Hands On:Keyboard-Capable Cell Phones

These phones may offer sweet relief from the standard cell phone keypad.

The moment I laid my thumbs onSidekick'sQWERTY keyboard, I was hooked. I went from being the happy owner of a basic cell phone to being an aspiring owner of a smart phone. Even though I had looked at other keyboard-capable phones--includingHandspring's Treo 180andNokia's Communicator 9000--before the Sidekick came along, I didn't really warm up to PDA phones until the Sidekick. It won me over for some very good reasons: It was fun to use, and (despite its small keyboard) thumb-typing messages on it wasn't half bad.

The Sidekick became the standard by which I judge other QWERTY phones, and over the years I've thumb-typed on the keyboards of many of them. Several of the latest keyboard-capable handsets are in the same league with the Sidekick, and each has its own forte. Here are my picks for the best QWERTY phones, by application type.

For handling e-mail, nothing beats a BlackBerry's speed, reliability, and ease of use. These devices really are an e-mail addict's best friend.

With theBlackBerry Curve 8320from T-Mobile and theBlackBerry 8820from AT&T, you can now hop onto a Wi-Fi hotspot--a new feature for BlackBerrys. Wi-Fi gives your phone another way to establish an Internet connection, in addition to using the carrier's data network. The key benefit of Wi-Fi is that it's a faster connection than the EDGE network used by AT&T and T-Mobile. (AT&T does have speedier data connections--UMTS and HSDPA--in some cities, but the 8820 doesn't support these 3G standards. At this point, T-Mobile doesn't offer 3G at all.) Wi-Fi can fill the void of a spotty or nonexistent data signal, too.

Satellite tracking is another cool feature on the 8320 and the 8820. The embedded GPS combined with programs such as TeleNav can deliver audible driving, walking, or biking directions. Both handsets feel sturdy enough and are reasonably thin and light. On both units, the trackball is responsive and the keyboard is a pleasure to use. If you want to become a speedier thumb-typist, I highly recommend learning theBlackBerry keyboard shortcuts. For example, pressing the spacebar twice automatically inserts a period.

If you're looking for a BlackBerry that does more than function as an e-mail machine, the Curve is the way to go. It's one of the few BlackBerrys that comes with a 2-megapixel camera (but no video capture), and it's preloaded with several IM clients: AIM, BlackBerry Messenger, ICQ, Google Talk, Windows Live, and Yahoo. My wish list for the next Curve upgrade: Improve the browser, add 3G on GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) models, and support the carrier's multimedia services such as over-the-air music downloads and streaming video.

T-Mobile's Curve goes a step further than the 8320 and 8820 in being able to use Wi-Fi for phone calls. If you sign up forT-Mobile's HotSpot @Homeservice, you can make unlimited calls when the Curve is connected to a Wi-Fi network or to a T-Mobile HotSpot, which are available in cafes, airports, and other places. Calls conducted on Wi-Fi don't use up the minutes on your calling plan. If your phone goes out of Wi-Fi range, the call seamlessly transfers to T-Mobile's cellular signal without interrupting the call. Sometimes this arrangement worked for me; but when it didn't, several of my calls got dropped. T-Mobile says that it is working out a few of the system's kinks, so performance should improve soon.

Folks who need a smart phone that's better integrated with Microsoft's corporate e-mail should consider getting one of the Windows Mobile-based smart phones from HTC, such as theAT&T (formerly Cingular) 8525, theSprint Mogul, or theT-Mobile Wing.

Want to Play Some Music?

Only a few keyboard-equipped phones do a good job of combining multimedia tools--such as a music player, a camera, video capture, and mapping--with office apps. TheMotorola Q Music 9mfrom Verizon Wireless comes close. Music is certainly a big part of the Q Music 9m's appeal, thanks to the device's nice, loud speaker. The thumbwheel located on the side of the phone lets you scroll through on-screen buttons to specify operations such as playing music, launching the camera, and downloading songs from Verizon's V Cast Music service. The thumbwheel feels a little stiff, however, which makes the scrolling motion a bit slow and uncomfortable to the thumb.

The Q Music 9m holds its own when it comes to productivity tools, too. It includes Documents to Go, a suite of apps for creating, editing, and viewing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents, as well as for viewing PDF files.

In general the Q Music 9m's keyboard improves on the one on that the original Q was equipped with. The rubbery texture of the keys helps make the keyboard comfortable to use. Nevertheless, I was disappointed with the location of the backspace key. Instead of making it one of the QWERTY keys, Motorola presents it as a flat key next to the power/end button. This design decision made for slow typing and annoying errors. The deal breaker for me, though, is the phone's slow performance. The Q Music 9m chugged along slowly when performing just about any task--browsing, opening apps, toggling between apps, you name it.

TheSamsung SCH-u740from Verizon and theT-Mobile Sidekick iDaren't brand spanking new, but they're well equipped to handle your text messaging and calling needs. Both devices have built-in QWERTY keyboards and are affordably priced (under $150 each).

If you fancy thin and light, go for Samsung's SCH-u740. It sports a unique dual-hinge design that enables it to open as a standard clamshell phone or sideways from the left, which is how you'd use it in typing mode. When closed, it is impressively compact--about the size of the Razr V3--given that it has a full keyboard. The keys do feel crammed together, however, and they're very tiny and slippery--not ideal for users who have large thumbs.

The Sidekick iD is larger than the u740, and has a roomier keyboard. If you enjoy pinging friends over IM, the iD is a good choice; AIM, MSN, and Yahoo come preinstalled on this phone. Get the Sidekick iD from T-Mobile, and you get unlimited text messaging for $30 a month; a voice plan costs extra, starting at $30 for 300 minutes. The iD is pretty bare-bones otherwise: It doesn't include a camera or offer Bluetooth, for example. The SCH-u740, in contrast, has both of those features.

For reviews of other keyboard-enabled handsets, consultPC World'sTop 10 PDA Phones.

Comments or questions? DropGrace Aquinoa line.