[m1kr0]

Lots of debate on the Passport keyboard. Here's what BlackBerry's Michael Clewley had to say on this in the official BlackBerry Blogs:
http://blogs.blackberry.com/2014/07/...erry-passport/

"Having given a glimpse of the BlackBerry Passport's square 4.5-inch touchscreen, we wanted to continue this series examining something else that many are curious about.

Great keyboards are in our DNA. With BlackBerry Passport, we set out to create a smartphone that would break some cherished rules in order to set a new bar for real productivity. In particular, BlackBerry Passport's keyboard will show there is an easier way to do more.



The Keys to Successful Productivity

BlackBerry Passport is a unique device that was built with productivity at its core. The revolutionary new physical keyboard is responsive to touch, so you have more ways to control your smartphone without having to use the touchscreen. With rows of touch-sensitive physical keys, BlackBerry Passport combines the efficiency of tactile typing with touchscreen-like navigation to deliver on that productivity promise.

This way, you'll be able to keep your eyes on the goal - getting things done. (If you're a developer, head over to the Developer blog to learn how you can take advantage of the new BlackBerry Passport keyboard in your apps.)

With the Passport's touch-enabled keyboard, you'll be able to navigate web pages, apps and e-mails by lightly brushing your fingers over the keys, which helps with things like scrolling and cursor placement. It's a minimalist design that maximizes BlackBerry Passport's already-awesome amount of screen real estate. You'll be able to read documents faster, as well as keep your fingers close to the keys, ready to type.

But what does this Mean?!

The Passport's keyboard also sports some custom commands that can boost your productivity.
Let's take a look:

* Faster scrolling: As noted above, you can use the keyboard to swipe up and down to scroll on long lists in a document or on a browser page. Keeping your fingers off the screen and focused on what's happening.

* More intuitive cursor control and text selection: This is a classic BlackBerry productivity enhancement reinvented for the Passport. Double-tap the keyboard, then drag your finger across the keyboard to drop the cursor at precisely the right point. Or select the text just as you would on an older BlackBerry: hold the SHIFT key while dragging your finger across the keyboard to extend a selection.

* Smart, contextual virtual keys: The Passport's QWERTY 3-row keyboard creates a clean-looking, right-sized layout. There is also a virtual 4th row on-screen that smartly shifts depending on context. So if you're typing a password on-screen, the 4th row would automatically include numbers and symbols commonly used in passwords. If you're typing an e-mail, the @ symbol will be displayed, and when surfing the Web, the colon and backslash characters needed to type in a URL will be displayed. Like I said, smart! With a little practice, most Passport users should find themselves typing faster than ever before.

* Flick to type: Stuck on a word? BlackBerry 10's next word suggestion feature learns from you to give you smart, personalized choice of words you're likely to type. You then just flick up to complete the word.

* Easier delete: Made a mistake? No problem, just swipe back (left) to Delete the last word, just like on our virtual keyboard!

* Entering an accented character? Hold the letter key down, and then lightly tap on the key to add the appropriate accent!
As you can see, we've taken something great ? the BlackBerry 10 keyboard ? and innovated with the boundary-breaking design of the BlackBerry Passport form factor, while staying focused on one thing: YOUR productivity.

Stay tuned as we look forward to continuing to bring you more details in the near future!"

Posted via CB10

[attaturk]

Wow! Getting more and more excited about this device with each passing day! Can't wait to buy it on launch day

Posted via CB10

[BroncoVAL]

select the text just as you would on an older BlackBerry: hold the SHIFT key while dragging your finger across the keyboard to extend a selection

That is great! so you press the virtual shift and select the text dragging your finger on the sensitive keyboard!

[itsyaboy]

Sounds great!!! It also speaks about a 4th virtual row (instead of multiple virtual rows) which is great! Sure hope that the virtual row can be customised per user!

Ow and Michael Clewley is great!

[m1kr0]

Clearly BlackBerry does not see the combination of the three row physical/ virtual keyboard combination as an issue, rather a new innovation.

Posted via CB10

[Man_apart]

When is it coming out?!

From my ? phone

[playbookster]

*Drool*

The GIF Exchange C001B7B16?

[dbiv5445]

Sounds like it's going to be pretty impressive. My money is already saved up.

[m1kr0]

When is it coming out?!

From my ? phone

Only a few more weeks. September launch on the cards if I'm not mistaken.


Posted via CB10

[m1kr0]

For those interested, subscribe to Michael's channel: C00014277

(If you don't know who he is:
About Michael C.
Michael joined Research In Motion (RIM) in 2001, and has worn a variety of hats from customer and developer support to product management. In his current role as Director of Software Product Management, his time is focused on building BlackBerry 10. Always ready to get stuff done, Michael is truly a BlackBerry power user, but always has time to listen to customers and co-workers on how to improve BlackBerry's products).


Posted via CB10

[bloodyrek]

Sex for the fingers.

[Heinz Katchup]

Finger lickin' good.

[anon(4044683)]

I hope this device will be a success for BlackBerry. They are doing the best by breaking what people naively think as standards and trying to push the innovation. My only suggestion would be to use better materials for the keyboard. It looks cheap plasticky (not the device but the keyboard). I see the screen is slightly raised or beveled at the edges, I wish they screen is leveled to the edges like Z10. I love the renders by Pootermobile. Just a few thoughts but this device still looks fantastic.

[KDB84]

I'm still a little nervous about this device, but really looking forward to seeing how this technology performs!