However, once you need to try to start to write some longer emails or even do some work on one of the office applications, typing on the onscreen keyboard soon becomes difficult. For this reason, along with the launch of the iPad, Apple also announced a number of key iPad peripherals. This set of accessories included an iPad keyboard dock.

The Apple keyboard dock for the iPad is a great accessory for any iPad owner to have. Firstly, it enables you to charge and sync your iPad by sitting it in the sleek dock. There is also an audio outlet so that you can hook your iPad up to an external data source. The main reason to get this dock is the full sized keyboard it incorporates. Now you are able to type away on your iPad with ease.

It is not only the ipad keyboard dock that you can use to type on your iPad, you could also use a Bluetooth keyboard. There is of course Apple’s own Bluetooth keyboard that is great for typing on and the wireless look is very neat. There are also a number of third-party suppliers that you can buy iPad compatible wireless keyboards from. If you plan to use your iPad in an environment where there is a risk of it getting wet then you can use one of the waterproof wireless keyboards available on the market.

The iPad is the perfect device for pleasure but it is also great for business and this is only because you are able to hook up and external QWERTY keyboard to it. If Apple had kept this feature locked out, as they did for the iPhone for many years, then it would have been a different story. Now the iPad is a real challenger to any number of other business devices, especially laptops that seem heavy and cumbersome in comparison. Apple have proved with touch-screen technology that the customer wants it, but it is still clear that for doing serious work the use of a hardware keyboard is still king.

The E63 is only slightly thicker than the E71, but it’s not really that noticeable. The keyboard is mostly the same, but the Nokia E63 lacks the volume buttons on the side, as well as the recorder button. This is a shame, but most of the time you won’t really miss those.

Now for the interesting part: The QWERTY keyboard. The E63′s keyboard is mostly the same as the E71′s, but there are a few differences. The spacebar on the E63 is a bit shorter, to make room for some extra buttons. These extra buttons are really good to have, expecially if you browse the internet on your phone a lot. The spacebar can also be held down to switch on the flashlight, which is pretty handy. The two phones’ keyboards are the same width, and the rest of the keys are basically identical.

Both keyboards have the buttons raised slightly, with a little bump in the middle. This makes it easier to type without worrying about hitting the keys next to the ones you’re aiming for. It also has predictive text. The E63′s keyboard seems a bit quieter than the E71′s, though… at least after regular use.

Another noticeable difference between the two phones is the camera. The Nokia E71′s camera is 3.2 megapixels, which is nice and all, but it’s a pain in the butt to actually use, and even after updating the firmware multiple times, there’s still a slight purple effect over the photos it takes. So even though the Nokia E63′s camera is only 2 megapixels, it’s actually better. Basically, neither of these phones have particularly great cameras, so that isn’t really a selling point of either of them. If you want a great camera, look elsewhere.

List of differences between the Nokia E63 and the E71:

• The E63 doesn’t have side buttons for volume or recording.
• The E63 doesn’t have the IR window.
• The E63′s keyb spacebar is shorter, but it adds a ‘/’ button.
• The E63′s screen is slightly smaller, but the screen resolution is still the same.
• The E63 doesn’t have built in GPS, and doesn’t support HSDPA.
• The E63 doesn’t come with an extra SD card (but you can still add your own).
• The E63 has a 2 megapixel camera, with fixed focus, but it has better picture quality.
• The E63 has a flashlight function, which the E71 doesn’t have.
• The E63 comes with a standard 3.5mm audio port, instead of the E71′s 2.5mm one.

The Nokia E63 doesn’t have GPS like the E71, but it does have a standard 3.5mm audio port, so you can more easily use your favourite headphones. It still has a QWERTY keyboard, possibly even slightly better than the E71′s, and it’s cheaper. So, in short, it’s a cheaper version of the E71. Considering all of the above, I’d say it provides better value for money than the E71, and would recommend it over the E71. Unless you really want all those other features the E63 lacks, in which case, you might be interested in the Nokia E72…

Have you tried both? What do you think?

The E71 recieved many positive reviews and awards, such as:

Editor’s choice and a 8.9/10 rating on CNET.co.uk
Phone of the Year and Best Smartphone at the Mobile Choice Consumer Awards of 2008
WIRED Magazine’s Best of Test in 2008
Highly Commended at the GSMA Awards in 2009

Features

* Pocket-sized for one handed typing, full QWERTY keyboard.
* Two customizable Home Screen views which each have their own active plugins and shortcuts – basically for switching between business and personal modes.
* One-Touch keys for quick acecess to applications
* Auto-completion, autocorrection and learning capability while typing
* Calendar and Contacts
* Built in GPS and Nokia Maps
* VOIP Calling
* HSDPA data up to 3.6 Mbps
* 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, also a front camera for video calling
* Music player, media player and radio
* Built in VPN
* Data encryption for phone memory and the microSD card
* Internet access if you want to use your phone as a modem for your computer

Technical details

* System: WCDMA 850/2100, WCDMA 900/2100and WCDMA 850/1900, HSDPA, GSM/EGSM 850/900/1800/1900
* User Interface: Symbian S60 platform
* Dimensions: 114 mm x 57 mm x 10 mm (L x W x H)
* Standby time: Up to 17 days (GSM), 20 days (WCDMA)
* Talk time: Up to 10.5 hours (GSM), 4.5 hours(WCDMA)
* Main display: 2.36” QVGA (320×240), 16 million colours
* Battery: BP-4L, 1500 mAh, Li-Po
* Memory: 110 MB internal memory, support for up to 32 GB microSD-HC memory card
* Camera: 3.2 megapixels (2048×1536 pixels), video recording in QVGA quality at 15fps
* WCDMA max download 384 kbps; upload 384 kbps
* HSDPA up to 3.6 Mbps
* WLAN (IEEE 802.11b/g)
* EGPRS multislot class 32, max download 296 kbps; upload 177.6 kbps
* GPS and support for assisted GPS (A-GPS)
* FS-USB, Infrared
* Bluetooth wireless technology 2.0 with A2DP stereo audio, enhanced data rates (EDR)
* 2.5 mm AV connector

What do you think of the Nokia E71? Post your reviews and opinions in the comments.

Specifications:

* Form: Monoblock/candybar with full QWERTY keyboard
* Size and Weight: 113 x 59 x 13 mm, Weight: 126 g
* Screen/Display: 320px X 240px, Size 2.36″, Colors: 16 Million
* Operating system: Symbian 9.2, S60 3.1 Edition
* Data/Internet: CSD, HSCSD, GPRS class 32, EDGE class 32, 3G 384/384 kbps, WLAN IEEE 802.11b/g, TCP/IP support
* Connectivity: Micro-USB connector, 3.5 mm Audio jack, Bluetooth 2.0
* Memory: Phone ~100MB free, MicroSD card up to 8 GB
* Software: PDF viewer, Quick office (word / excel / powerpoint editor)
* Camera: 2Mpx (without autofocus), video recording @ 320x240px

What do you think of the Nokia E63? Post your reviews and opinions in the comments.

Then you should consider a QWERTY keyboard phone. If you know how to type on a normal computer keyboard, a QWERTY keyboard on your phone will work really well for you. The keys may be quite small, but they’re far enough apart so you can still type fast without making too many mistakes. There are a lot of QWERTY phones available in the market, so the question you’re left iwith is: which one do you choose?

A good example of a QWERTY keyboard mobile is the Nokia E63 phone, which is actually a very affordable phone with a layout similar to most Blackberry phones. There are lots of other models of QWERTY phones besides this one as well, so you’ll need to look around before deciding which one to get. You should also think about which features are important to you – do you want a phone that flips or slides open, or do you want the keyboard to be more easily accessible, like the Nokia E63 or most BlackBerry layouts? Do you want a smartphone, or are you just going to use the phone for texting and normal phone-like things like calling people? Imagine that, a phone that can phone people! That seems to be the last thing on everyone’s feature list these days.

Phones with QWERTY keyboards fall into two basic categories: smartphones and quick messaging phones. Smartphones (also called PDA’s) are communication and organization devices combined into one gadget, usually with some kind of operating system that isn’t just limited to phone features – which means you can actually install other applications on it. They generally have larger screens as well and more storage space for files. Quick messaging phones are generally smaller than PDA’s and are just aimed at two things: sending lots of text messages and making phone calls. So they are basically just normal phones that have a QWERTY keyboard as well.

Mobile phones used to just be phones, nowadays they’re all-in-one communication and entertainment devices – like little portable computers. So, which one do you want?

QWERTY keypad phones used to be quite rare and hard to find a few years ago. Luckily they are quite easy to find now, even though some of them are quite expensive.

How to decide on the best QWERTY phone for you

You need to read up on all the different phone models available and get to know all the features of each one before you can decide which is best for you. It also depends on which features are important to you. Maybe the keys on the keypad matter more than the layout of the phone, or the operating system. You need to think about these things while you look around.

Advantages of having a QWERTY keypad on your mobile phone

It’s convenient for typing because you don’t have to bother with cumbersome dictionaries or bash keys 3 times or more to get the letter you want. You can type almost as fast as you can on a regular computer, it just depends on how fast you can move your thumbs (console gamers will have a huge advantage here with their gamepad experience). If you’re a workaholic, it’s even better because it makes it easy for you to keep up on work related things no matter where you are.

QWERTY phones also have all the same features as other phones and smartphones, like email, internet, MP3′s video and all that other good stuff. Lots of people disagree on a proper definition of a “smart phone”, but they tend to differ from normal phones in two basic ways: how they’re built, and their feature list. A smartphone is a lot like a small computer (like a PDA), and they generally have some kind of operating system, like Windows Mobile, Android or Symbian. The operating system could either open source, like the Android and Symbian OS, or be totally proprietary like on the iPhone or Windows Mobile. With the iPhone, you can’t easily add your own apps that you programmed yourself unless you hack the iPhone (known as jailbreaking). Windows is a little easier but it’s still not open source. So, open source operating systems are better, just because there will always be a way to customize it 100% to your liking. And also because you won’t be supporting anything proprietary.

Mobile phones have become a lot more than just phones these days, now they’re more like little portable computers. QWERTY keypad phones take this one step further and make typing a breeze as well… so, which one will you get? Check out this list to help you decide.

List of Smartphones with QWERTY keyboards

Here are some smartphones that have QWERTY keyboards – not necessarily physical keyboards though, some of these are touchscreen. If you want a list of phones that only have physical QWERTY keyboards (as in, NOT touchscreen), check out this list: QWERTY Keyboard Phones List

HTC DROID ERIS
LG Lotus
Motorola DROID
Motorola Backflip
LG enV3
LG Xenon
BlackBerry Storm
Samsung Mythic
LG Chocolate Touch
HTC Tilt 2
BlackBerry Curve 8530
Samsung Exclaim
BlackBerry Curve 8310
BlackBerry Bold
BlackBerry Bold 9700
Motorola Devour
HTC Hero
BlackBerry Pearl

Phones these days are more like miniature portable computers, many even come with full featured QWERTY keyboards just like computers do. They also support internet connections like HSDPA, HSUPA, EDGE and GPRS, and 3G. They also generally come with USB and Bluetooth connectivity, so you can easily connect to your computer and transfer files between them.

Samsung Alias 2
Features a full QWERTY keyboard, a unique handset design with a dual hinge. Good for email and text messaging.

Samsung SCH-i760
Comes with Windows Mobile 6, includes MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint applications. Also features a full QWERTY keyboard in a horizontal slider. It’s a smartphone aimed at business users.

LG VX9100 enV2
It’s a sleeker version of the LG enV, comes in black or maroon, features V CAST video, music, GPS, and Bluetooth. Features an integrated QWERTY keyboard, large screen and 2.0 megapixel camera.

Samsung SGH-t729
Also called Blast, it’s a Slider phone with hidden full QWERTY keyboard.

LG VX9800
Features a hidden QWERTY keyboard, high-speed data which is good for video and MP3 playing, also has good speakers.

LG KS360
Comes with a slide-out full QWERTY keypad, 2 megapixel camera, MP3 player, and FM radio. Supports Bluetooth.

LG GW520
QWERTY keyboard slides out, features a 3.2MP built in camera that also supports recording video.

Samsung B5310 Genio Slide
Nicely designed phone, full slide out QWERTY keyboard. Supports multiple email accounts, and instant messaging.

LG InTouch Max GW620
It’s an Android phone, so it has access to over 20 000 applications you can download from the market. Most of them are free. So this is a good phone for people who like to personalise things a lot.

Nokia N97 Mini
It’s tiny and has a tilt screen. QWERTY keyboard slides out, and it has a nice big display considering its size.

Nokia N900
Has a touchscreen AND a full QWERTY keyboard for the best of both worlds. Comes with 32GB of storage space, so you can fit plenty of MP3′s and movies on it so you’lll never have to think of ways to entertain yourself ever again.

Nokia E63
Symbian phone, has a full QWERTY keyboard that’s easy to access and not hidden behind anything (no slide or flip), decent display, 2.0 megapixel camera.

Nokia E71
Symbian phone, like the E63, just better camera, also has satellite GPS (but it’s not totally free to use forever).

Nokia E72
Symbian phone, newer model of the E71 – 5 megapixel camera, better audio port, totally free satellite GPS.

Samsung B3410
Samsung Genio Slide
Blackberry 8520 Curve
LG GW520
Samsung B3310
Nokia N97
Blackberry 9700
Blackberry 8900 Curve
Sony X10
BlackBerry Storm 2