Mobility

Keyboard showdown: Droid 2 vs. Epic 4G vs. BlackBerry Torch

By · August 24, 2010, 6:35 AM PST · jasonhiner

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  • Droid 2 (top), Epic 4G (bottom), and BlackBerry Torch (right)

    For those who still prefer a hardware keyboard on their smartphone, here are comparison photos of three great devices: Motorola Droid 2, Samsung Epic 4G, and BlackBerry Torch 9800.

    Check out the close-up photos at the end of the gallery for a description and critique of each of the three keyboards. You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Boxes: Epic 4G, Droid 2, and BlackBerry Torch

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Samsung Epic 4G box (top)

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Samsung Epic 4G box (bottom)

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • BlackBerry Torch 9800 box (top)

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • BlackBerry Torch 9800 box (bottom)

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • BlackBerry Torch 9800 box (contents)

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Motorola Droid 2 box (bottom)

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Motorola Droid 2 box (contents)

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Boxes: Droid 2 vs. Droid X

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Boxes: Droid 2 vs. Original Droid

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Powered off: Droid 2, Epic 4G, and BlackBerry Torch

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Backplate: Droid 2, Epic 4G, and BlackBerry Torch

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Powered on: Droid 2, Epic 4G, and BlackBerry Torch

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Keyboard out: Droid 2, Epic 4G, and BlackBerry Torch

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Back: Droid 2, Epic 4G, and BlackBerry Torch

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Droid 2 and Epic 4G keyboards

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Droid 2 and BlackBerry Torch keyboards

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Epic 4G vs BlackBerry Torch keyboards

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Keyboards: Droid 2 (top) vs. Original Droid (bottom)

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Samsung Epic 4G, powered off

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Samsung Epic 4G, powered on

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Samsung Epic 4G, QWERTY keyboard

    The Epic 4G has the most versatile keyboard of the three. It has a dedicated row for numbers and several special keys (search, back, home, smiley, etc.). The keys themselves are chicklet-style, reminiscent of Apple Macbooks and Sony Vaio laptops.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • BlackBerry Torch 9800, powered off

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • BlackBerry Torch 9800, powered on

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • BlackBerry Torch 9800, QWERTY keyboard

    The BlackBerry Torch has the traditional BlackBerry qwerty that has been around on high-end devices since the BlackBerry 8800 World Edition. It is a top quality keyboard with a nice weight to it and typically has a low error rate. Those who are already familiar with BlackBerry will love the standard feel.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Motorola Droid 2, powered off

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Motorola Droid 2, powered on

    You can also read the companion blog post.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

  • Motorola Droid 2, QWERTY keyboard

    The Droid 2 keyboard is the worst of the three. The keys are too flat and non-distinct and there are no special keys other than the arrow keys. The Droid 2 keyboard is better than the original Droid keyboard, but that's not saying much. Most of the people I know who have a Droid bought it at least partly because of the physical keyboard. But those same people report that 90% of the time they never use it, since it's so bad.

    Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic

Droid 2 (top), Epic 4G (bottom), and BlackBerry Torch (right)

For those who still prefer a hardware keyboard on their smartphone, here are comparison photos of three great devices: Motorola Droid 2, Samsung Epic 4G, and BlackBerry Torch 9800.

Check out the close-up photos at the end of the gallery for a description and critique of each of the three keyboards. You can also read the companion blog post.

Photo credit: Jason Hiner / TechRepublic
Related Topics:
Mobility Security Hardware Software Apple Android Google

By Jason Hiner

Jason Hiner is Editorial Director of CNET and former Editor in Chief of TechRepublic. He's co-author of the book, Follow the Geeks.

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