AT&T Releases Flood of QWERTY Phones
By Nick Mokey
October 14, 2008
The carrier has introduced announced no less than four new messaging phones with full QWERTY keyboards, which will appear this fall.
Feeding a growing consumer hunger for cheap QWERTY-equipped phones that make tapping out text easier, AT&T unveiled a menu of four brand new messaging phones on Tuesday. The Pantech Matrix, Samsung Propel, Pantech Slate and AT&T Quickfire all feature full QWERTY keyboards at prices under $100.
The staggered release schedule for the phones will see the Matrix, Propel and Slate hit stores in late October, while the most high-end of the bunch, the QuickFire, will debut in November.
The Matrix follows closely in the footsteps of Pantech’s earlier Duo design by offering a QWERTY keyboard that slides out the side and a number pad that slides out the bottom, leaving the majority of the front as uninterrupted LCD screen. AT&T offers it immediately in navy blue or black with green, and will also add red to the line on Oct. 16. It sells for $80 with a two-year contract and rebate.
Pantech’s Slate takes the opposite approach, with zero sliding parts and the QWERTY pad added to its face below the LCD. Its claim to fame: AT&T says it’s the world’s thinnest phone with a full keyboard. It’s also the cheapest in the new line at just $50 with rebate and contract.
Samsung’s Propel takes a quirkier approach to hiding its keys with a fat front profile and a QWERTY board that slides out of the bottom, rather than the side. AT&T will offer it in blue, green, red, and white with red for $80 after contract and rebate, later in October.
Finally, the Quickfire (manufactured by UTStarCom) combines both a touch screen and full keyboard, plus 3G to boot, putting it more in the league of T-Mobile’s upcoming G1 or Sprint’s HTC Touch Diamond Pro. It will also be the priciest, at $100 after contract and rebate. AT&T will release it in orange, lime and silver in November.