Jill "xtingu" Knapp

Traveling musician. Singer. Road warrior in bursts. Dork. Easy to spot. Gauche eyeshadow fan. Unreasonably happy.

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Attention Rone (Android slider phone nerdiness) Jill "xtingu" Knapp 4/30 '19

My 5-row landscape QWERTY-lovin' brothah, behold:

TAKE MY MONEY. 

I'm currently using the BlackBerry KeyOne, which honestly, is... fine. It runs Android Nougat, and while I've heard of some KeyOne users getting Oreo pushed to them, I can't imagine I'm gonna be one of them, since Verizon has never blessed this phone. The BlackBerry Key2 never had a CDMA version, so this KeyOne is the latest device I can have on VZW right now. I don't hate the KeyOne-- I just wish I could hide the keyboard and use the full screen for viewing stuff every so often: the permanent portrait keyboard makes the screen kinda a weird size. But the KeyOne's 2-day battery life (I shit you not, and this is with constant use) will be hard to replicate on any phone, I bet. 

My last phone was the Blackberry Priv which I absolutely loved, but it was BB's first Android device and the battery life was ass and it got really really hot sometimes. (I still keep it next to my bed as a wifi only device, though.)

But... FXTec is making this FxTec Pro-1 and it's a landscape slider like our beloved Droids. It's got 5 rows of delicious keyboard action, and i want to rub it on myself. They're only gonna sell it direct, so you get it from them and not from a carrier. I can dig it.

Comes out in July. I kinda hate not being able to play with one before giving them my moneydollars. I also don't really need a new phone yet... my KeyOne is doing fine, honestly. But still... landscape slider... NOM NOM NOM get in mah 2008 mouf! 

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4/30 '19 11 Comments
On one hand - yeah - that looks sexy enough to make me think about stepping 'back' to a physical keyboard.

On the other hand, membrane keys? It's possible to do that in a way that's good and right, but a newcomer doing it would make me nervous.

And on the third hand, I really hate seeing you on a phone that's 'perfectly fine'. You _use_ your phone. You should have one that... ahem... you want to rub on yourself.
Matt Lichtenwalner
Went back and looked at it again - and noticed that it says 'pure Android'. Since it's not coming from a carrier maybe it will be true vanilla Android? If so, I now feel that's a huge plus. I don't know if I will ever go back. Not having all that crapware just feels so much better.
Matt Lichtenwalner
Stock Android.... NOM NOM NOM!
Jill "xtingu" Knapp
Give up that Blackberry! I don’t build apps, but I support them, and when we get a ticket that someone is trying to run an app on a Blackberry, first we make time machine jokes ... then we try to help them. Usually the answer is, “Your device isn’t on the list of supported devices, use the website.”
Shelle Klein Houser
My beloved Blackberry runs Android Nougat, so it's just like a dang-ol' Samsung Galaxy. No reason it shouldn't run something that runs on Android.

There are a few weirdos who still use a Blackberry that runs the actual Blackberry OS... I am comfy with you poking fun at those folks. :-)

But for me (and Rone)? No BES necessary.
Jill "xtingu" Knapp
You know me well. In fact, i pre-ordered one about a month ago. Meanwhile, i'm using a craptastic Droid Maxx running Android 4.4.4 because i shattered my KeyONE's screen and lemme tell ya, it's a shitshow. Can't wait until July.
rone
Oooooooh! Yaaaaaay! I can't wait to hear whatcha think about it once it arrives. I was gonna preorder one, but I just dropped a chunk o' change on a very necessary e-ink tablet so I can carry my seven 3" binders worth of music on me easily and turn pages with a foot pedal. (Gotz me an Onyx Boox Max 2 Pro... should be here in a few days. I opted against an iPad Pro because I have a zillion outdoor gigs this spring/summer and regular tablet screens are worthless in the sunlight.)

Oh NOEZ about shattering your KeyOne screen! Argh! I have a few Droid 4s laying in a drawer... want one?
Jill "xtingu" Knapp
No, thanks, i thought of buying one but Verizon won't add them to the network anymore unless they're pre-paid. Shitshow, i'm tellin' ya.
rone
My friend Shannie just had the same problem - she and her husband had a simple, classic flip phone, and they won't let her keep it on the network. Irksome.
Matt Lichtenwalner
I'd suggest playing with one before you give them money. The fit and finish of the launch screen is appallingly bad (nothing lines up, it's a hot mess of bad design), and if they can't get software right I'd hesitate trusting their hardware. I freely admit I know nothing about Android or FXTec so this is just gut feel but ... buyer beware.
Sean M Puckett
I'm typically of the "don't buy anything until at least one service pack comes out," so I admit buying a device sight unseen makes me twitchy. But FXTec made a bunch of keyboard mods for the MotoZ that people really to love, so I trust that part at least.

I am slightly leery of their "We dicked with some of the standard apps so they work landscape" approach, but I loooooooved my Droids so damn much, and working portrait-style always seems like a compromise. So I dunno. I wanna be optimistic.

But I also hate when things don't line up, or when slidey action isn't smooth. We'll see what people say come July, I guess!

I didn't order one because I had to spend money on something else... but I'll be watching those reviews!
Jill "xtingu" Knapp