My ideal mobile phone "form-factor"

After getting a chance to play around with a demo Nokia 5800 XpressMusic in a shop, I've finally concluded that full touch screen phones are not my cup of tea. I still prefer the tactile feel of a good ole hardware keyboard for text typing -- a full, QWERTY keyboard.

But although I've grown accustomed to my TyTN II's slide out, full QWERTY, I still wished for something more compact; something I could type on with just one hand. I already had this with my Samsung i600, which I promptly gave up for the prospect of a touch screen, PDA-phone. But now I'm finding the slide out QWERTY to be cumbersome, and the PhonePad on-screen keypad for single-handed texting is lacking in the touchy-feely department. So now I find the Nokia E71 near the top of my current gadgets wish list, but fear I might pine for a bigger LCD screen, as I've been spoiled by the TyTN II's 2.8-incher.

And then comes the Palm Pre...

Quick Specs:

• 3.1-in., 320x480 pixels, capacitive and multi-touch screen w/accelerometer
• new Palm WebOS
• EDGE
• GPS
• WiFi
• 8GB internal storage (no card slot)
• 3Mp camera w/LED flash
• Bluetooth 2.1 EDR w/A2DP
• 3.5-mm headphone jack
• dimensions: 59.5mm x 100.5mm x 16.95mm

I first came across the Palm Pre when it was announced in January this year. I dismissed it back then, remembering the negative reviews of the QWERTY keyboards on the Palm Centro and Treo Pro. But coming across more detailed coverage of that CES 2009 event in TrustedReviews, I'm reconsidering my impressions. I don't want to repeat everything already mentioned there, so just click on the links for the TR articles.

CES 2009: Palm Unveils Stunning New OS & Smartphone

"...'Web OS'. This is Palm's long overdue, Android-snubbing, bet-the-farm platform on which the company's future hangs - drum roll… it's good, it's REALLY GOOD!'" (from page 1)

Palm Pre First Impressions

"the mercilessly copied pinch and double tap navigation gestures are arguably more responsive than on the iPhone." (from page 2)

The Pre ticks all the boxes for me (save for the absence of 3G, which, if the reports are correct, will be included in the Euro version, to be released later on), namely the huge screen (capacitive, multi-touch at that!) and the compact, full-QWERTY keyboard that looks single-thumbable (OK, I made this word up). It's the perfect mobile phone form-factor for me! =D