Verizon Blitz Slider Phone Makes QWERTY Kind of Chubby

Given how many text messages and mobile email messages people are sending these days, it only makes sense that even the average Joe would want a cell phone with QWERTY. At the same time, not everyone can be bothered with the full smartphone experience, nor do they necessarily want to spend hundreds of dollars on a phone with more features than they’ll ever use.

And that’s the niche that the Verizon Blitz is supposed to fit. On the surface, it looks like any other consumer-level mobile, except for the fact that its dimensions are similar to those of the third-generation iPod nano. It’s pretty wide for its given height. This makes the Blitz remarkably pocketable, but the slider is hiding something very special: a full QWERTY keyboard.

Aside from its SMS-ing tendencies, the Verizon Blitz also gets VCAST, microSD expansion, stereo Bluetooth, VZ Navigator, and a 1.3 megapixel camera. If you think the Blitz looks familiar, that’s because it’s essentially a rebranded UTStarcom TXT8010. Find it at Wal-Mart starting August 8th. No word on pricing.