A Touchscreen with Physical Buttons?

**girl_Interrupted513** · 01-19-2013, 01:14 PM

This sounds interesting for those of us who still need the QWERTY, yet still want the convenience of touch:
The best of both worlds: A touchscreen with physical buttons | PhoneDog
Thoughts?

**walt63** · 01-19-2013, 01:24 PM

This would be cool. RIM kind of tried to marry the two with the first generation Torch - touchscreen with the action of actually pushing key when typing. That wasn't received too well.

**girl_Interrupted513** · 01-19-2013, 01:32 PM

It is an interesting concept if it were to be perfected. I doubt it would go over well initially, but it would be useful. I could see Apple buying the patent for it; something RIM should do.

**BB_Bmore** · 01-19-2013, 01:33 PM

You will never see a BlackBerry use this. Just a non practical gimmick imo.

**BergerKing** · 01-19-2013, 01:34 PM

Interesting concept. I understand her frustration about the lack of any kind of feedback, as well. I was one of the things, combined with a small screen, that turned me away from considering an iPhone. (That, and I like crossing boundaries.)

I can see some serious possibilities, especially on tablets and such as the tech develops. Microfluidic, who'd a thunk?

**BergerKing** · 01-19-2013, 01:36 PM

Originally Posted by girl_Interrupted513

It is an interesting concept if it were to be perfected. I doubt it would go over well initially, but it would be useful. I could see Apple buying the patent for it; something RIM should do.

I suspect that there will be another leap of tech that will make this seem antiquated in a couple of years or so. I've seen some fascinating stuff of late.

**girl_Interrupted513** · 01-19-2013, 02:19 PM

Honestly speaking, if it weren't for my absolute need for the QWERTY, and if it were in my budget, I'd have probably gotten an iPhone. But alas, I don't have what it would take to fully immerse myself into the vast ecosystem. Since the Torch 9800 was my first ever smartphone, I liked the idea of the keyboard/track pad combo (although I hardly used the track pad, it was nice to have). Now, having an Android slider (an HTC MyTouch 4G Slide), that although the device itself feels of premium build, the keyboard, not so much. Plus, the battery life is horrid, which is another must, and worked for me on the BB. I also find the horizontal keyboard slows me down, for not being too fast a typer anyway. Although, I wonder how a horizontal BB QWERTY would be? Anyway, typing vertically in portrait mode works for me. I guess we'll see what the future holds for us tactile users.