Sprint HTC Arrive: Windows Phone 7 is not ready for landscape keyboards

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Sprint HTC Arrive retail box

The Sprint HTC Arrive comes in a solid compact box.

Check out my ZDNet Smartphone & Cell Phones blog for detailed thoughts and a video of the device in action.
Opening up the box reveals the HTC Arrive

When you open the lid of the box, you will find the Arrive sitting in a formed compartment.
Included box contents

The included accessories consist of the charging cable and USB A/C adapter, wired stereo headset, and pamphlets.
HTC Arrive in hand

The HTC Arrive is a rather compact Windows Phone 7 device with 3.6 inch display.
Back of the HTC Arrive

The back of the HTC Arrive consists of a metal battery cover, speaker, 5 megapixel camera, and LED flash.
Upper back of the HTC Arrive

The upper part of the HTC Arrive is very attractive and well built.
HTC Arrive back screw

The screw on the back is not used to remove the cover like might thing and is more of a decoration than something you should mess with.
Upper left side

There is a large volume button on the upper left side.
Lower left side of the HTC Arrive

The lower left side is where you will find the microUSB port.
Top of the HTC Arrive

The 3.5mm headset jack and power button are found on the top. You can see part of the rear hinge on the left side of the top.
Front buttons of the HTC Arrive

The HTC Arrive has the same three touch sensitive buttons required on Windows Phone 7.
Full QWERTY keyboard on the HTC Arrive

The landscape QWERTY keyboard on the HTC Arrive is nearly the same as the HTC Touch Pro 2 and is the BEST QWERTY keyboard on any smartphone.
Landscape QWERTY keyboard

The HTC Arrive landscape QWERTY keyboard is wonderful.
Left side of the HTC Arrive QWERTY keyboard

The left side of the HTC Arrive shows you the available keys on the device, including the FN, emoticon, comma, shift, and other keys.
Right side of the QWERTY keyboard

The right side of the HTC Arrive shows the directional arrows, enter key, Sym button, and other keys of the QWERTY keyboard.
HTC Touch Pro 2 and HTC Arrive keyboards

The HTC Touch Pro 2 keyboard closely matches the HTC Arrive as the best ever on a phone.
HTC's best keyboards

Here you can see the keyboards head-to-head and note how good they are.
Comparing the five row keyboards

The Touch Pro 2 and Arrive both have five rows of button goodness.
Hinge mechanism on the HTC Arrive

The hinge is a bit unique with a couple large springs used to pop it up after it is extended.
Sliding open the HTC Arrive keyboard

The keyboard first comes out flat before it pops up in place.
Lining up some great WP7 devices

The HTC HD7, HTC Arrive, and Dell Venue Pro match up as the best in Windows Phone 7.
Stacking up Windows Phone 7

The HTC Arrive is stacked in between the Dell Venue Pro and HD7.
HTC Arrive gallery 1

HTC Arrive gallery 1
HTC Arrive gallery 2

HTC Arrive gallery 2