Vodafone 555
Touted at Facebookers, this £30 basic blower features a dedicated button to take users straight to their news feeds. Wahoo! While it bears a slight resemblance to the HTC ChaCha, the 555 lacks its finesse. Powered by a lowly 200MHz processor, its basic UI appears on a bog-standard 2.4in display.
With no Wi-Fi or 3G, at least it has a half-decent Qwerty keyboard to preserve some dignity, which despite its slight squeakiness, was easy and quick to use. Indeed, apart from typing messages or making calls, there's little else I would choose to use this Alcatel-built phone for.
ZTE Tureis
Similar to the Samsung Galaxy Pro Y, the ZTE Tureis feels well put together, although the smooth finish can be seem slippery and needs a firm grip when used one-handed. Just like the Samsung though, the 2.6in, 320x240 touchscreen looks unrefined, especially running the vanilla Android 2.3 Gingerbread build. The handset can also be a bit sluggish at times.
The keyboard is comfortable to use though, and here it impresses. Error-free typing was easy to get the hang of and it has a certain clack to the keys that feels more reassuring rather than bothersome. If you want a Qwerty Android, with a touchscreen to boot, and don't want to pay too much for the privilege, then the ZTE Tureis seems like a decent workhorse. ®
Ten... Qwerty mobiles
COMMENTS
Re: Never
Why stop there?
You shouldn't use share a computer keyboard or mouse.
Don't take the lift, those buttons will be filthy. But be careful of the hand rail as you take the stairs.
Don't flush the toilet, you know where those hands have been. You can't be sure the last person washed their hands properly before turning off that tap either. Watch out for that door handle on your way out too! In fact, any door handle.
In fact just put on your paper suit and stay out of public places altogether, Mr Hughes.
Or on phones owned by adults who like to text using proper English and not kiddy's abbreviations.
Err.... you seem to have forgotten Nokia. E5? Or the really rather powerful E6?
Can't believe how fast the media has closed ranks against Nokia.... Very sad.
So sliders are off-topic?
Nokia E7 is still ruling that part of the jungle. It is everything the E-Series is about – I am not aware of anything out there that can touch it in terms of build quality, hardware features and overall design. I would love to see this form factor run MeeGo – I shake my fist at Nokia for not releasing the N950 to the general public. Not that Belle wouldn't do. In fact it does quite fine. Especially since it does the little things you simply expect a phone to do but apparently are no longer to be taken for granted.
I nearly keeled over laughing the other day when an aggressively anti-Nokia mate of mine (some people act like Nokia at some point pissed in their pint and made them drink it) sporting both an iPhone and some Android complained that "these days, you cannot turn phones off overnight anymore and still have the alert work in the morning."
I could not resist to ask him "You mean like a Nokia does, right?"
Priceless face, absolutely priceless.
Sliders
Does noone want qwery sliding phones anymore, or is it more of a case of the phone companies and manufacturers not wanting them for some reason.
I have a Nokia N900 and the missus an E7, both great form factors. I would love something like the E7, or slightly bigger with a decent grown up OS - think Maemo meets EPOC32.
There does seem to be Android sliders about, but not in the UK (Samsung Captivate, or Motorola Droid).
And no toys like the ones in the roundup dont count. I have a BB (for work), and absolutley hate the form factor as well as the phone in general, & every other chav around here has one.
