Is the thickness worth having the hardware keyboard? - Page 4

landale · #31 (**permalink**) 10-30-2008, 10:01 AM

I had a Mogul for 5 Month and then switched to the Touch which I had for almost a year now. Despite not having too many problems with the touch screen keyboard on the Touch I decided to get the Touch Pro instead of the Diamond figuring it wasn't too much bigger and I had the added bonus of the hardware keyboard.

After almost a week of ownership I have realized I almost never use the hardware keyboard both out of a combination of habit and the fact I am just as fast on the touch screen keyboard. I also realized I miss the smaller size of Touch that the Diamond would give me. Everyone talks about there being not much difference between the Pro and Diamond in size but i beg to differ. The Diamond is 14mm thick compared to 18mm on the Pro. That makes the diamond almost 25% thinner. It also weighs 4.1oz vs 5.3oz making it again almost 25% lighter. It may not sound like a lot but if you have average or smaller then average sized hands it can be substantial. I will be exchnaging my Pro for a Diamond this weekend. Again nothing wrong with the Pro, I just didn't find the hardware keyboard useful enough for me to justify the added size.

**ScrapMaker** · #32 (**permalink**) 10-30-2008, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by landale

I had a Mogul for 5 Month and then switched to the Touch which I had for almost a year now. Despite not having too many problems with the touch screen keyboard on the Touch I decided to get the Touch Pro instead of the Diamond figuring it wasn't too much bigger and I had the added bonus of the hardware keyboard.

After almost a week of ownership I have realized I almost never use the hardware keyboard both out of a combination of habit and the fact I am just as fast on the touch screen keyboard. I also realized I miss the smaller size of Touch that the Diamond would give me. Everyone talks about there being not much difference between the Pro and Diamond in size but i beg to differ. The Diamond is 14mm thick compared to 18mm on the Pro. That makes the diamond almost 25% thinner. It also weighs 4.1oz vs 5.3oz making it again almost 25% lighter. It may not sound like a lot but if you have average or smaller then average sized hands it can be substantial. I will be exchnaging my Pro for a Diamond this weekend. Again nothing wrong with the Pro, I just didn't find the hardware keyboard useful enough for me to justify the added size.

I find the hardware keyboard can be useful at times, but for some reason, out of habit and out of perfecting PCMkeyboard use, I am actually SLOWER at the hardware keyboard... and that's not including all the time I have to waste by rotating/etc.

If the Diamond had perfect screen sensitivity (even, all over the screen,) and perfect speakers, I think I would jump ship--but it seems like they both have similar problems, just the Pro has a keyboard slapped on the bottom...

**clockcycle** · #33 (**permalink**) 10-30-2008, 11:14 AM

Personally I like that it's bulkier in my pants... So do all the ladies

Nah JK, don't have mine yet Nov 2nd.. We'll see. Would like to find that HTC GSM CAST (case) and see how much bulkier it'd be carrying in my pocket..

IMHO I think the resolution of the screen has something to do with how the touching works. The touch's keyboard was more responsive and I could type out quicker on it than on my Diamond, it would almost always choose the letter next to the one I tapped, so I would have to slow down and really watch which one it picked as I typed.

After switching back to the mogul, I realized I really had slowed down texting or replying on the Touch. but once back on the Mogul I started replying via text much more.. It's something I think we start to get used to and rather than replay the way we'd have wanted to, we shorten the message just because it's more annoying..

On the Diamond it got even more annoying, after the first week, the "extras" just really didn't matter over the Touch.. Take into consideration there was no Kitchen support for it yet, and the one available just made my phone unstable and I would revert and leave it default, which was quite nice anyways.

What bothered me about the Diamond too was the Dpad 4 button areas lifting up and also not responding.. SIGH

-CC

MaryGladys · #34 (**permalink**) 10-30-2008, 11:30 AM

I dig the Touch Pro. Having a keyboard is a requirement for me. When I went to Sprint and ATT to test drive all their SPs, I realized teh Diamond, Touch, iPhone, and all those other cool touch screen only devices would NOT work. Took me FOREVER to type a message on the screen....I have two left hands :-p. The keyboard is a requirement.

I don't suffer from the slack on the keyboard, though.....

I like the size and for all the goodies with the device, I am happy with it. I jusr wish I could customize some stuff with it but will wait until stable cabs have been released....

If only I could have waited til the HTC Touch HD was coming out.....

Off topic, anyone received their cradles yet? Dying to know if they fit! And has anyone ordered the extended battery/back cover? Wondering if those fit as well! Sheesh, the battery life SUCKS! That's my only complaint about the the TP.

**ScrapMaker** · #35 (**permalink**) 10-30-2008, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaryGladys

If only I could have waited til the HTC Touch HD was coming out.....

Isn't that a bit contradictory? The Touch HD has no hardware keyboard. Hell, it doesn't even have a D-PAD!

I think that would be a deal killer for me. I used the D-pad on my Touch to no end. I am actually having issues because the Pro's d-pad is harder to use.

**Young_breedent** · #36 (**permalink**) 10-30-2008, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScrapMaker

(I can't imagine the Diamond being any hotter, because this is INSANE.) My Vogue never got half as hot as my pro... Maybe my Pro is defective...

Well believe it because my Diamond got waayyy hotter than my pro does people aren't just making this up. I read somewhere that htc forgot to put a heat plate behind the screen in the diamond and are discussing this with sprint as we speak. (Don't know if this is completly true so take with a grain of salt but it does make sense) But to answer the question in your first post i think the extra thickness is more than worth it. The lag you see when typing (which i dont have unless im turbo typing

) will be fixed when we finally get some custom roms. We already see how much custom roms have improved the diamond as far as speed and functionality goes. Give the Touch Pro a chance and you will not be disappointed.

cjbreisch · #37 (**permalink**) 10-30-2008, 11:52 AM

I like the hardware keyboard, but even if I could convince myself I didn't need it, the lack of the microSD slot is a deal breaker for me and the Diamond. I have a 6GB card in my Apache right now, that's over half full. I don't want to get a Diamond and be using pretty much all of my available storage on day 1.

MaryGladys · #38 (**permalink**) 10-30-2008, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScrapMaker

Isn't that a bit contradictory? The Touch HD has no hardware keyboard. Hell, it doesn't even have a D-PAD!

I think that would be a deal killer for me. I used the D-pad on my Touch to no end. I am actually having issues because the Pro's d-pad is harder to use.

DOH! I meant the HTC Touch Pro HD!

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2008/09/15/htcs-touch-hd-unveiled-in-very-much-official-glory/

cmanbrazil · #39 (**permalink**) 10-30-2008, 12:28 PM

this is the perfect thread for me, because I have less than ten days to either trade for the pro or keep my diamond. Right know I am leading towards keeping the diamond. I never thought about phone size, even with my treo 700wx, but I really enjoy the smaller diamond.
This is my first on screen keyboard, and the learning curve is not that bad. I can even type using both thumbs with little error.

I know I could live with the extra size, but should I have to just to get a few extra lines of an email that I would rather write on my laptop anyway. For texting it is excellent.

I hated how my treo would chip, and like how the changed for the 800. I think there is nothing worse than getting a slick new phone, only to see it chip after a few months, and as some report, even sooner.

I think the decision should come down to how you use the phone. If I couldn't use the onscreen keyboard I would switch. I would also switch if I was going to put alot of media on it. Outside of that, I don't see the benefit in the upgrade.

Fittske · #40 (**permalink**) 10-30-2008, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Young_breedent

The lag you see when typing (which i dont have unless im turbo typing

) will be fixed when we finally get some custom roms.

You can fix this now by turning off word suggestion and auto correction.