[Pete6]

HTC had an EVO with a vertical slider keyboard a couple of years back, I think. It was called EVO Shift and it had a slightly smaller screen than the original EVO, it didn't have a front facing camera, but it had a decent keyboard. I am not sure if it sold well or not, but I wanted to see more manufacturers go with keyboards.

Maybe slider keyboards with large touch screens will become more popular that gives you the best of both worlds? So far though, I think those type phones have been a niche. I remember the original G1 and its evolution from Droid to Droid 4. Or remember the Palm Pre? I think that design inspired the Torch 9800 and 9810. I luv that design.

When will consumers realize slider phones give you everything the touch slabs give you in having a large touch screen, but then also a serviceable slide out physical keyboard? So far most of the slider phones have had OK keyboards, nothing like a Bold 9900/9930, but solid. Although I must confess, I do like the Droid 4 keyboard...

For me the choice is not IF keyboard, it is more a question of WHICH keyboard.

The choices are clear, fixed, vertical slider, horizontal slider or clamshell.

I like the vertical slider because I can use the device like a real phone and with one hand.

If I can't have that then I'll have a fixed keyboard design like the Bold. Again this is because I can operate the device single handed.

Never again will I consider a touch screen only device. I had an iPhone for just over a month and I almost jumped for joy when I sold the horrid little thing. I now have a 9810 and love it.

[lnichols]

As virtual keyboard technology improves the physical becomes less relevant to a growing pool of users. Some will always want a good physical keyboard. As for voice dictation, I personally have no desire to talk to my phone to do things. I've seen people arguing with their phones and have no desire to be that "hip".

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Crackberry App!

[qbnkelt]

Siri already tells me that I have to speak in American English every time I try to get something done with her. If I had to speak an entire message the motherboard would fry.
Had the 4s for months and she still hasn't been able to learn my accent.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ubizmo]

As virtual keyboard technology improves the physical becomes less relevant to a growing pool of users. Some will always want a good physical keyboard.

This is the point. The fact that many of us here, myself included, prefer a hard keyboard doesn't show that they're not obsolete. They become obsolete when the number who demand them is too small to make it worthwhile to build them.

When the BB trackwheel went away there were plenty who said they had no desire to use anything else and would just keep their trackwheel model BBs. Some of them may still be here, still using them. Nonetheless the trackwheel is obsolete.

I think the hard keyboard is headed in the same direction. If so, the protests of those of us who don't want all-touch just won't matter.

[antheauxny]

Virtual keyboards are good, I love the iPhone one.
But still, there's nothing like a physical keyboard.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

[ichat]

Let's see how long it takes you to dictate a message in vlingo.

After the experience, you will be dying to go back to the type writer.

And I'm sorry, you seem as if you have never used a keyboard in your life. They are wonderful even though I love touchscreen ones! I'm sorry but physical are physical and I won't put it as number 2 even if I could think my thoughts and the system patches it through.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9860 on 7.1.0.342 with Tapatalk and my fingers

[_StephenBB81]

I can see Keyboard phones costing more than their touchscreen counterparts in the near future.

But there is no replacement for the physical qwerty.
Those who think voice dictation is a replacement must type extremely slowly, and not have much to say,

The touchscreen keyboard is fine, and fine is as good as I can rate it right now for short messages, but the long emails that require editing and moving things around is slow and combersome. Even on large screens such as my ipad, I must send the file to the laptop work on it and send it back, the hold and press to zoom in and place the curser is just slow,
The bulk of mobile phone users probably don't need a keyboard, if feature for feature the keyboard and touchscreen were equal it would see the value of the keyboard, but that won't ever happen.

I for one am trying very very hard to use a touchscreen device right now, to the point of leaving my BlackBerry in the car, and I have never been so angry at life! Lol.

[amazinglygraceless]

Let's see how long it takes you to dictate a message in vlingo.

The way I see it is if I have to "talk to" my phone to send someone a message I'm
better off doing it the way I always have...... I CALL them.

As for the argument of the usefulness of Vlingo and other voice dictation apps
in the car, this is a non starter for me since I DO NOT use my phone in the car
(before anyone asks, yes that even includes stop lights and such).
All calls, texts, emails, etc can wait until I get to where I have to be.

[itmccb]

Hmm... Now I'm tempted to buy one of the Torches off-contract. Touch screen keyboards are very valuable to me (multiple languages, layouts, faster access to symbols, more symbols, etc.) but positioning the cursor is an exercise in frustration without arrow keys or a trac pad. Kinda wish RIM would kept it around for BB10.

[llllBULLSEYE]

speaking to the phone is annoying. I rather call.
Once it reads/types something wrong you gotta delete the whole
thing and then you gotta confirm and it only understands robot
language. Can't stand touch keyboards either. I can type blind
easy 30-35 wpm on my physical keyboard and probably 2 wpm on a touch.
F that I will always pay top dollar for a Keyboard phone I don't
care. There are still millions of people who are years away from
giving up their keyboard phones.

[southlander]

When I can voice dictate things on any phone without ever needing to repeat anything, I will consider using that. Right now all that stuff simply does not work well enough.

Then there are also issues with speaking to devices in the presence of others. It is annoying and not exactly confidential.

Not really interested.

I use Vlingo at times when driving. It is a pain in the a**. Works barely well enough to be of use. Simple short replies.

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9930 using Tapatalk

[ynomrah]

All I can really say for me personally is that I type much faster on a touch screen keyboard then a physical one. On my bold 9000 for instance I maybe type 25-30 wpm which is pretty good. On my touch based devices I'd say about 45-50 wpm.

Personally i think its because it requires a lot less finger movement. Having to move over a key then physically press it in seems to take a bit more time as opposed to simply moving over the key. Also being pretty accurate helps, along with having a rather large screened android device.

My .02.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2

[Mister-E]

Let's see how long it takes you to dictate a message in vlingo.

After the experience, you will be dying to go back to the type writer.

And I'm sorry, you seem as if you have never used a keyboard in your life. They are wonderful even though I love touchscreen ones! I'm sorry but physical are physical and I won't put it as number 2 even if I could think my thoughts and the system patches it through.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9860 on 7.1.0.342 with Tapatalk and my fingers

When I had a Blackberry, I used to dictate emails and text messages all the time with Vlingo when I was in a rush, and never had a problem. Currently I have an iPhone (until the BB10 phones come out) and although Siri is overrated I have no problem using it to dictate a long text message or email. I have used physical keyboards, but not very much.

Anyway, the point of my post was the post keyboard era, where physical keyboards are losing their relevance, and the majority of smart phones out there are touchscreen ones. Like I mentioned, voice is not the only feature, but also Swype and the BB10 virtual keyboard provide a sufficient experience as a physical keyboard. At the end of the day, it all comes down to choice, and the need for a physical keyboard is becoming more of a niche product.

[Mister-E]

I can see Keyboard phones costing more than their touchscreen counterparts in the near future.

But there is no replacement for the physical qwerty.
Those who think voice dictation is a replacement must type extremely slowly, and not have much to say,

The touchscreen keyboard is fine, and fine is as good as I can rate it right now for short messages, but the long emails that require editing and moving things around is slow and combersome. Even on large screens such as my ipad, I must send the file to the laptop work on it and send it back, the hold and press to zoom in and place the curser is just slow,
The bulk of mobile phone users probably don't need a keyboard, if feature for feature the keyboard and touchscreen were equal it would see the value of the keyboard, but that won't ever happen.

I for one am trying very very hard to use a touchscreen device right now, to the point of leaving my BlackBerry in the car, and I have never been so angry at life! Lol.

When I had a Blackberry it was a Storm. I think it had OS5. Anyway, selecting text was a pain. Now I have an iPhone 4s and I don't find it difficult to select or edit text. I can see it easier using a track pad but not by much.

[sleepngbear]

When I had a Blackberry it was a Storm. I think it had OS5. Anyway, selecting text was a pain. Now I have an iPhone 4s and I don't find it difficult to select or edit text. I can see it easier using a track pad but not by much.

It is MUCH easier selecting, cutting and pasting blocks of text with a touchpad and physical keys than on a touchscreen. For most users that do a lot of text-based work, and I mean more than text messaging and short emails, nothing works as well as a physical keyboard.

[Plazmic Flame]

A physical keyboard will always be relevant and a necessity for me.

I send and receive a ton of emails, and create and edit far too many large documents to be
futzing with a virtual keyboard. To me those things are the antithesis to productivity.

Apps such as Vlingo are an absolute waste to me. Anything I can accomplish with voice
recognition software I have found I accomplish 2 - 3 times faster without.

While I am looking forward to BB10 I will not be spending a dime on it UNTIL there is a
device with a physical keyboard.

^This

Also, I know lots of people with Android and iOS devices. The only time people use voice functions are to show something off to someone else. Never seen anyone dictate a text/email in public.

[itmccb]

^This

Also, I know lots of people with Android and iOS devices. The only time people use voice functions are to show something off to someone else. Never seen anyone dictate a text/email in public.

I'm sure there's a number of things you don't see people doing in public

[Herbal_T_Bag]

I think physical keyboards are becoming a thing of the past. I for one enjoy my QWERTY keyboard and can type faster and not have to look at my phone to type a message. It is really a matter of personal opinion some people like them some people don't.

[Taigatrommel]

I think another reason why touch only becomes more and more interesting would be the "hipness" of the new touchscreen devices. For example one of my co-workers just got his first smartphone, some newer Sony Ericsson one.
He looked at my new Bold and was baffled why I would still buy such a dinosaur in 2012. He said he pressed buttons for such a long time, now he just swipes his finger over the screens and the words appear. It's "magical" I guess, at least it sound like it. For many people the all touch experience is something new and too many would always like to try something new.

Also it depends on how important a keyboard really is. There are people out there who are just doing some occassional short texting, chatting or searching on the web. Maybe a Tweet here and a Facebook status there. For such short texts, on my previous slider models, I also prefered the onscreen keyboard. Because it was a hassle to slide the keyboard out everytime for a short text.

That group of people might also dislike "always there" QWERTY devices because they don't need the keyboard to be always there. A friend of mane has also been a fan of physical keyboards, owned Nokia Communicators like me. However he also made the iPhone switch back when the 3Gs was released. Mainly because he didn't like the now available sliders and took a closer look at Blackberry. However on these devices the screen was too small for his taste. Because now he prefers to rather have an onIdemand virtual keyboard than a fixed one which limits the screen size. For things like office and longer mails he got himself a decent Netbook.

[AlienSlacker]

After suffering through an Evo4g and Iphone4 I cant see myself ever going back to a touchscreen keyboard again. The keyboard on the 9900 is so comfortable to me that I would be perfectly happy if RIM came out with the exact same bold 9900 device just sporting the BB10 software.

[BigAssBitchin]

Typing on a hardware keyboard has the advantage that you can always type 'blind'! That way, I can keep bbm-ing while pretending I'm listening to a live conversation!

/kidding

[GeneralTech]

Physical keyboards are still a selling point, they are part of the reason blackberry has been able to survive against its competitors as long as it has. The fact is, that competitors of rim have not been able to figure out how to incorporate physical keyboards effectively on new devices and not make it awkward. That fact does not invalidate physical keyboards themselves so much as the inability of manufacturers to adapt. In my opinion tactile response will always be superior, being able to feel what your typing ads another dimension to the experience. I spend more time re-typing autocorrected words than i do with a physical keyboard making and fixing typos.

I cant see myself purchasing a bb10 model with any urgency unless it comes with a keyboard.

[jono212.]

I could not stand using my iphone for writing long e-mails yes the virtual keyboard is brilliant but for me it will never be as good as a physical keyboard.



Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[_StephenBB81]

When I had a Blackberry it was a Storm. I think it had OS5. Anyway, selecting text was a pain. Now I have an iPhone 4s and I don't find it difficult to select or edit text. I can see it easier using a track pad but not by much.

Well I have the iPhone4S and the BlackBerry Bold 9790


And for the sake of this reply I have taken an email that I sent on friday

The email had according to Microsoft Word when I copy and pasted it had 432 words. when I received it.


my reply, which I did on all 3 devices starting with the desktop which I actually used for the reply, and then duplicated on both the Bold and the iPhone4S were timed approximately as such


Reply - 854 words, ( 184 words used as copy/paste from sent email)

Laptop with full keyboard - 14 minutes 32 seconds
BlackBerry 9790 - 16 minutes 11 seconds
iPhone 4S - 24 minutes 12 seconds, ( at least 2 full minutes spent trying to copy the bits out) Now I will give the iPhone some leeway I am certainly slower typing on it, as this was the biggest challenge I have given it, as usually anything requiring more than 150 words I will either reply on the Laptop or the BlackBerry due to typing speeds, but the difference is very big on the navigation side between the 2.

This little exercise was actually useful, I realize what the loss of my Autotext has done for my BlackBerry seeing as I have yet to build the library for my new job with my old one my BlackBerry was faster than my desktop for long replies.

The Storm on OS5 is hardly fair to compare to the iPhone4S, the Storm OS was very poorly done for a touchscreen interface even OS7 is not as touch friendly as it is Keyboard friendly.

[_StephenBB81]

Physical keyboards are still a selling point, they are part of the reason blackberry has been able to survive against its competitors as long as it has. The fact is, that competitors of rim have not been able to figure out how to incorporate physical keyboards effectively on new devices and not make it awkward. That fact does not invalidate physical keyboards themselves so much as the inability of manufacturers to adapt. In my opinion tactile response will always be superior, being able to feel what your typing ads another dimension to the experience. I spend more time re-typing autocorrected words than i do with a physical keyboard making and fixing typos.

I cant see myself purchasing a bb10 model with any urgency unless it comes with a keyboard.

I agree and I point this out to a lot of people

if the Keyboard didn't still have value how the heck has RIM been able to sell Millions of devices, even in North America where the price game isn't as important YES they aren't the number 1 selling devices, but there are people who price is no object who STILL buy BlackBerry's because of the keyboard, I recall one pop star tweeting ( I want to say Katy Perry, but I very much could be wrong) that she is Back to her BlackBerry she just couldn't handle the touchscreen, and other stars equally choose BlackBerry, I'm sure the data compression, or cost of the device don't really factor into their buying decisions, yet some still rock OS5 devices because the keyboard is just too good for them to want to make a change.

RIM must understand this is how they've kept some of their customer base, they KNOW that they can't be only physical keyboard, but the loss of it completely would be detrimental to their current fan base, and current support network