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Comment by gcb0 | Hacker News Reader

it fails not because of what you think.

I always claimed I wanted qwerty keyboard. now blackberry finally has a phone with it that is not selling. the priv.

well, while id kill for a keyboard on android, I'd also need a non-phalet size and open firmware. so I continue to use my keboardless motoX developer edition first gen.

nobody buys phones for one feature. you cant add a thick battery but sel a device with 300x200 screen, which was the case I think you're talking.

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Yes! I hate hate HATE trying to type on a glass keyboard, and I really wish I could have a plain old QWERTY button keyboard back. I'm delighted to see Blackberry offering one with the Priv. And yet - a phone also needs to fit in my pocket, and it is difficult to imagine how one could do that with a Priv. I don't really need a huge screen because I don't find the web very useful on a phone, but writing text messages and emails is my phone's primary function. The device I actually want is something the size of my Moto X equipped with an actual keyboard. Make it twice as thick, I don't care, just let me type without stumbling constantly.

You might enjoy the Kyocera Rise (but it is CDMA only AFAICT, so only if you are in USA). It's slow and outdated but it's the best emailing phone I've ever used.

I have a Priv, you will like it. You don't sacrifice any Android features (or security updates), and the keyboard is there. I have had it since December and only typed on the touchscreen about 3 times. It is a bit big, but it is the same as any other phone manufacturer makes. I find it is fine in my front pants pocket and it also fits nicely in a shirt pocket.

https://neo900.org/

I had a Moto droid. It has a physical keyboard. It was fking terrible. Keys are so small as to be nearly unuseable. The onscreen keyboard was so much better... error rate was about the same but correction made it much better in practice.

I had quite the opposite experience, actually. Yeah, the keys were small and took some getting used to. I'd imagine if my fingers were bigger it may have become a problem. I felt lightning fast on that thing, though, and rarely needed to correct anything, which really added to my effective typing speed.

I had a T-mobile G2 and I loved the keyboard on it. I used to type entire emails on that without a problem but with my touchscreen phones, it's an exercise in frustration. The swype-style is nice, but it still gets things wrong that I have to correct all the time. I'd buy the Priv if it wasn't $400 and exclusive to AT&T.

I had a Droid as well as various BlackBerry products, including the Bold.

I found the Bold keyboard to be fantastic. I could type 60 wpm without looking at the phone.

I found the Droid keyboard to be terrible and unusable.

Not all keyboards are the same, but I do know the best-possible keyboard experience can be far better than the Droid (or any iPhone I've used).

> I always claimed I wanted qwerty keyboard. ... nobody buys phones for one feature.

Barebones BB Curve 9310 user here for ~4 years and counting, which replaced a Treo 755p when seemingly everyone had iPhones back in uni. Been meaning to purchase a spare for when this one inevitably hits the pooper. Battery obsolescence is my biggest sustainment worry. QUERTY keyboard requirement has made me a perpetual mobile luddite.

Definitely feels like the last man standing now that our senior-most engineer's wife forced him off his flip phone this past Christmas. Personally don't know anyone who doesn't own a smartphone these days...lonely world.

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