PPCGeeks

PPCGeeks (http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/index.php)
-   Sprint Epic 4G (http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=249)
-   -   LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic (http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=150141)

rprochnow 05-24-2012 08:31 AM

LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
I'm eligible to get an upgrade from my Epic 4G in July 1. Sprint should be rolling out LTE in my area before then - and I'd like to get an LTE phone.

Today, Galaxy Nexus is available - with the EVO 4G LTE available shortly. And it's not clear when the Galaxy S3 will be available on Sprint.

But none of these phones have a keyboard.

Not sure if I should get the Nexus or EVO, wait for the S3, or keep on waiting to see if there will be a Sprint LTE phone with a keyboard...

Suggestions???

EyeB 05-24-2012 08:52 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
with how thin the phones are now, I really haven't had much problems just buying a phone case with a keyboard on it

these are for iphone, but you can find one for other sizes with enough looking
Amazon.com: Buletooth Wireless Rubberized Hard Shell Slider QWERTY Keyboard Case for iPhone 4: Cell Phones & Accessories

Amazon.com: Dobi Design Apple iPhone 4 Bluetooth Keyboard Case with Stand: Computers & Accessories

edit: forgot to mention but should be obvious... phones that are curved on the back have a hard time with these cases...

gTen 05-24-2012 11:39 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Samsung promised it will hit the US early summer, but as for KB phones for sprint..no news yet :(

WorldWide 05-24-2012 01:40 PM

Well, the Epic goes EOL in July so maybe there's hope that a successor is gonna be announced soon.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

gTen 05-24-2012 01:49 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Speak of the devil!! lol..an LG keyboard phone

LG's LS860 Cayenne gets a visit from the unsteady hand of Mr. Blurrycam -- Engadget

And it looks like a nice 5 row keyboard too! would have preferred a quad core but 1.2ghz dual core is better then 1ghz single core :/

orangekid 05-24-2012 04:33 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by gTen (Post 2179560)
Speak of the devil!! lol..an LG keyboard phone

LG's LS860 Cayenne gets a visit from the unsteady hand of Mr. Blurrycam -- Engadget

And it looks like a nice 5 row keyboard too! would have preferred a quad core but 1.2ghz dual core is better then 1ghz single core :/

The Sprint SGS3 is a dual-core phone...

gTen 05-24-2012 05:23 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by orangekid (Post 2179578)
The Sprint SGS3 is a dual-core phone...

The SGS3 at the very least will have a MSM8960 S4 Snapdragon Krait. This Lg phone has the same processor as the SGS2/evo 3d

orangekid 05-24-2012 05:44 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by gTen (Post 2179583)
The SGS3 at the very least will have a MSM8960 S4 Snapdragon Krait. This Lg phone has the same processor as the SGS2/evo 3d

It's definitely getting a krait, lol.

I was just saying it was dual-core like the LG because you were implying Sprint might get a quad-core phone which I don't see happening any time soon, I know the krait outperforms the 1st gen dual-core snapdragon.

I'm just glad I'm on GSM and will probably get an international SGS3 for the exynos.

I didn't know people still used keyboard phones :)

gTen 05-24-2012 05:53 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by orangekid (Post 2179585)
I didn't know people still used keyboard phones :)

Yup, its the cool new trend ;), just like the resurrection of the stylus.

WorldWide 05-24-2012 11:57 PM

No LG for me. Next!

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

orangekid 05-25-2012 09:21 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by gTen (Post 2179588)
Yup, its the cool new trend ;), just like the resurrection of the stylus.

Yeah but at least my S-Pen doesn't make my phone twice as thick, lol.

masetas 05-28-2012 03:03 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by gTen (Post 2179588)
Yup, its the cool new trend ;), just like the resurrection of the stylus.

they should make a new top of the line phone with a hard key there is alot of us out there that want it. They should atleast give us the option to special order one like say a version of the SG3 but with keyboard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by orangekid (Post 2179664)
Yeah but at least my S-Pen doesn't make my phone twice as thick, lol.

there should be a design now that shouldnt make it like that... also do you actually use the S-pen alot ??

gTen 05-28-2012 03:48 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by orangekid (Post 2179664)
Yeah but at least my S-Pen doesn't make my phone twice as thick, lol.

sure it does? did you see what they did with the new Note 10.1? They moved the s-pen outside to make it thinner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by masetas (Post 2179894)
they should make a new top of the line phone with a hard key there is alot of us out there that want it. They should atleast give us the option to special order one like say a version of the SG3 but with keyboard.

I think what would be real nice is if they had upgrade kits for phones. Kind of like installing a new back cover on the phone which has a keyboard attached.

masetas 05-28-2012 04:30 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
wouldnt that require the keyboard to connect via bluetooth which would drain the battery??

everyone says just use swype but one that shit is not accurate completely and when using on screen keyboard it takes away screen real estate.

gTen 05-28-2012 05:49 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by masetas (Post 2179897)
wouldnt that require the keyboard to connect via bluetooth which would drain the battery??

Not really, they can install a data connector into the back of the phone (just like Epic 4g has connectors for external antenna on back of the phone) and power it can get directly from the battery. And if REALLY needed it can have its own battery.

But then again bluetooth route might work too. Now that we have bluetooth 4.0 which has low power mode that consumes half the power and much lower latency. Other low power technologies you can use is NFC. Since new phones are charged by wireless like the SGS3 you can charge both phone battery and kb battery at same time

Maybe best of all is ZigBee which effectively you won't need a battery:

ZigBee Low Power System-on-Chip 802.15.4 Wireless Mesh Networks | Dust Networks

It gets enough power just from you pressing the button using harvesting methods. The only issue is you won't have backlighting on the keyboard but if they use a paint that glows in the dark for the letters that would be enough for most people.




Quote:

everyone says just use swype but one that shit is not accurate completely and when using on screen keyboard it takes away screen real estate.
Even if swype was perfect, there are scenarios where it is impracticable. Like yeah, when you need the full screen!

revaaron 05-29-2012 09:34 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
so much *sigh* in this.

JohnnyOnTheSpot 06-04-2012 12:14 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Do they make any of those cases for the larger Sprint phones they have out now? I love the enormous screens, but I need a friggin' keyboard.

revaaron 06-05-2012 09:00 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
thread makes me sad... and the forum makes me sad.
I might be forced to get a non-kb phone.

gTen 06-16-2012 07:54 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
New QWERTY phone from Motorola:

New Motorola slider for Sprint surfaces with Android 4.0, many mysteries - Engadget

hopefully it is a good one, and now that google owns Motorola they won't lock bootloaders.

rprochnow 06-17-2012 09:59 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
When the Epic 4G came out - it had the latest and greatest features PLUS the keyboard.

It really looks like QWERTY is being shifted to second tier status - and even if a QWERTY LTE phone comes out - it probably won't have the same level of technology as the top tier phones (like the EVO 4G LTE or Galaxy S3).

While I'd prefer a QWERTY phone - leaning very strongly towards getting a GS3 when I'm eligible for the renewal rebate on July 1...

TexasAggie97 06-24-2012 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gTen (Post 2181372)
New QWERTY phone from Motorola:

New Motorola slider for Sprint surfaces with Android 4.0, many mysteries - Engadget

hopefully it is a good one, and now that google owns Motorola they won't lock bootloaders.

Saw this in ENR last week. I am hopefull that Sprint will include it in their availible phones but sad about giving up my Epic running SleeperROM!

Sent from my SPH-D700 on the PPCGeeks App

christophocles 06-25-2012 02:41 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by EyeB (Post 2179535)
with how thin the phones are now, I really haven't had much problems just buying a phone case with a keyboard on it

these are for iphone, but you can find one for other sizes with enough looking
Amazon.com: Buletooth Wireless Rubberized Hard Shell Slider QWERTY Keyboard Case for iPhone 4: Cell Phones & Accessories

Amazon.com: Dobi Design Apple iPhone 4 Bluetooth Keyboard Case with Stand: Computers & Accessories

edit: forgot to mention but should be obvious... phones that are curved on the back have a hard time with these cases...

This looks like the way to go, unfortunately.. Phone manufacturers have their head up their rear end and will not make a device that will satisfy us, unfortunately.. And there's always a vocal group of people who will B*TCH incessantly about the fact that their carrier got the version of xyz phone with a hw kb and their girly wrists are too weak to handle the few extra grams of the pro model. I think Sprint and Samsung were both soured by this experience with the Epic.

My Epic died recently so I switched back to my TP2 until the replacement Epic comes in. I really really miss using this phone. The guts inside are abysmally slow by today's standards, but the outer shell is second-to-none. It's the last serious, professional top-of-the-line phone produced by HTC in their heyday, as far as I'm concerned. The Epic was a cheap wannabe replacement that was a little faster and could run Android, but fell short in other areas. HTC was the market leader in qwerty sliders for many years, but I have precisely zero interest in any phone HTC has produced since the TP2 (except perhaps the mytouch 3g slide which is tmobile only and has an inferior 4-row keyboard). If I wanted a slab-phone, I would certainly choose Samsung over HTC simply because Samsung's screens are so much better.

We may never have any modern phone produced by any company that can match the TP2 shell design. Not because of any technical limitation, but because of mass-market appeal and internal company politics and other BS. HTC is out of the slider business, and no one else seems to want to pick up the slack. It's a shame, but I will most likely end up with a GS3 and a bastardized bluetooth kb attachment in the near future.

revaaron 06-26-2012 08:15 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by christophocles (Post 2182027)
It's a shame, but I will most likely end up with a GS3 and a bastardized bluetooth kb attachment in the near future.

ditto. unfortunately. I'm also thinking about leaving sprint since the last 13 years, they were great until the last 2-3 years where I don't get my calls or SMS a lot of the time. Though I doubt I will since I use up to 7GB per month.

WanderingMinstrel 06-27-2012 07:54 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by revaaron (Post 2182086)
ditto. unfortunately.

+1 on this. Especially the unfortunately part.
Seems like the only current option to staying somewhere near the leading edge for another two year contract period (starting November).

I LOVE my Epic and would keep it longer. My only complaint is the comparative lack of ram and rom memory. Lately I've been getting notifications about deleting programs from my internal storage to permit more memory availability -- and I don't have that many apps installed. Everything else continues to be aces.

gTen 06-28-2012 03:38 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by WanderingMinstrel (Post 2182168)
+1 on this. Especially the unfortunately part.
Seems like the only current option to staying somewhere near the leading edge for another two year contract period (starting November).

I LOVE my Epic and would keep it longer. My only complaint is the comparative lack of ram and rom memory. Lately I've been getting notifications about deleting programs from my internal storage to permit more memory availability -- and I don't have that many apps installed. Everything else continues to be aces.

Why not get a 32gb microsd card for 15$ and then reformat part of it as EXT2/4 then you can install programs to it directly. Though I personally wouldn't mind a phone with 2gb ram, 32gb+ rom and SDXC support....

WanderingMinstrel 06-28-2012 07:40 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by gTen (Post 2182186)
Why not get a 32gb microsd card for 15$ and then reformat part of it as EXT2/4 then you can install programs to it directly.

Thanks, gTen. I didn't know you could do that. What do I need to know to do the reformat? It's new territory for me. I tried teh google but got confused.

gTen 06-28-2012 08:06 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by WanderingMinstrel (Post 2182257)
Thanks, gTen. I didn't know you could do that. What do I need to know to do the reformat? It's new territory for me. I tried teh google but got confused.


a quick google got me to this:

How to Partition an SD Card and Install Darktremor Apps2SD on Android Smart Phone?

Which part do you not understand?

WanderingMinstrel 06-29-2012 08:22 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by gTen (Post 2182259)
a quick google got me to this:

How to Partition an SD Card and Install Darktremor Apps2SD on Android Smart Phone?

Which part do you not understand?

Thanks gTen. I didn't get that page on my search. It's an easy-to-use solution. I'm going to do it. Wish I had a 64G SD card option instead of just a 32G.

revaaron 06-30-2012 10:41 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
my complaints with the epic are battery and speed. It takes me forever to get the camera app open. Also, no matter what "battery mods" I've done or turned on/off data, I never haver gotten more than a few hours out of the phone. At least not consistently. There might have been a couple days where I went the whole day without charging it, but then the next day under the sames conditions, I get 2hrs.

The other day, I drove the kid to school and me to work with my phone in my pocket. My ipad was streaming a podcast to my stereo, at the screen on for most of the drive with maps up tracking my route, etc...
when I got to work, the epic had gone from 100% to 58%
my iPad had gone from 96% to 90%.

WanderingMinstrel 06-30-2012 07:25 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
For the best available camera solution, revaaron, try Camera ZOOM FX at the Play store. It's 40% off this week and, for a couple of bucks, it turns the Epic camera into a winner.

I'm fine on battery life. What rom are you using? I've been on Sleeper EL30 since it came out and I can get a full day's use and be at 50-60% remaining when I go to bed. People on The People's Rom (FC09)report similar battery joy. Both these roms have something built in that pushes the Epic into deep sleep mode when you're not actively using it. (Also, if your battery-life issue is recent, Sprint's network reconstruction has been making data connectivity wiggy area by area and causing battery drain...)

revaaron 06-30-2012 11:58 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
I've been using fc09 since it came out. I've had the same exact battery issue the entire time I've had this phone with any ROM. To get through a full day shooting a festival, I go through 4 batteries.

gTen 07-01-2012 03:06 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by revaaron (Post 2182381)
I've been using fc09 since it came out. I've had the same exact battery issue the entire time I've had this phone with any ROM. To get through a full day shooting a festival, I go through 4 batteries.

Since I hear you liked CM9 maybe you should try AOKP? I never tried it myself but from what I heard about AOKP is its like CM9 but more tweaked out and offers more options for saving battery built right into the rom.

orangekid 07-01-2012 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gTen (Post 2182387)
Since I hear you liked CM9 maybe you should try AOKP? I never tried it myself but from what I heard about AOKP is its like CM9 but more tweaked out and offers more options for saving battery built right into the rom.

I have used cm9 and aokp extensively and I can say IMO aokp is better. There is only one section with extra tweaks so it's easier to find, and more options and tweaks than cm9.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

rprochnow 07-01-2012 08:23 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
This will be my last time on this forum...

Picked up a Galaxy S3 today - and (at least so far) don't regret the move.

I was concerned about losing the QWERTY keyboard - but with the larger display, the on-screen keyboard - even when in portrait mode - is large enough that I haven't had any problems using it instead of a keyboard.

Even got a $60 credit for turning in my Epic 4G - so the new S3 only cost me $140...

revaaron 07-02-2012 08:57 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
I was about to load cm9 today, but then I found out the microphone from the headphone jack they replaced friday doesn't work. So I have to bring it back tomorrow. If they can get it working, I will load AOKP tomorrow I guess. I hope it picks roam more than cm9 did.

Nothing in the almost 2 years that I've had the Epic has really ever done anything to help with the terrible battery life. Well, there are only 2 tricks that have made the battery last at all
1) turn the phone to airplane mode and don't touch it
2) turn the phone off

There is a 3rd trick, but that involves leaving it plugged in 24-7 to a charger.

I must say that there has been one singular battery change in the past 4 months that is awesome. I do a radio show monday nights. I get out of my car at 6pm and am in a huge cement building from 6pm to 1am. The phone used to die at around 10:30pm. Now, at 1am, I still haven't gotten the battery warning message. Last week, I didn't even charge it from 5pm (when I took it off the charger at work) and 6pm (when I got to the station) and it still had 20$-ish when I left the station.

gTen 07-02-2012 11:10 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by revaaron (Post 2182456)
I was about to load cm9 today, but then I found out the microphone from the headphone jack they replaced friday doesn't work. So I have to bring it back tomorrow. If they can get it working, I will load AOKP tomorrow I guess. I hope it picks roam more than cm9 did.

What do you mean by roam more?

Quote:

I must say that there has been one singular battery change in the past 4 months that is awesome. I do a radio show monday nights. I get out of my car at 6pm and am in a huge cement building from 6pm to 1am. The phone used to die at around 10:30pm. Now, at 1am, I still haven't gotten the battery warning message. Last week, I didn't even charge it from 5pm (when I took it off the charger at work) and 6pm (when I got to the station) and it still had 20$-ish when I left the station.
If you are in a heavy concrete building there is not much you can do, that would drain battery like crazy. Only thing you can do is either install an airwave inside. Maybe once sprint gets 800mhz LTE it would be capable of penetrating your building depending.

revaaron 07-02-2012 04:38 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
sprint's service is terrible everywhere I am so roaming more = not searching for sprint and just sticking with verizon which works just fine.

my airwave at home is horrible. no reason to have it since I have to reboot it 2-3 times a day if I want to be able to connect to it. Then it uses my wired network. Move around some files = choppy phone calls.

gTen 07-03-2012 01:40 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by revaaron (Post 2182474)
sprint's service is terrible everywhere I am so roaming more = not searching for sprint and just sticking with verizon which works just fine.

Roam Control is your friend?

Roam Control | Making Android phones usable since 2010

There might be a free alternative to this app as well.

Quote:

my airwave at home is horrible. no reason to have it since I have to reboot it 2-3 times a day if I want to be able to connect to it. Then it uses my wired network. Move around some files = choppy phone calls.
You have the latest model?

revaaron 07-03-2012 11:46 PM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Loaded AOKP and went down town to the fireworks (my son's first fireworks). Had to drop baby momma and baby off, park back at my house and meet up with them again. over 30 minutes of running around cause sprint's network wouldn't connect a call or send a SMS.

anyhow, GPS doesn't connect and wireless works terrible.

gTen 07-04-2012 01:51 AM

Re: LTE Keyboard phone to replace Epic
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by revaaron (Post 2182583)
Loaded AOKP and went down town to the fireworks (my son's first fireworks). Had to drop baby momma and baby off, park back at my house and meet up with them again. over 30 minutes of running around cause sprint's network wouldn't connect a call or send a SMS.

anyhow, GPS doesn't connect and wireless works terrible.

I guess then only thing I can offer is waiting for Kernel 3.0.x :/

But for the GPS issue, have you tried to run GPS Status?
Was your battery life any better though?


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:17 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
©2012 - PPCGeeks.com


Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0