Do People Care About Physical Keyboards On Phones Anymore?

[Zarathustra[H]]

Love them or hate them, but apparently we care a lot

Who knew?

 

[Ocellaris]

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

You realize this already happened and people stopped buying physical keyboard phones right? There were a series of great Android phones with slider keyboards early in Androids lifecycle and people just didn't buy them enough to warrant a continued spot on the market.

 

[evilsofa]

Please bring back physical keyboards. I hate touchscreens. Notice how I can still see the screen on this one? (snip pic for brevity)
Where on this the screen has been obliterated by the keyboard?

The problem there is a terrible UI with a bunch of wasted space. Here's how to do it right. The bottom two are the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

 

[SavageThrash]

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

I have the passport and love it. The wide screen is great for what I do on my phone, lots of forums and reading. The new silver edition is a pretty slick too. Having all those physical shortcuts is a huge time saver as well. People can hard on blackberry all they want, they are still the king of communication, there isn't a phone that can shred emails and get work done faster.

 

[Viper87227]

I miss physical keyboards. I'm terrible with on-screen keyboards. Will be keeping my eye on this.

 

[TechLarry]

I wish they all had slide out keyboards. I HATE onscreen typing.

 

[spugm1r3]

I always dug physical keyboards. I'm not sure if the extra weight and thickness is worth it, since swype isn't a complete piece of junk anymore, but I would have to get my hands on one to find out. Plus, the fact that they have Android on it my sway me.

 

[Hagrid]

I used to like my keyboard, but the newer phones don't have it so I switched.
I hold it sideways so the keys are a bit bigger.

 

[lilbabycat]

yes, yes i do want a good smartphone with a physical keyboard. I cannot stand touch screens. They're f'ing awful for typing quickly.

 

[PantherBlitz]

I have the passport and love it. The wide screen is great for what I do on my phone, lots of forums and reading. The new silver edition is a pretty slick too. Having all those physical shortcuts is a huge time saver as well. People can hard on blackberry all they want, they are still the king of communication, there isn't a phone that can shred emails and get work done faster.

I'm pretty sure my next phone will be a Passport. I just need to decide between the AT&T or the Silver Editions ...

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Looks like physical keyboards have a relatively small but loyal following willing to switch ecosystems and put up with other downsides (like added bulk) in order to have a physical keyboard.

I'm betting someone is taking notice.

Personally I have never come across a phone sized keyboard I could type comfortably on, but I do have pretty big hands. That and the added bulk, and mechanical complexity of sliding/folding designs turn me off completely from these things.

I wonder if there would be a market for a well made third party Bluetooth case with integrated physical keyboard, so that those who like these physical keyboards can have their pick of phone.

 

[SleeperDC]

physical keyboard is a must.

 

[Ashbringer]

The problem there is a terrible UI with a bunch of wasted space. Here's how to do it right. The bottom two are the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

But my point is that you're losing half the screen for a half ass keyboard. I don't want that.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

But my point is that you're losing half the screen for a half ass keyboard. I don't want that.

So instead you can use half the screen area permanently for a physical keyboard?

Pop out and folding type keyboards minimize this issue, but instead come with a ton of bulk.

Besides, who the hell types in landscape orientation?

 

[mi7chy]

Besides, who the hell types in landscape orientation?

Your desktop and laptop. Why is phone the exception?