AT&T Quickfire in silver
(Credit: James Martin/CNET News.com)AT&T introduced a slew of messaging phones recently, like the Pantech Matrix, the Samsung Propel, and the Pantech Slate. But its most popular announcement by far has been the AT&T Quickfire, a touch-screen and QWERTY keyboard hybrid that promises more than just the normal messaging phone. And we had the chance to get our hands on it this week.
Despite a few design quirks, we have to say we're pretty impressed. The Quickfire is definitely the bulkiest messaging phone we've seen; it's even thicker than the T-Mobile Sidekick. We're not exactly fans of its blocky design either. But we have to give props for its nice 2.8-inch touch-screen display, and the easy-to-use QWERTY keyboard as well.
As for the touch screen, we're very impressed that it's a capacitive touch screen similar to the one used on the Apple iPhone and the T-Mobile G1, allowing us to use just a light tap of the finger for a press to register.
That doesn't mean we didn't have problems with the touch screen though. We had to be very precise and accurate when selecting something, because when we didn't, we sometimes pressed the wrong thing. Also, occasionally we had to hold a press for a much longer time than expected for the press to register. While intuitive, the touch-screen experience is certainly not as refined as it is on the iPhone.
Similarly, we were not impressed with the browser interface. Though we can drag on the screen to scroll through Web pages, there was often quite a bit of lag between when our fingers hit the screen and when the touch registered. Certainly we're impressed that the Quickfire has a full HTML browser at all (remember that the Sidekick does not), and it's on par with some of the other touch-screen phones out there, but again, it's just not as good as we wanted.
Other features of the Quickfire include a 1.3-megapixel camera, HSDPA, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, and a microSD card slot. It's available now for $99.99 with a two-year service agreement and mail-in rebate. For more details on whether we liked or disliked the Quickfire, please check out our full review!
In case you haven't noticed, touch-screen phones are red hot this season. In this episode of Dialed In, we run through the latest touch-screen phones, including the LG Delve and Samsung Eternity. We also dish on other new handsets including the BlackBerry Storm and the AT&T Quickfire.
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AT&T Quickfire
(Credit: AT&T)In case you've forgotten, the AT&T Quickfire is officially on sale Monday. Made by PCD, the Sidekick wanna-be was actually unofficially in stores a couple days ago, so some of you might have gotten yours already. The touch-screen phone comes with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and features 3G/HSDPA, GPS, a music player, and a 1.3-megapixel camera.
The Quickfire is available for $99 with a mail-in rebate and a two-year contract. We're trying to get our hands on a review unit soon, and we will let you know when we're done.
AT&T Quickfire
(Credit: AT&T)Someone has leaked the release date of the AT&T Quickfire, AT&T's latest messaging phone. According to the Engadget Mobile article, the phone will be released November 10.
Made by PDC, Quickfire is touted as a Sidekick competitor because of its slide-out keyboard. It'll come in three colors: orange, lime, and silver, and will feature 3G/HSDPA, GPS, a music player, and a touch screen. The Quickfire will available for $99 for a two-year contract.
(via Engadget Mobile)
(Credit:
AT&T)
AT&T released yet another messaging phone Tuesday, and it looks a lot like AT&T's answer to the T-Mobile Sidekick in a way. The Quickfire is equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard, and features 3G network support with access to AT&T Mobile Music. The Quickfire will be available in orange, lime, and silver in November for $99.99 after a two-year agreement and a mail-in rebate.
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