It may not boast the hottest features of the latest Android superphones — no 8-megapixel cameras, HD recording or video chat, for example — but with its new, BlackBerry-style QWERTY keypad, the Motorola Charm still represents something of a first.Set for release this summer replica rolex watches on T-Mobile (no pricing details yet), the Charm pales compared to the latest Android handsets that have come down the pike, or at least it does on first blush.
Due to arrive with version 2.1 of the Android OS than the latest-and-greatest 2.2 update, the Charm packs in a 3-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, a revamped version of Motorola's social-networking-friendly zhjchv0708 Motoblur service, a Flash-ready Web browser as well as a 2.8-inch touch replica handbags display — a spec list that is positively middling compared with the 4.3-inch monster screens and 8-megapixel, 720p-video-recording snappers we have seen on such recent Android hot rods as the HTC Evo 4G or Motorola's own Droid X.
But the modestly appointed Charm stands apart from the Android crowd with a full-on QWERTY keypad that sits directly beneath the display — right there in plain sight than hidden as a slide-out accessory.
Of work, an exposed QWERTY keypad is nothing new for such smartphones as the Palm Pixi, the Windows Mobile-powered Samsung Intrepid (or the older Blackjacks) or louis vuitton replica handbags who-knows-how-many BlackBerry handsets. But it is a new trick for Android, which until now has gone either the slider way with its QWERTY keyboards or ditched them altogether for virtual, on-screen keys.
I like the fact that the Charm is not trying to one-up the last Android phone. Hey, there is nothing wrong with an escalating game of tit-for-tat when it comes to smartphones — it is fun to watch, at the least — but there is also room for some middle ground, and with its midrange camera cartier replica watches and other features (Moto's press release doesn't mention a processor speed), I am guessing that the Charm will come with a two-year contract cost well south of the $199 cost tag for the Evo and Droid X.
I am curious to see whether a RIM-style LED light source projector 2010 keypad will appeal to Android fans — or, by the same token, whether it is going to generate new ones. Also, what about that 2.8-inch touch display? I haven't tried the Charm in person yet, but a 2.8-inch display sounds a bit cramped. Then again, the Pixi's 2.6-inch display is even smaller than the Charm's, and it was perfectly touchable. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt until I get my hands on a check unit.
