The pros and cons of Qwerty phones

Having owned a wide range of mobile handsets over my time so far, I've experienced both the joys and pleasures of a wide range of mobile phone keyboards. Whether it's the 2-9 alphabetical keyboard found on most phones, or the QWERTY keyboard common to BlackBerries and touch screen phones, they all have their plus points and their drawbacks.

The case for QWERTY

The last two phones I possessed have been BlackBerries, which have of course been famous for their stylish, yet extremely ergonomic QWERTY keyboards. Keyboard style
Seeing as they keys are laid out in the same manner as they would on a computer, it's no coincidence that QWERTY keypads are common features on email phones. This is because the user tends to spend more time typing emails than they would, say, text messages. QWERTY keypads are quick, easy, and ergonomic to use. No finger/hand strain
This contrasts the repeated-button-pushing of a usual mobile keypad, which could possibly even cause Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) after prolonged use. Speed dial function
For those with large address books, QWERTY keyboards also form a secondary function - all 26 letter keys, can, in theory, be used as a speed-dial key. This is perfect for anyone who feels guilty about leaving anyone out!

The case for keypads

In the days before Smartphones, most phones were of the "1-9" keypad type - a breed that is sadly dying out. But can they rule the keypad roost? Use of keypad phones
You may think that the 1-9 keypad phones wouldn't have a use in the modern age, but you'd be wrong. Most call centres that ask for an alphabetical password to be entered into their systems, assume that you're not using a QWERTY keyboard, and you must go back to the old style of repeatedly pressing numbers.
No game playing on QWERTY keyboards
At the same time, classic games such as Snake and Pacman tend to be completely lost on QWERTY keyboards, meaning that any love for those well-renowned titles, sadly needs to be lost while numerical keypad users can play on in joy. Larger and more visible buttons
Numerical keypads feature much bigger buttons than their QWERTY counterparts, rendering them perfect for people who are the elderly, hard of sight, and the immobile. Final word
Although there are cases for both models of keyboard, my opinion is that someone should use QWERTY phones for business, and numerical keypad phones for pleasure, and in a perfect world, hybrid phones with both keyboards would be my choice.