Android QWERTY Smartphones: The Best Devices In 2012 So Far

QWERTY keyboard-based smartphones are still making rounds in the market although most of the customers are now opting for full touchscreen devices. And Android along with QWERTY is a great combination.

Let's have a look at the best of 2012 so far.

Samsung Epic 4G (Sprint): Though some may argue that the Epic 4G is similar to Samsung Captivate Glide, yet this device is not to be undermined. Epic 4G is one of Sprint's best full QWERTY Android smartphone and has a 4-inch Super AMOLED (480 x 800) display. Although the device runs on Android 2.1, it has a 1 GHz Hummingbird processor with a 5-Row Slide-Out QWERTY Keyboard with 4 dedicated Android buttons.

Internal storage of 1 GB has been packed with an included 16GB microSD card and 512 MB of RAM. The device boasts a 1500 mAh Li Ion battery and a 5 MP rear camera with video capabilities at 720p, as well as a front-facing camera. The 4G offered is also 10X faster than a normal 3G.

Motorola Droid 4 (Verizon): Motorola Mobility launched the Droid 4 on February 10. The smartphone is powered by Android 2.3.5 or Gingerbread and can be upgraded to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It is the newest QWERTY phone at the moment that has built its success on the popularity of the first ever Droid.

Droid 4 sports a cool 5-Row keyboard with backlighting, responsive tactile feel and useful shortcuts.

The device has a 4-inch (960 x 540) display with a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor. The phone packs a 16GB internal memory with microSD card slot and 1 GB of RAM. An 8MP rear camera with video capabilities of 1080p has been provided alongside a front-facing 1.3MP camera with video capabilities of 720p. The device has a 1785 mAh Li Ion battery and is 4G enabled.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro: Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro is a good-looking device that comes in three cool color options and sports a full QWERTY keyboard, which is complete with a full set of arrow keys and a long space key. Though the device currently runs on Android 2.3, yet Sony has promised that an Android 4.0 upgrade will soon be available.

The device has a 3.7-inch (480 x 854) display with a 1 GHz processor. A 4-Row Slide-Out QWERTY Keyboard has been provided to make typing easy. A rear camera of 8MP is available alongside a front-facing camera, with an included 8GB microSD card and expandable up to 32 GB, with 512 MB of RAM. The device includes a 1500 mAh Li lon battery but no 4G.

Samsung Captivate Glide (AT&T): This smartphone packs a powerhouse inside it and is a great 4G device and costs a bit less than its competitors. The phone sports a beautiful 4-Row Slide-out QWERTY keyboard, with four dedicated buttons that work with the Android OS (home, menu, back, and search).

The device has a 4-inch (480 x 800) display with an NVIDIA Tegra 2 1GHz Dual-Core Processor. The Captive Glide runs on Android 2.3.6 or Gingerbread and has an internal memory of 8 GB that can be expanded up to 32GB via an external microSD card slot, with 1 GB of RAM. The device packs an 8MP rear camera with 720p video capability with 4X Zoom, and a 1.3MP front-facing camera. A 1650 mAh Li Ion has been provided and is AT&T HSPA+ 4G enabled.

Motorola Droid Pro XPRT (Sprint and Verizon): A Global Ready device (Verizon), the Droid Pro provides you with the feel of a BlackBerry and won't even cost you a dime as long as you sign up for a two-year contract.

Droid Pro has 3.1-inch (480×320) display and is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor. The device runs on Android 2.2 with a 4-Row Candy Bar Form Factor keyboard. There is 2GB of internal storage and a 2GB microSD card provided and can be later expanded up to 32GB with 512 MB of RAM under the hood.

Droid Pro offers a 5MP camera that provides DVD-D1 quality video capture. However, a front-camera is missing. The device has a 1420 mAh battery and 4G is missing.