I just want a simple Android phone with a Physical Keyboard (PKB)

[ExplEngineer 0]

There is a lot of wisdom, and interesting topics for when I have time to read, BUT ALL THAT I AM TRYING TO DO RIGHT NOW IS REPLACE MY "EOL" BLACKBERRY WITH AN ANDROID PHONE THAT HAS A TACTILE PKB,  NOTHING MORE, OR LESS THAN THAT,  

I am an absolute New Guy in this Community, please feel free to check my posted bio if it will help to better understand my pattern(s) of mistakes, and perhaps even overlook them. I have most of this afternoon, except for my Service Dog Bentley's off-duty playtime (I wish that I also had some of that playtime right now) as one might think of me as being a low-IQ wanderer rather than the LOST BABY-BOOMER, whose weakness is in understanding all of this technical language, hopefully, I shall overcome that failing, so hopefully, the postings and answers to this thread will be precise, in ordinary ILO "Technical" language.

My requirements for the device that I am seeking are as SIMPLE as I am in this field of endeavor.

• Android OS (hopefully the latest version of being capable of being upgraded to the latest, and subsequent Android OS modifications)
• Physical Keyboard (PKB) as all of the "latest and greatest" new phones seem to come in only the Virtual Keyboard (VKB). I watch my grandsons type away on those keyboards at a speed that I would have expected of my secretary (had I not assumed "Of Counsel" to the firm that I founded more than twenty (>20) years ago and no longer have a full-time secretary to clean up the mess that I make, even when using a full-size keyboard with my desktop computer). The PKB on my Blackberry Classic reduced my typographical errors in things like Text Messages by approximately ninety percent (90%) when compared with any of the wide variety of cell phones that I have either owned or given up on over the last few years. I now even have to dictate ("Speech to Text") mundane text messages.
• I really need a cell phone that is less than is 6"x2.75" if possible. Right now I have two (2) "five-G" (5G) Samsung phones that are about that size indicated and I still have a terrible time trying to type on their VKB, even given the expanded size of the keys on the VKB which I assume constitutes the predication for the dimensions of these phones.
• NLT 128GB + 8 GB RAM (I think I have expressed those requirements correctly)
• NLT a 12MP Primary Camera

Hopefully, these simple requirements are available in a simple, functional cell phone device, and as a result of the shared wisdom contained in the responses I will be able to actually figure out which one works best for me sometime in the not too distant future as I am facing something like a two (2) week deadline as I need to be "field work ready" at that time.

TIA<

[EskeRahn 5,471]

if you want the keyboard in the 'wrong' direction (BB-style) with few and small keys, the least huge is the UniHertz Pocket Titan.

My personal favorite is the Pro1, that is about to be replaced by the Pro1X any day (after covid and other delays - the original Pro1 is unavailable except used from e.g. ebay)

There is also the Cosmo Astro Slide, with larger but fewer keys, that is also close to shipping, if they have not already begun.

There are a few more options with a huge Titan and and odly folding older Cosmo, but the three above would be my suggestion to have a look at, dependng on your needs/wishes.

[Jacob_S 128]

As you need to have it ready in two weeks, the Pro1 would only be an option for you, if you can find an offer for a used one somewhere. The Pro1X has not even started shipping yet.

[Hook 3,043]

I agree with @EskeRahnthat right now the Titan Pocket comes closest to meeting your want list and can be shipped now.  It will probably do you well and it is currently shipping.

https://www.unihertz.com/products/titan-pocket 

However, there are a few things to consider about the state of PKB phones at this time.  As you have noticed, most big companies have done away with them and are producing slabs.

That means several things:

PKB phones are only made by small companies.  How much you can depend on future updates to android will vary.  In most cases, you won't be able to count on a future version update (not saying you won't get one, but the track record for these small companies isn't good).  The Titan Pocket ships with Android 11 and Android 12 has been out for 6 months or so. Android 11 should be good for a couple of years as long as they keep up with security updates.

If you are in the US (as I am), there is a further complication. All PKB phones being made by small, foreign countries, their phones tend to be not on our carriers' list of known phones. AT&T has started actually blocking phones that are not on their "white list" (You'll see an announcement on the Unihertz page linked above saying they are trying to work things out with AT&T).  Verizon is hit or miss, but are moving in the same direction.  Only T-Mobile seems willing to work with any phone you bring.

The upshot is that PKB phones are no longer mainstream like Blackberrys were.  They are therefore less supported.  My Pro1 has a version of Android 11 only because F(x) Tec made it (relatively) easy to flash a modified OS and there was a good community to help me through learning how to do that (I'm an old Baby Boomer too 😉 ).

I think the Unihertz Pocket Titan is still a good choice for you and you should be able to get a couple of years out of Android 11 before you have to worry about much of this, as long as you are able to get it on your phone service carrier (if you have or can use T-Mobile, you are set.)  But staying with PKB phones, as we all know, involves challenges you don't get with the big company slabs.

Good luck.

 

[ExplEngineer 0]

I thought that the Unihertz Titan Pocket would be the first choice, however, since ATT not only does not "Whitelist" it, their Tech. Support has told me that on their network it really won't work as well as an old EOL Blackberry, and according to the same source said that while Uniherz may be trying to work things out with AT&T, AT&T is not really trying to work things out with Uniherz, and may actually, in the not too distant future actually block the Titan Pocket, and perhaps the entire Uniherz series of phones, from its network. TMobile is a bit more flexible on this count, however, even their Tech Support is not really enthusiastic about trying to use the Titan Pocket on their network. Both were pretty vague about issues relating to 5G, or if there were some other factors as well. I just hate to spend ~$300.00 on a cell phone that I am not even sure will be supported by the networks (AT&T + TMobile) for which I need a reliable future for their accessibility.

Given the issues that all of the above have been kind enough to address, I almost feel constrained in an attempted selection of a PKB cell phone at the present time. What are your thoughts on the use of a separate and independent Bluetooth keyboard, and do you know of any of them that are smaller than the "big brick" Samsung Phones that AT&T + TMobile have provided to me? The only phone that is the appropriate size for me to carry at all times is the iPhone 13 Mini that I was provided. It does just fine for a lot of things, just not for "the lot of things" that require keyboard entries, e.g Text Messages, eMail, and "Google Searches"., especially since there are real consequences that can occur from such things as a misplaced decimal point, or perhaps an erroneous alpha or numeric character in describing or recommending a chemical, i.e. Pharmaceutical, product or compound within the text of any message being sent? 🩺🎯

[Hook 3,043]

1 hour ago, ExplEngineer said:

I thought that the Unihertz Titan Pocket would be the first choice, however, since ATT not only does not "Whitelist" it, their Tech. Support has told me that on their network it really won't work as well as an old EOL Blackberry, and according to the same source said that while Uniherz may be trying to work things out with AT&T, AT&T is not really trying to work things out with Uniherz, and may actually, in the not too distant future actually block the Titan Pocket, and perhaps the entire Uniherz series of phones, from its network. TMobile is a bit more flexible on this count, however, even their Tech Support is not really enthusiastic about trying to use the Titan Pocket on their network. Both were pretty vague about issues relating to 5G, or if there were some other factors as well. I just hate to spend ~$300.00 on a cell phone that I am not even sure will be supported by the networks (AT&T + TMobile) for which I need a reliable future for their accessibility.

Given the issues that all of the above have been kind enough to address, I almost feel constrained in an attempted selection of a PKB cell phone at the present time. What are your thoughts on the use of a separate and independent Bluetooth keyboard, and do you know of any of them that are smaller than the "big brick" Samsung Phones that AT&T + TMobile have provided to me? The only phone that is the appropriate size for me to carry at all times is the iPhone 13 Mini that I was provided. It does just fine for a lot of things, just not for "the lot of things" that require keyboard entries, e.g Text Messages, eMail, and "Google Searches"., especially since there are real consequences that can occur from such things as a misplaced decimal point, or perhaps an erroneous alpha or numeric character in describing or recommending a chemical, i.e. Pharmaceutical, product or compound within the text of any message being sent? 🩺🎯

I will tell you  of my solution, which may be  neither possible nor acceptable for you.  I am retired and spend a lot of time at home.

So I have two phones, my Pro 1 and a Motorola Power (slab)  The Moto is my phone phone and car phone (Android Auto) and my Pro1 is my PDA (Though I keep a T-Mobile SIM active in it).  My Moto is on Verizon. It is expensive, buying two phones, but it allows me to have the best PDA out there for doing text based tasks while having a solid and reliable phone. I initially did this to solve a problem, but honestly I have come to love this deconvergence (I'm n old Palm PDA guy).

Being around wifi most of the time, the Pro1 is perfect for all keyboarding tasks and I can use T-Mobile for sms.  This is perfect for me, but is not  as practical if you spend a lot of time out and away from wifi (although I can also use my Moto as a hot spot.

Not trying to sell you on this approach,m but it is a possible solution, depending on what your situation is.

On T-Mobile, I have had no problems with my Pre-Pay sim.  All the phones need to be capable of is VoLTE... 5G is far from being in wide enough usage for it to be required.

[hling 7]

I have just set my sister up with a Samsung Galaxy S7 and a clip on keyboard cover case that makes it look like a Blackberry. https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/mobile-accessories/phones/samsung-galaxy-s7-keyboard-cover-black-ej-cg930ubegus/

She had a LG Fathom with T-Mobile, but was told that by July 2022 her phone will no longer be usable with its 3G limitation.  She's happy with this set up. 

Good luck!

[VaZso 1,998]

3 hours ago, hling said:

I have just set my sister up with a Samsung Galaxy S7 and a clip on keyboard cover case that makes it look like a Blackberry.

It looks good but it is in the "wrong direction". 😄

It really looks similar to BlackBerry.
Unfortunately, it covers some part of the display but also BlackBerry has strange aspect ratio. 🙂

[hling 7]

What does it mean "wrong direction"?  

So what's good with this particular keyboard cover is the ease of clipping on, and how instantly the keyboard is usable.  (i saw later that there is a Bluetooth one as well, but I really wouldn't want to go that extra step of pairing. ) when you want to use the phone without keyboard you just slide it to the back side, so it doesn't need to come off and risk being misplaced.   Also, I had thought it would limit what one can see on the screen, but somehow the screen content adjusts and you just scroll down to see the rest of the page. 

I don't know BlackBerry at all aside from the look though, so I apologize in advance for not knowing what may be obvious to BB devotees.

[VaZso 1,998]

50 minutes ago, hling said:

What does it mean "wrong direction"?  

It is something like a joke...

Basically old communicators used landscape keyboard and also N900 or killed N950 had the same orientation.
(There were also some other phones like HTC Kaiser and so on.)

However, there is a different approach what also Blackberry has designed, these devices have portrait keyboards.

These two perspectives are belong to very different words and people who like landscape keyboards usually do not really like portrait keyboards and vice versa... that is why the direction is wrong.

Edited March 31, 2022 by VaZso

[hling 7]

I see! Yes, I was of the Nokia Communicator lineage, if you will, the horizontal keyboard.  Though, I still use my E90 for notes because it has a solid hinging system, and only thought about the Nokia E7 for about 1/2 hr, as it felt flimsy back then.  I only switched to the Nokia N9 when it couldn't connect any more.   My sister on the other hand, had been an HP Ipaq user. So, i guess that's of the vertical keyboard type.  Her LG was the horizontal type, but I think she's always missed the Ipaq. 

I guess when it comes to keyboard vs. no keyboard, either vertical or horizontal will do.

[VaZso 1,998]

1 hour ago, hling said:

Though, I still use my E90 for notes because it has a solid hinging system, and only thought about the Nokia E7 for about 1/2 hr, as it felt flimsy back then. 

I have a friend who collects phones and I held his E7 in my hands maybe one or two years ago and I had a feeling its hinge mechanism is very stable although it was his daily driver for several years and it was technically (and also mechanically) still fully functional (it should be in a similar state also now).
Anyway, it's mechanism is very similar to Pro1's mechanism and also this was the cause we took a look of that phone by that time and also later we took two Pro1s and this E7 near each other for some comparison.

As of Pro1, my phone still has a good hinge mechanism after years of use, however, there were some units which had excessive rattlings which has caused worse-quality feeling.

[aquaz 41]

My E7 is currently 12 years old and its hinge mechanism, which I use a lot, works flawlessly. There are zero signs of anything wearing out - nothing is loose or rattly.

[hling 7]

On 8/15/2022 at 11:04 AM, aquaz said:

My E7 is currently 12 years old and its hinge mechanism, which I use a lot, works flawlessly. There are zero signs of anything wearing out - nothing is loose or rattly.

That's amazing! Which mobile service do you use? Do you think it will work with T-mobile?

[Wunder Wungiel 9]

T-Mobile disabled 3G completely as far as I know

[marmistrz 93]

My Pro1 worked perfectly with GenMobile (T-Mobile based MVNO). SimpleMobile and UltraMobile (also using T-Mobile's stations) claimed that the IMEI was incompatible due to "VoLTE being unsupported" and the cellular shop couldn't sell/activate the SIM.