up. not good, again shoddy build.

And like you said when its closed theres a ton of play, i get there has to be a little but liek you said its a good few degrees the screen will twist. Again poor build quality, and i don teven have a bad speaker like some!!

Overall i think its going back. Id rather go back to SERO out of contract on a free Diamond that i still have, then pay $260 and resigning for 2 years to have this thing which is not very well built IMO and not worth $600. Its unfortunate because HTCs other product on Sprint, the Diamond, feels rock solid all over. I dont type too many long emails that couldnt wait until i get to a computer or my laptop i was just hoping to try out having a real keyboard again, everything short i can manage tapping pocketcm keyboard pretty well. The other things people say they love, well honestly theyre just toys/eye candy like the flash and business card reader. honestly how often will you use that is the question. the little light is pretty useless as a camera flash if its dark youre not getting a good **** anyways. If you need a flashlight get a $1-2 keychain one. The business card reader is jsut software and someone will rip the files off. The microsd is nice, but 4gb is enough for average users. I have igo8 (just for my state), 2 full movies, and prob jus over 100 songs plus my cache for programs on it and not even touching 1.5 gb yet.

It really depends on your needs, but IMO if youre like me save your $ because the Diamond is just built better and "more worth the $" but that jsut my opinion. I dont think a phone falling apart after having it 4 or 5 days is worth even $260+2 years, even if it was a great deal at BB.

[Palladium]

I know most will disagree, but for those of us with big hands, the Diamond is just too small. Every time I held the thing It felt like I was going to drop it. The Thickness of the pro is great for me.

Coming from a Dell Axim (which I had an attachable keyboard for) I find myself using the keyboards just as I did there, the soft keyboard for quick entries and the hard keyboard for longer emails texts and document entries.

So Yes the thickness is well worth having the flexibility of a HW keyboard!

[ScrapMaker]

Originally Posted by Cicatrize

Better build quality? I don't know, probably not. The 6700 was a complete brick, and the 6800 was kinda solid. I'm not sure why the Pro's is a little loose, but it still feels like it's quality and it's not going to break. The only frustrating part is when you're holding a certain way and press the volume buttons, it pushes the screen.

The screen not working so well around the edges is because it's a flush screen and the sides are pretty solid, and it's not terrible IMO. It's not like I have to press hard or anything, lol.

The Touch screen is more flush than the Pro, and it worked fine.

I think it's because the screen does not 'fit' perfectly in this casing. It's just a tiny bit too large and it's being squeezed or otherwise compromised. This is causing the touch screen to act up.

Either that, or its because the screen is recessed SO FAR that they added the touchscreen and plastic spacer to make it work flush like this, and somehow that spacer/touchscreen is not properly integrated. Either way, The outer areas of the screen are about 5-10 times less sensitive than the inner areas.

With that said, if the Diamond has the same issues, I can't see myself jumping ship--because then I'd be REALLY frustrated.

Overall, I'm pretty disappointed with both the Diamond AND the Pro... in terms of build quality, QA, glitches, bugs, etc.

WM6/6.1 has been out for ages, so you'd think they would have worked mostly everything out. TF3D has been out for a good while too... There's nothing so REVOLUTIONARY about this phone that gives it the right to be problematic.

I still like it, and I think I'll stick with it, but man, the keyboard lag/screen/speaker issues are just, wow...

[cornelious2]

honestly my hand cramps using the diamond because it is so small so the added size will be actually a bonus for me.

[Fittske]

I will start this off by saying this.....

"You don't know what you've missed until you have it back again"

I really didn't know how much I missed having a software keyboard until I got the touch pro. Before getting the pro, I had the diamond for 30 days but before that I had the first gen Touch. Before moving to the touch, I had the Treo 700wx. When the touch came out I was a little skeptical about moving to a "non keyboard" phone. I had had my 700wx since the day it came out and I was badly in need of an upgrade.....so I jumped ship for the touch. After a short time I started to like the touch screen keyboard and got pretty good at using the "compact QWERTY" keyboard with T9. It was great for short texts and quick email replies. It became cumbersome when I needed to type long emails. I would find that most times i would need to re-read emails to make sure there wasn’t anything funny in the text due to a mistype or word replace. But as most of us "Phone *****s" do.... I wrote the minor inconvenience off in favor of the bigger screen, smaller size etc. etc.

Now fast forward to the pro.....
This phone can do everything my Treo, touch, and diamond can do all put together! I can send quick one handed text replies in a sec with the "compact QWERTY" keyboard with T9. i can bang out a lengthy email with ease with the keyboard. The VGA screen is just plain sick! Having an SD slot is a huge plus over the diamond, not to mention the extra internal memory that the pro has over the diamond (including all the sprint Bloat ware). Once the custom built ROMs start rolling out for the pro, I don’t think the diamond will be able to match up. One other thing that pushed me away from the diamond (not to sound like a broken record here….) was the battery life and heat issue.

The diamond is a great phone.....but for me and what I do, the Pro is the better choice.