I had a flip phone up until March and switching to a virtual keyboard smartphone was like night and day texting wise. Numberpads suck for texting. A lot of people swear by physical qwerty keys but the Blackberry keys (at least going by my sister's 1-2 year old Blackberry Bold and my ex-girlfriend's new Blackberry Torch that they use for work) are so small. Whereas the keys on a virtual keyboard on my phone (4.3" screen) are pretty big. Blackberry keys give you tacticle feedback, which is superior to vibration feedback but still, I prefer the bigger keys.
As for concerns about protecting your screen, invest in a screen protector and get a rubber shell (or whatever the fuck the material is made out of. So as long as it actually protects your phone) to protect the outer part of your phone. Screen protectors are a bit of a bitch to install though I admit. You have to be anal OCD when installing them. I should have looked at the youtube guides instead of reading the included instructions because they explain the process better. I acidentally put two dents in my screen protector (not the screen itself though thank god) trying to get out the bubbles in the upper right side and it's noticeable when seen on a white background. I should probably invest in a new one but that screen protector set me back $35 (it's a 4.3" screen so that probably had something to do with it. I bought it from a big box retailer though. Probably could have got something decent for a cheap price somewhere else). Don't feel like buying another one. lol.
