[dwadwa]

The BGR guy is effing ridiculous. I don't see the desktop keyboard is going to be replaced by a piece of glass in at least 10 years. Ok BGR I am sure you enjoy iPad typing very much and you are certainly gonna buy the Microsoft Surface as your keyboard - you can afford a Ferrari anyway.

Look, here’s the thing: all of you moaning about having to have a physical keyboard need to suck it up and get used to typing on a capactive screen. It’s what most phones will be in the near future and all in all, it’s superior to physical keys when you look at the big picture. Customizable keyboards and layouts, thinner, more solid, less clunky handsets — everything is moving over to touch and it’s for the better. If you’re an iPhone user and you pick up a BlackBerry (especially the Torch) you literally think to yourself, “What in the **** am I holding in my hands?” It’s that bad.

[Totalimmortal363]

Where is he wrong?

[avt123]

What are you talking about? He is talking about the smartphone world, not desktop computing.

[dwadwa]

Where is he wrong?

Physical keyboard = fail?

Do not judge something just by your own preference. Many people love physical keyboard.

[dwadwa]

What are you talking about? He is talking about the smartphone world, not desktop computing.

Yeah, but enlighten me why physical keyboard is a big fuc*-up? Why many Droids alse have physical keyboards? Even bigger/uglier?

[paintdrinkingpete]

I actually interpreted his intended audience as not just BB physical keyboard lovers, but also those who often complain that the iPhone should develop a physical keyboard for their device. And I don't think I disagree with him entirely.

As a Storm user, I love the touchscreen as opposed to the physical keyboard. In landscape mode, I have a nice wide layout which suits my "fat" fingers quite nicely. In portrait mode, I can modify the keyboard to several different varieties, from a full keyboard, to a surepress mode, and all the to a dumb-phone T-9 mode style keypad. Flexibility you just don't have with a physical model. Does it take a little getting used to? Absolutely -- but as someone who has used a lot of different BB models, I can honestly say that I not only prefer the Storm's virtual keyboard, but I now type much faster and more accurately on it than I ever did with only other model I've ever owned.

I am a BES admin that supports an office that uses (primarily) 9630 models, and every time I have to do anything on one of them, I honestly do think, "why do people really prefer this?!?" if for no reason other than the much smaller screen (I've also come to really prefer just clicking on what I want, rather than having to roll over everything with the trackball navigation).

The beautiful part is though...WHO CARES what I think?!?! There are plenty of different varieties to go around so that everyone can be happy, which makes it seem really silly to worry about it so much. Just my 2�.

[dwadwa]

I actually interpreted his intended audience as not just BB physical keyboard lovers, but also those who often complain that the iPhone should develop a physical keyboard for their device. And I don't think I disagree with him entirely.

As a Storm user, I love the touchscreen as opposed to the physical keyboard. In landscape mode, I have a nice wide layout which suits my "fat" fingers quite nicely. In portrait mode, I can modify the keyboard to several different varieties, from a full keyboard, to a surepress mode, and all the to a dumb-phone T-9 mode style keypad. Flexibility you just don't have with a physical model. Does it take a little getting used to? Absolutely -- but as someone who has used a lot of different BB models, I can honestly say that I not only prefer the Storm's virtual keyboard, but I now type much faster and more accurately on it than I ever did with only other model I've ever owned.

I am a BES admin that supports an office that uses (primarily) 9630 models, and every time I have to do anything on one of them, I honestly do think, "why do people really prefer this?!?" if for no reason other than the much smaller screen (I've also come to really prefer just clicking on what I want, rather than having to roll over everything with the trackball navigation).

The beautiful part is though...WHO CARES what I think?!?! There are plenty of different varieties to go around so that everyone can be happy, which makes it seem really silly to worry about it so much. Just my 2�.

Below is my reply to another guy, but through it you may understand why I think physical keyboard will continue to exist, because you can type without looking at the keys and there is little learning curve compared to swype or just touchscreen typing. =)

You are right. Variety is important. I just wanna say BGR don't just blame physical keyboard being crap as many users are still fond of physical keyboard.

When you type on the keyboard do you look at the keyboard?

If not, then you know that when you are typing on physical keyboard you don't have to look at the keyboard because it's all instinct-like.

For swype it's no, you have to look at the keyboard to think about the spelling of the words and then get to the correct letters. Cool.

If you learn and practice I am sure you will do well just like on everything else, but we have been typing on physical keyboard for more than 10 years on computer and there is no hassle just to type on the same layout of BB keyboard. And you wanna learn a new input method it's fine. Many of us will choose the fastest way we used to - typing on a physical keyboard

[avt123]

Yeah, but enlighten me why physical keyboard is a big fuc*-up? Why many Droids alse have physical keyboards? Even bigger/uglier?

There are only a few Android devices with physical keyboards. All the man is stating is that the way of the future is touch. It is pretty obvious, because if you look at Smartphones and feature phones, more and more are touchscreens. The majority of newer OSs cater to touchscreen devices.

Also, sliders add bulk to a device and weight. The Droid X is bigger than the Droid, but the Droid feels like it weighs a ton compared to the X. Many people now are looking for THIN and sleek devices. The thinnest devices are touchscreens. It is very hard to throw a QUALITY physical keyboard on an extremely thin device. I had a 9700. It is a very thin device, and to me, it felt like a POS (mostly because it is all plastic). On all 5 (or 4 I don't remember) the keyboard was wobbly, the trackpad was half way into the device, and the device creaked when holding the phones bezel. There are way to many moving parts. The 9000 didn't have this problem because it was bigger (and IMO the best BB ever created). Now I guarantee if you put a solid glass screen instead of a physical keyboard and plastic screen on the 9700 ( this is just for ****s and giggles), the device would feel more solid.

He is right though with touch. There is only one brand of smartphones that is relevant that is using mostly physical keyboard devices, and that is RIM (Nokia too but they haven't impressed much lately). Everything else is touch (besides the Pixi and Pre, but you can only navigate by touch). WP7 is coming out and the only leaks I have seen have been full touch devices. He really is not wrong by saying touch is the way of the future.

[paintdrinkingpete]

Below is my reply to another guy, but through it you may understand why I think physical keyboard will continue to exist, because you can type without looking at the keys and there is little learning curve compared to swype or just touchscreen typing. =)

You are right. Variety is important. I just wanna say BGR don't just blame physical keyboard being crap as many users are still fond of physical keyboard.

That's the exact reason why I think for actual PC's it would be hard to replace a physical keyboard, but I'm pretty much always looking at my phone when I type on it, physical keyboard or otherwise. I wasn't really trying to disagree with you, just play devil's advocate a bit.

[dwadwa]

There are only a few Android devices with physical keyboards. All the man is stating is that the way of the future is touch. It is pretty obvious, because if you look at Smartphones and feature phones, more and more are touchscreens. The majority of newer OSs cater to touchscreen devices.

Also, sliders add bulk to a device and weight. The Droid X is bigger than the Droid, but the Droid feels like it weighs a ton compared to the X. Many people now are looking for THIN and sleek devices. The thinnest devices are touchscreens. It is very hard to throw a QUALITY physical keyboard on an extremely thin device. I had a 9700. It is a very thin device, and to me, it felt like a POS (mostly because it is all plastic). On all 5 (or 4 I don't remember) the keyboard was wobbly, the trackpad was half way into the device, and the device creaked when holding the phones bezel. There are way to many moving parts. The 9000 didn't have this problem because it was bigger (and IMO the best BB ever created). Now I guarantee if you put a solid glass screen instead of a physical keyboard and plastic screen on the 9700 ( this is just for ****s and giggles), the device would feel more solid.

He is right though with touch. There is only one brand of smartphones that is relevant that is using mostly physical keyboard devices, and that is RIM (Nokia too but they haven't impressed much lately). Everything else is touch (besides the Pixi and Pre, but you can only navigate by touch). WP7 is coming out and the only leaks I have seen have been full touch devices. He really is not wrong by saying touch is the way of the future.

Ha, see Kevin's post:

...

Personally, I love physical keyboards and think it'll be a long, long time before that changes. The tactile feedback builds a muscle memory you just can't develop to the same extent on a touchscreen (how many of you can type on your berry without even looking at the keys?!) and the rhythm of pushing buttons is just so much more rewarding than having to watch the screen to see that the letters you've tapped have been entered properly. And of course, a physical keyboard allows you to still pound out messages in bumpy enviroments -- while walking, in the back of an NYC taxi cab, etc. -- with much more ease than trying to type on a touchscreen. That's not to say I don't like touchscreens as I definitely do, but I like having a physical keyboard too (hence why I'm liking the Torch). But I'm just one person with one vote in the poll above. So where do you stand up on the keyboard debate? Cast your vote above and be sure to sound off in the comments with your theories on the future of the physical keyboard and BlackBerry's dependence or lack of dependance on it.

[dwadwa]

That's the exact reason why I think for actual PC's it would be hard to replace a physical keyboard, but I'm pretty much always looking at my phone when I type on it, physical keyboard or otherwise. I wasn't really trying to disagree with you, just play devil's advocate a bit.

Yeah. I am not saying touchscreen sucks. I just wanna point out that touchscreen is not necessarily going to replace physical keyboard on cellphone in the near future, because many users are used to it and love typing with feedback.

[avt123]

Ha, see Kevin's post:

He is a BB fanboy. The majority of BB users prefer physical keyboards. His post is completely irrelevant. You would need an unbiased view. But, it is pretty hard to not see that the majority of new devices being released are touchscreens.

[dwadwa]

He is a BB fanboy. The majority of BB users prefer physical keyboards. His post is completely irrelevant. You would need an unbiased view. But, it is pretty hard to not see that the majority of new devices being released are touchscreens.

Yeah. Then go for iPhone4 or Droid. Why strolling around here because majority of us are keyboard-lovers. What's the point of calling Kevin BB fanboy? This is the Crackberry site for the name's sake so what? If you are not satisfied feel free to jump ship and stop being a troll.

[Jude526]

I do prefer the qwerty keypad. I have used touch and it isn't to my satisfaction. I know there will always be a choice. The developers have to think about the general pubic. I know Android is mostly touch screen and probably will continue that path.
But there are those, who like myself, prefer an actual keypad. Supply and demand will not just become touchscreen.

[Jude526]

I do prefer the qwerty keypad. I have used touch and it isn't to my satisfaction. I know there will always be a choice. The developers have to think about the general pubic. I know Android is mostly touch screen and probably will continue that path.
But there are those, who like myself, prefer an actual keypad. Supply and demand will not just become touchscreen.

[avt123]

Yeah. Then go for iPhone4 or Droid. Why strolling around here because majority of us are keyboard-lovers. What's the point of calling Kevin BB fanboy? This is the Crackberry site for the name's sake so what? If you are not satisfied feel free to jump ship and stop being a troll.

1. I'm not trolling. I am participating in a discussion and I have every right to do so. I'm sorry I do not conform to your viewpoints like the rest of the BB fanboys on this site. I have used the 3 MAJOR platforms (Android, BB and iOS), so I have experience with all and don't have a completely biased opinion like most here.

2. Kevin is a fanboy. I'm sure he would agree, and he is probably proud of it. It is making him very successful. The name of his site is CrackBerry. And you proved my point, the majority of you are physical keyboard lovers (BB users), so you are extremely biased towards physical keyboards. Is that hard to believe? That's why you think BGR is "effing ridiculous", because you are so bias, you can't see the other side of the argument.

3. I already jumped ship. I thought that would be kind of obvious... I mean, you can see what devices I am using. And once again, I'm not trolling. Unless you think trolling is disagreeing with biased fanboys, than I guess I am. I' not looking for trouble, I was just showing the other side of the argument you obviously missed.

[AG212]

I dont think its practical that we will see the death of keyboards on phones, but I will say that there does seem to be a nice improvement in auto correcting words on a touch screen which helps substantially. There are times where I dont have to look completely at the keys because the words get fixed for me or gives me a suggestion of what I meant to type.

[Calotag]

I came from iphone, and when I started using the bb keyboard the only thing I didn't like was that I was soooooo much slower typing, but the feeling of actually pushing on the keys was rewarding like kevin said.
Now, I'm typing faster, and loving the physical keyboard. I really don't miss the virtual keyboard.
That being said, I would like to keep both in the future; hence, tomorrow I'm going to get my bb torch.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[MiniBB]

I don't get this thread - isn't the fact that the Torch comes with a physical keyboard and touch keyboards one of the "cool" factors?

[BoldtotheMax]

There are only a few Android devices with physical keyboards. All the man is stating is that the way of the future is touch. It is pretty obvious, because if you look at Smartphones and feature phones, more and more are touchscreens. The majority of newer OSs cater to touchscreen devices.

Also, sliders add bulk to a device and weight. The Droid X is bigger than the Droid, but the Droid feels like it weighs a ton compared to the X. Many people now are looking for THIN and sleek devices. The thinnest devices are touchscreens. It is very hard to throw a QUALITY physical keyboard on an extremely thin device. I had a 9700. It is a very thin device, and to me, it felt like a POS (mostly because it is all plastic). On all 5 (or 4 I don't remember) the keyboard was wobbly, the trackpad was half way into the device, and the device creaked when holding the phones bezel. There are way to many moving parts. The 9000 didn't have this problem because it was bigger (and IMO the best BB ever created). Now I guarantee if you put a solid glass screen instead of a physical keyboard and plastic screen on the 9700 ( this is just for ****s and giggles), the device would feel more solid.

He is right though with touch. There is only one brand of smartphones that is relevant that is using mostly physical keyboard devices, and that is RIM (Nokia too but they haven't impressed much lately). Everything else is touch (besides the Pixi and Pre, but you can only navigate by touch). WP7 is coming out and the only leaks I have seen have been full touch devices. He really is not wrong by saying touch is the way of the future.

Must have had a bad 9700 or so, because the two I have had were and are flawless...nothing wrong with either...only on 2nd one due to user error...my fault, T-Mobile said don't worry about it...

Also it is his mere opinion...nothing fact at all.

There will always be a place for physical keyboards as many people love that aspect.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[avt123]

Must have had a bad 9700 or so, because the two I have had were and are flawless...nothing wrong with either...only on 2nd one due to user error...my fault, T-Mobile said don't worry about it...

Also it is his mere opinion...nothing fact at all.

There will always be a place for physical keyboards as many people love that aspect.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

4-5 bad 9700s in a row is pretty uncommon. I even had an AT&T business premier account and received my 9700 a week or more before release. Unless the first batch of them were terrible, I don't know. I still think the build quality of the device is terrible when comparing it to the 9000. The 9700 seemed way too fragile to me. But that's just my opinion.

I know there will always be a place fr physical keyboards. But I really wouldn't be surprised to see them get phased out little by little, and most manufacturers only having a few physical keyboard devices each, besides RIM.

[Erandhawa]

Where is he wrong?

lets see first not all people like typing on a screen...second look at the way cell phones have evolved....they went from bricks to small and with the new droids and evo's back to brick just thin bricks but look at the size...now this is only my point of view no hate on these phones i've used them they are great phones features screen quality all great...but do they fit in my pocket comfortable? nope...maybe they fit in other peoples pockets fine...just my 2 cents great phones but i still prefer a physical keyboard along with a touch the torch is my personal device of choice and i know several other peoples choice.

[_StephenBB81]

I wrote this on BGR

____________________
I would like to comment purely on the Keyboard element of this

The Touch screen can never replace the physical keyboard, because one sits at a desk all day they can think oh everyone can use a touch screen, move the phone into the Mining world, and the Mechanic world, and into the Sub 0F world and you find the touchscreen can not cut it, those that have an otterbox with a fully covered screen and keyboard to keep the oil and dust out, and who have to wash their smartphones after going into a mine but NEED them while there will want the physical keyboard.

The comment about the keyboards makes the writer come across as a pompus @ $$, I’m sorry to say, Yes you don’t like keyboards, great, but saying everyone needs to use touch screens is ridiculous, customizable keyboards, please! 99% if not more of the users use exclusively the QWERTY keyboard, which is not nearly the most efficient keyboard layout for thumb typing, but how many developers have made a software keyboard to maximize efficiency? and why isn’t it standard? because people keep what they know, and will continue to do so with physical keyboards despite the ramblings of a tech writer who thinks he knows what public should be buying.

[bigal77]

I saw how fast some people type o a touch phone and it amazes me, I will be switching to an all touch shortly, and Im sure it will take getting used to, but dont they all? I cant type on a small flip phone anymore lol
I used to be a pro at that a few years ago.

Landscape touch seems nice, and talk to text apps work nicely when your at home or in your car. Im sure I will be typing just as fast as a keyboard given a few weeks of use, maybe even less