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how is the keyboard ?

still nothing :( grrrr i want this keyboard so bad i think we have to wait for the devs to come up with something?
 
yes but im saying that it still gives me errors when i installed it while changing the settings through input method
 
Not necessarily. Screen resolution, audio path, etc, might work same.

I recall seeing force closes before, but I thought that got tracked down.

Initially, no port at all - just a straight transplant that worked for many.
 
I like the keyboard on the EVO Shift 4G, I played with a live unit an employee from Radioshack had on him and I was able to zip through text messages and web URL's with blazing speed, still, I wish the keyboard was as good as the Samsung Transform's. I'd say this phone has the 2nd or 3rd best QWERTY keyboard I've ever used, I've used quite a few in my day and the one on the Shift 4G works very well, the keys are raised up for easy access and they have a pretty nice clicky feel to them, if that's your thing then this keyboard will be a dream for you.

And that's just my take after playing with the phone for not even 5 minutes.
 
EarlyMon said:
Wow, excellent. The early Evos were 5, then later 3, and after that I didn't keep up.

Thanks for checking!

Still can't get over how thick it is NOT, after our pre-release speculations.
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well i just did the touch test on my girlfriends Evo and she only has 2,
And I'm loving the lack of thickness after using a TP2 this is a very slim keyboard phone, most people can't even tell it has one till you slide it.
 
Looks like it is the same thickness of the Hero. Anyone who has made the switch able to compare them? I am up for new phone next month and torn between this and the EVO. Leaning towards this as I like the idea of a keyboard and the camera seems to be better, but if much thicker than a Hero it might be tough to do.
 
We used to have a Hero and they are about the same if not slightly smaller i think the difference between the shift and the hero is extremely minimal if that helps.
 
compared to my Moment, this keyboard is far and away BETTER. the key spacing is much inproved, they are slightly raised above the board so the feel is better and there is JUST enough tactile feedback when pressed. dosent even feel like they are going down but just enough feel to know youve pressed something (i have vib turned off)

also, i like the setup a little better after 2 years with a sidekick i gut used to the space being on a row of its own, not in the middle of th ebottom row of letter, tho i DO miss the numbers row not having to be FN'd for use
 
Drakon said:
price without upgrade is 549.99, i have had it for 2 days got it on the early sale from best buy key spacing on the keyboard is really good and I've never used a d-pad before this but it is extremely functional.
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I am guessing you went and bought your from best buy... well for you and anyone else who hasn't bought one, they are going for $399 at Sprint for the retail no upgrade price. I actually bought mine at Best Buy and they matched the price of Sprint out the door for a little over $400...
 
I still prefer the epic's keyboard. I own both phones, and while I like the actual keys, spacing and such, I don't care for the fn & shift placement. I don't like the layout of the fn symbols. The spacebar should not have a secondary function. Can't type strings of numbers with spaces easily. And I prefer real cursor keys to a d-pad though I know gamers will like the d-pad.

And people think it's thin? It's the same thickness as the epic. The angled battery cover just makes you think it's thinner. The droid 2 is thinner. It's also the same weight as the epic, and I can't imagine a little extra aluminum in the construction accounts for it.

Also, the shift has achieved permanent root yet. No scripted version yet so it requires effort.
 
etbrandt said:
I like it a lot and I've been using swype exclusively for a long time...don't take me long to relearn it.

My only complaint really is the HTC shell I put it in interferes with the top row just a bit.
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This is also my one complaint; but I like the shell too much to remove it so I have learned to adapt.
 
dbpaddler said:
I still prefer the epic's keyboard. I own both phones, and while I like the actual keys, spacing and such, I don't care for the fn & shift placement. I don't like the layout of the fn symbols. The spacebar should not have a secondary function. Can't type strings of numbers with spaces easily. And I prefer real cursor keys to a d-pad though I know gamers will like the d-pad.
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The lack of the number row doesn't bug me, but I gotta admit that going back to punctuation and symbols takes a bit of a gear change.

One review pumped me to getting used to rocking the dpad with my thumb and that it would eventually get easy - nah - I'd have preferred simple arrow keys, really. The one thing I think they got way right with the dpad - and it surprised me - is that I thought I'd be smacking it or having to bridge around it to avoid accidental taps. Visually, in person, that was something I was convinced of - but for whatever reason, it's just transparent to my fingers, has been since the first use.


And people think it's thin? It's the same thickness as the epic. The angled battery cover just makes you think it's thinner. The droid 2 is thinner. It's also the same weight as the epic, and I can't imagine a little extra aluminum in the construction accounts for it.
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There's a few factors at play in where folks are coming from. Trust me - if you ever had a Moment and could lay it alongside, the Shift is svelte in comparison - even though the the dimensions are quite close. So, for some, it is truly thinner.

The other part is perception. I remember when the Epic came out and the Evo/Epic discussions were about how the Epic was sleeker. Don't know if you saw, but I did a box-volume calculation (max-dimensions in each directions as if they were both boxes, actually fair from an in-pocket perspective) and the Epic vs. Evo had a teaspoon's difference in volume between them. As we both know, shape means a lot in a telephone and the sleek lines of the Epic and Shift give a general feeling of lightness. (Their lines are different, but I'd say they're both sleek in their own ways - as opposed to a Hero or an Evo being very monolith-like.)

I think it was you, coulda been somebuddy else, that mentioned the larger bezel below the four buttons - prior to reading that, I thought that was just me, but that is a larger space. I've been trying to picture the phone shorter and the keyboard proportionately shifted to accommodate that and I can't really visualize it yet.

I'd love to see the iFixit teardown on this beast so we can see how the outer form maps to the inner components.

Also, the shift has achieved permanent root yet. No scripted version yet so it requires effort.
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Unrevoked is working on their piece, now that the exploit is firm, it's not likely to be too much longer. And the XDA devs have gone bonkers since the perm rooting - yesterday the first alpha Gingerbread rom came out. It's shaping up to be quite the supported device.

Maybe the XDA geniuses will come up with some new dpad functions, who knows? :)

zombiepete said:
This is also my one complaint; but I like the shell too much to remove it so I have learned to adapt.
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I found that the Moment shell I had tended to separate the two halves ever so slightly by its little wrap-around fingers, and did tend to stress the springs over time.

Naturally, the Shift has no such design - but do you find the shell is forcing the two halves apart at all?

We started out with the phone naked, it's quite attractive, but are now considering some sort of case to simply recess that camera lens just a teeny bit for protection when laid on a hard surface.

Seems like it's tough going for a shell with the keyboard, tho, from what you're saying.
 
EarlyMon..(don't feel like quoting)

The numbers don't bother me one bit. I'm used to it from treo days. But the rest of the symbols and such are just all over the place. And a menu key, seriously? Redundant and unneccesary. Though not as bed as all of them being redundant on the epic.

In regards to the dpad, I just prefer cursor keys for precise text editing. The dpad works well. It's just a preference. Want to play tank battle with the dpad though.

And while it is perspective, it's not really fair to compare the shift to the moment or tp2. Neither are current and indicitive of what tech is now. The droid 2 is a better comparison as is the epic. Shape is key to feel which is why the evo feels uncomfortable and the epic and shift don't. Just don't want people kidding themselves that it actually is thin since it's not, by modern standards.

And yes, I mentioned the big bottom bezel. It just looks wrong. Wasted space. I really wonder what engineers think when they design things. The keypad of the epic is such a waste of space and so redundant. Putting the shift key above the fn key on the shift is dumb. Shift at the bottom is just natural. And the extra menu key? Not to mention the volume rocker almost centered and the bottom left microusb placement. I always thought about migrating to product development whe I was was working for circuit city and got to talk to product managers and reps. I almost think they do stupid things on purpose so they can sell an improved version the next go around.

And I can so tell I'm on my epic because of the editing I had to do to correct missing letters. Didn't have a bit of that with the shift.
 
I think if they needed the space (as in, dictated by boards underneath), then their choices were to lose aspect ratio even further or to go a larger bezel. Just guessing until we see a teardown.

Again - I agree with cursor keys and the funny symbol placements.

I disagree on the thinness thing - it seems you're taking that as an absolute against other modern headsets. People choosing the Shift are very much upgrading from older tech, so comparison to the Moment counts in my mind. As those other models aren't available on Sprint, then people either choose the phone and then the carrier - and if absolute thinness counts, you're right - or they choose the carrier and choose the upgrade, and then relative thinness counts. In my opinion.
 
For the upgrading user it's great, but from the mfg perspective, is old tech the standard I want my products to be judged against? User perspective is what it is, and those coming from the Moment or TP2 (or similar) will be very happy. Putting the phone against its peers is just a different story.

A tear down will be interesting to see.
 
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