Amen to that. If nothing else couldn't it be a differentiator? People have to get tired of rectangles with only bits of metal and plastic on them to signify any real difference.

Because we had them and they didn't sell.

>Tried texting in class without looking?

What the hell? Are you really that addicted to your phone you can't put it away for 2 hours to pay attention to a class you are paying hundreds of dollars to attend? If anything it is incredibly rude to the professor.

I'm old and cranky.

I want a slider, but not a side-slider, a top-slider. I want something like the Blackberry Torch, but Android-based, or at least like the N86 or N95.

I still use my N86 for everyday use.

http://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_torch_9800-3203.php

http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n86_8mp-2713.php

Why a top-slider? The side-slider seems to give so much more real-estate for keys. Is it just the portrait display of the screen you want, or do you actually prefer typing on the top-slider keyboard?

Personally, I find the on-screen keyboard fine for the ham-fisted one-handed typing of short messages, but I want the maximum width and real keys IFF I have enough to type to justify switching to two-handed typing. So the side-slider seems like the better form-factor.

It's probably very quirky of me, but I like the slide-to-answer feature, and I like holding it in one hand and being able to type without watching.

I basically like my N86 because it allows for one-handed operation without looking at it - I can even fast-dial some numbers just pressing the .

I also like the physical camera button A LOT, if high end Nokias come with Android and camera buttons, I might consider them for that alone :)

TL-DR I love physical buttons.

I also don't use predictive text - I should get to the 21st century someday :) , but I switch languages and contexts too often and it gets in the way.

I used to be firmly in the hardware keyboard camp. Then I installed Hackers' Keyboard. The problem with hardware keyboards on phones is they have strange keys that PCs don't have, and are missing critical keys (like Ctrl and Esc) that PCs do have. Hackers' Keyboard solves that issue.

Of course on tablets I have either a BT keyboard or a keyboard dock.

> Tried texting in class without looking?

I could write on both my Palm and my Sony Ericsson P-800 with my eyes closed. Graffiti and whatever-SE-had were excellent options to physical keyboards.

The benefits are that it's cheaper and easier to manufacture. Of course those are only tangential benefits to the customer.