iPhone...but with buttons?!

[KateMiddletonsMum]

Anyone know of a phone as good as a 3GS? I have only two issues with it, one that the battery life is shockingly poor and two, that my fat fingers can't text very well. Apart from that it is my lifeline, best toy ever and a really brilliant gadget.

[NetworkGuy]

Not sure but don't they have a Bluetooth keyboard that can be used with iPhones as well as the iPad ?

Do a search for Bluetooth and iPhone in Geeky Stuff in the last 3-4 months and you should see mention of same...

[KateMiddletonsMum]

The idea is interesting NetworkGuy but I don't really want to be carting a keypad around as well. I was wondering if a blackberry would work as well?

[niceguy2]

a few if my female friends with long nails have a stylus which they carry around with the iPhone.

Otherwise, check out the HTC Desire Z. It's basically an Android phone with a small keyboard.

As for battery, you can get a power sleeve which fits the iPhone like a case but is actually a battery or get a external battery and charge it when out & about like I do. It's a real pain but to be fair, not unique to Apple. battery

[KateMiddletonsMum]

Ooh thanks niceguy2 I'll have a look at them.
I don't have very long fingernails though, just ginourmous hands!

[Tee2072]

I think the Blackberry keyboard is worse. Have you tried turning your iPhone to landscape? It makes the keyboard a bit bigger. That's how my husband uses his.

Also, bad battery life is pretty much the norm for smart phones. Unfortunately, battery technology hasn't kept up with smart phone technology.

[RustyBear]

Best things you can do to improve iPhone battery life is to turn off Bluetooth unless you're using it and to turn the screen brightness down.
You can also turn off 3G if you're using your home wifi, and turn off Push email - I have mine on manual, it just means waiting a few seconds for emails to download when I open the email app.

[KateMiddletonsMum]

Yep, Bluetooth turned off, phone emails are on manual push, 3G turned off too. I think the battery problem is that me writing stuff using the touch keypad takes an absolute age as I'm forever going back correcting words/taking away the weird autocorrect stuff that iPhone suggested and filling in the gaps!
Although I'm really fast at typing (tapping?) this bit sucks ;)

[KateMiddletonsMum]

niceguy2 that battery thing looks a winner, thanks!

[NetworkGuy]

"the touch keypad takes an absolute age as I'm forever going back correcting words"

glad I'm not the only one then... was able to try my sister's iPhone at end of March and just couldn't get going with it! Put it down to 30+ years with 'proper' keyboards.

Not sure how big or small the bluetooth keypad is for iPhone/iPad, but several years ago I had something for a Siemens mobile phone called a Chatboard which you can see is pretty small :)

[StroppyDad]

This is one of my beefs with the whole iPhone cult. You've basically got one phone (large touch screen, no buttons) which doesn't suit everyone. Well, that and Apple's "walled garden" set up.

Other companies make smartphones with keypads or slide-out keyboards with and without touchscreens. Some people prefer these and they are by no means wrong.

[KateMiddletonsMum]

Watch this... I'm going to type at normal breakneck speed...

That chat oats looks a but tok big to stick in my handbag. I'd probably need a suite ti LYH it all around in. See whstbi meZb?

Aka ... that chatboard looks a bit too big to fit in my handbag. I'd probably need a suitcase to lug it all around in. See what I mean