I love the Zest but there's no way I'd make it the entry level push email device in my business. It hasn't even got a harware keyboard.

Agreed, although a decent touch interface and s/w keyboard might work well to make it a decent enterprise device.

I don't agree. I think for Enterprise devices you need a hardware keyboard. Maybe a few people who read and don't write emails might get away with it but as a rule of thumb it has to have a keyboard in my book.

I would tend to agree with Wavey on that. As a hardened user I don't need a keyboard as I'm so comfortable with the SIPs available but a user picking up the device will need some form of hardware input system.

That's true, but with the move towards touch screen devices in the consumer market, you will get some users who are more proficient with the SIP and others who can use the small fiddly hardware keys! The iPhone SIP is the quickest input method I've used on any smartphone, and that's not something I was expecting to be able to say after coming from the xT9 from HTC!

I think my favourite is the hardware keyboard on the Touch Pro. I am blazingly fast and accurate on that. Personally I didn't like the keyboard on the iPhone, I thought it was the worst thing about it.

Again, I hate to admit it Dave, but I'm with you. I still find the iPhone on-screen SIP terrible to use yet I can rattle through Letter Recogniser or the hardware keyboard with startling accuracy.

Though your point has merit, Bydandie, in that the wider prevalence and availability of touchscreen devices will shift this in the future, however, for legal reasons (mis-typed information) I would think enterprises will continue to seek hardware keyboards....

You know what they said about Geniuses mate!

I just can't do without a hardware keyboard, and I'll agree that the Touch Pro has had the best keyboard so far IMO...

I'm also a big fan of 70's calculators, hence today I am mainly using the Palm Treo Pro...
posted via mobile portal

Now I think the days of the 70's style calculator are numbered with a shift to the two extremes - either hardware keyboard or software SIP on touchscreen - thumb keyboards I think will die out eventually...