Looking for a smart QWERTY Android phone? Droid 5 could be it

Fans of the original Motorola Droid and Droid 4 handsets — and their slideout QWERTY hardware keyboards — will be happy to see the latest leaked images of what’s being called the Droid 5. Engadget found images on a Chinese web forum showing off an updated Droid from Motorola that brings back a 5-row keyboard to supplement on-screen typing.

moto droid 5

The reported device is estimated to have a 4.3-inch to 4.5-inch display, support Verizon’s LTE network and wireless charging. Verizon has backed the Qi standard, so it’s a safe bet that any Qi charger will work with this phone if it comes to market.

No other information is available on the phone, but one only has to look at the new Motorola Droid Ultra line and the Moto X to take an educated guess. All four of those phones share nearly the exact same hardware internals: A dual-core processor with quad-core GPU, 10 Megapixel camera, Android 4.2.2 and various Motorola-specific features such as Touchless Notifications and Active Display.

These and other related features are meant to help Motorola’s newest handsets stand apart from a crowded Android handset market. So too would a QWERTY keyboard, but it doesn’t make much sense for Motorola to abandon its newest features on similar handsets.

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