Do People Care About Physical Keyboards On Phones Anymore?

[Megalith]

Shots of BlackBerry’s Android smartphone Venice are making the rounds, and one of its most obvious features is the physical QWERTY keyboard. Are you a fan of physical keyboards, or do you prefer the software kind?

BlackBerry's Android-based Venice smartphone isn't just a figment of someone's imagination... at least, if you believe Vietnamese resident Ba Minh Duc. He claims to have photos of the slider in action, complete with its hideaway QWERTY keyboard, 18-megapixel camera and curvy screen.

 

[scojer]

The only people I know of that like them are people with bad eyesight or the older crowd who likes to hold onto dying technology.

 

[GilmourD]

Better question:

Do people care about Blackberry anymore?

No.

 

[viscountalpha]

Yes.because Swype still sucks. Im actually faster with a physical keyboard if I have to redo a eyes tgree times.

 

[Yakk]

I'm take swipe over a physical keyboard, but I'll take a physical keyboards over pecking at letters on a flat screen.

 

[SavageThrash]

Still like my physical. Used plenty of touch keyboards and while I don't have any issue using them I find I like physical more. Loving my passport. The slider is nice to have the choice between android and BB10, I expect I will stick with BB10 as I don't use a phone for apps, I use it to communicate quickly with security and efficiency.

 

[Wierdo]

tactile feedback on a real keyboard feels nicer, I'd take that over smudging the screen and correcting a typo ever ten seconds on the tiny screen keyboard.

 

[AaronGant]

The only reason I don't use one on my phone is because it's not being offered on a phone I want.

 

[GilmourD]

Yes.because Swype still sucks. Im actually faster with a physical keyboard if I have to redo a eyes tgree times.

Use Swiftkey.

 

[Lith1um]

The only people I know of that like them are people with bad eyesight or the older crowd who likes to hold onto dying technology.

Or the people who pay for a 5.7" screen, and actually want to use it to see data and not have a keyboard blocking 40% of it.

 

[carnageX]

I still use a T9 layout on my phone, lol - I usually type with 1 hand and doing that with a QWERTY is difficult for me. It's hard to find a good T9 keyboard...but that's what's beneficial about virtual keyboards IMO - you can change it out to one that you do like. Hardware, you're stuck with what you have on the phone.

 

[Glueman]

I just recently upgraded from the original droid to a droid turbo and god do I miss the physical keyboard. Was the main reason I put off upgrading for so long, my messages are now all garbled and typing something that is free of typos takes forever. Also only having maybe 1/2" of viewable screen while typing is horrendous.

 

[Quix]

Oh my god, that's the biggest and ugliest cell phone I've seen in years. It doesn't even look like a Blackberry. It looks like they sent a sheet of specs over to China and the Chinese OEM matched them up to the nearest thing they already make and just slapped a BlackBerry logo on it.

Ever since the touchscreen phones have gotten big enough and the keyboards have gotten better I actually prefer typing on one instead of the tiny keyboards that phones used to have. Maybe this is a just an issue for those of us with large hands but touchscreens are now much easier to type on than their tiny little keys ever were, at least for me.

 

[amddragonpc]

Sure miss the keyboard on my G1.

 

[Tyler-Durden]

After several years with iPhones, I tried typing on an old Blackberry. Not good. It was very clumsy having to physically press the buttons. However, using the scroll ball to select and correct text was sweet.

 

[Soarin]

I like physically keyboard over touch screen. Loved the original droid keyboard

 

[mi7chy]

Can see the attraction for those used to a physical keyboard especially on smaller screens where fingers would mask everything.

Prefer landscape keyboard though like on my old Samsung Epic 4G. Would seriously consider if Samsung offered a Note 5 variant with landscape physical keyboard.

 

[Ashbringer]

Please bring back physical keyboards. I hate touchscreens. Notice how I can still see the screen on this one?

Where on this the screen has been obliterated by the keyboard?

 

[DPI]

Or the people who pay for a 5.7" screen, and actually want to use it to see data and not have a keyboard blocking 40% of it.

Which is probably why they made the phone in question a slide-out keyboard.

 

[DPI]

Better question:

Do people care about Blackberry anymore?

No.

Better question - why not give the marketplace options and they can decide for themselves?

BB may be mostly irrelevant because they didn't go to Android years ago, but best of luck to this new slider phone. Options are cool.

 

[FLECOM]

Sure miss the keyboard on my G1.

this

my G1 and G2 were probably my favorite phones, I could hammer out an email without even looking at them

 

[Grimlaking]

I know a lot of women that miss a touch key keyboard terribly. They NEED them due to the fact that they want to have nails and see their screens when they type on them. For me so much it isn't a big deal, but for them it is a massive issue and one of the reasons they don't upgrade phones normally.

 

[bboynitrous]

I can't stand swipe. I never had to look at the damn screen to type before. If I had a choice I would buy a phone with a physical keyboard.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

slide out keyboard is where its at! love the feedback and knowing where the keys are via touch. plus as others have said, theres nothing to clutter the screen with.

i have an old sony X1, but the keyboard is starting to go.

itd be the perfect phone if only it was faster, had better battery life, a more robust keyboard, used the android OS, a sharper screen...

ok, guess i just like the keyboard and the overall size.

phones are basically fashion accessories at this point. once thats not as popular, we should see saner designs.

 

[Red Squirrel]

When I switched from BB to a touch screen phone I had a bit of trouble with the idea of no buttons, but I find it's ok and I got used to it fast. Though I really think for older folk buttons are better. I can't imagine say, my grandma who was in the hospital, trying to use a smart phone.

 

[sleepeeg3]

Phone: Swype > Physical keyboard > Digital keyboard
PC: Keyboard > all
Laptop: Keyboard > all
Tablet: Lol why?

Physical keyboard on a phone allows you to use two thumbs vs one and not have to wait for a popup screen. That's always an advantage. Howevever, Swype is so much faster that it makes a keyboard a waste of space.

 

[Dekoth-E-]

Only people that still like physical keyboards are those who didn't figure it that it takes swipe style software a few weeks to learn you. After that it's just night and day faster and I say that as an old die hard qwerty guy who hates trying to type on a touchscreen.

There is a reason blackberry style phones are disappearing. As for the women's nails comment, touch is fine with reasonable length nails. Stop trying to have 4" nails and looking like your straight out of a strip club and it won't be a problem.

 

[westrock2000]

The voice to text feature is getting pretty good on phones. For texts, I do not even have to type anything.

 

[ChedWick]

I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the days when I could accurately text without looking at the damn screen.

 

[babochee]

The voice to text feature is getting pretty good on phones. For texts, I do not even have to type anything.

I giggle every time I hear someone voice out a text. I dunno why, I just seems funny. Someone please explain why?

 

[Bigbacon]

i still miss a physical keyboard. one of the reasons i ended up with a phone with a huge ass screen was so I wasn't poking on some little tiny thing on the screen.

 

[potency]

I'd more than happily tolerate the additional bulk of a keyboard.

iOS devices by far have the best on-screen keyboards, but they still suck.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Nope.

Last blackberry I had the misfortune of having to use was a work issued Curve.

As I recall it was next to impossible to type the number 7, as you had to hit the tiny alt key and th eZ key at the same time, and they were right next to each other.

Not exactly made for man hands.

Maybe they worked OK for the daintier among us though.

 

[Simmonz]

I am heavily considering the Blackberry Passport as my next phone precisely because it has a physical keyboard.

 

[qbanb8582]

I had a motorola droid and liked the physical keyboard. But I haven't had one since 2012, I've just learned to adjust to the on screen keyboard.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I love my big meaty mechanical switched keyboards on my desktop, but physical keyboards just don't work on phones IMHO.

In order to fit they need to make the keys too small to the point where they are almost unusable, and having the physical keyboard adds bulk, and bulk just sin't acceptable in a mobile device.

 

[rotarymotor]

I love my big meaty mechanical switched keyboards on my desktop, but physical keyboards just don't work on phones IMHO.

In order to fit they need to make the keys too small to the point where they are almost unusable, and having the physical keyboard adds bulk, and bulk just sin't acceptable in a mobile device.

It's funny you mentioned the bulk part about phones nowadays.

Because as the phones get slimmer and faster, we add these ridiculously sized protector cases that add all the bulk back in that the companies have taken away from the past years' phones.

I for one wouldn't mind a physical keyboard for the fact of having more screen real estate. It's the whole reason why I bought my Galaxy Note 4, because I hated trying to read text messages from my wife while responding when the screen was over half covered by the keyboard itself. (My wife is deaf and cannot speak on the phone so text messaging is critical for telecommunication between us).

 

[melteye]

I miss my Google G1 physical keyboard. I still hate on-screen keyboards... very much.

 

[earnolmartin]

About time! I'm stuck using my Droid 4 until this comes out! In for one. Thanks.

 

[evilsofa]

Better question - why not give the marketplace options and they can decide for themselves?

That's already happened. The consumers overwhelmingly went for touchscreen phones without buttons. Where you been?