But not having a physical keyboard lets you enter text on the iPhone when it’s rotated -- try that with a keyboard. Sure, Apple (or someone) should sell a plug-in keyboard for the iPhone, but overall, I think the virtual keyboard criticism is overstated.

Brandon: I like having the physical keyboard because it is faster to use and doesn’t require a learning curve. I can get used to the touch screen for typing, but with the Pre I don’t have to. And I like how the Pre has keyboard shortcuts -- something that isn’t possible with the touch-only iPhone.

Galen: I didn’t like the Pre keyboard as much as the BlackBerry’s. The biggest reason: Its keys are shiny, so they’re hard to read in sunlight, such as near a window. And the red-on-black for the number keys is hard to read even in controlled lighting. As with the BlackBerry, the keyboard’s labels are so tiny I needed my reading glasses to use it.

Typing numbers and special symbols on the Pre can result in hand-wrenching positions, and you really do need to use both thumbs, due to how the Shift and Orange keys work. (The Orange key is sort of like a PC’s Alt key.) Entering numerals with regular text is particularly burdensome. The iPhone works best if you use just your index finger, which, for me, is quicker than double-thumbing on a Pre.

And speaking of reading glasses, I need them to do almost anything on the Pre. The reason: The Pre’s smaller screen and smaller text -- and the lack of options to increase text size in most apps.

I also get frustrated at how basic copy and paste is not accessible in many applications on the Pre. You can’t copy text from e-mail, the Web, or Doc Viewer, for example, though you can on the iPhone. Nor can the Pre copy graphics. When you can copy and paste on the Pre -- editable fields, such as a URL, phone number, or address -- it doesn’t work as easily as it does on the iPhone, as the Pre makes you tap to choose a start point, press the Orange key, then hold Shift while you select the text. (With the iPhone, you just tap and hold the start point, then drag to select what you want.) When I try to move the Pre’s selection pointer, the device often thinks I am clicking elsewhere and moves to an adjacent field because I haven’t pressed Shift fast enough. And it rarely copies my entire selection even when I do press Shift in time.