[bigdogweigand]

I remember, early on with OS10, people complaining about swiping to answer & end calls, how it was weird/difficult and you had people saying "what's wrong with you? it is so simple, just swipe" and here comes 10.2 with...Answer & End virtual buttons. What happened? "Swiping" was so simple!

I see people asking for trackpads (virtual/real) for easy navigation. And you get people poo-pooing that because it is old school or takes up space. The selection system, as far as I've seen in OS10, isn't as precise as say iOS, so hence the need for a trackpad (virtual or real).

I love BlackBerry, but if the mentality is going to be "omg, we need to be hip" then I'll cut to the chase and be hip and get an iPhone or Android. I use BlackBerry to be productive, not to be hip.

- Scott

[alibi16]

This is good news for me. Now just need a touch screen flip running BB10

Sent from my BlackBerry 9670 using Tapatalk

[davidmcromano]

I loved the track pad and qwerty keyboard and never thought I'd ever be able to migrate over to a full touch screen device. I went out and got myself a Z10 about 6 months and I'm never looking back. Well I cant really say never because when I spot a Q10 in a store I have touch it every time. Something about a physical keyboard is just amazing haha.

Although I think it's a super good idea to bring it back to help people transition from legacy BBOS to BB10, I'm personally not sure if I'd be investing in one after my Z10 experience thus far.

Posted via CB10

[silversmith75]

i hope this is just a rumour... that would be a terrible choice by blackberry..terrible... why not move for ward by going backward...i hate the back button..and no offence but if you can't figure out how to push end call you really shouldn't be operating anything... .

i hope if this is true that they would make the space bar on the keyboard phones a track pad.. and that is it.. no back button...but DO NOT PUT ANYTHING ON THE FULL SCREEN PHONES.... i would be finished with any new blackberries..ahh i can't believe how mad i am right now with this news..

[FF22]

From my experience with my Q10 i don't miss the trackpad nor the start/end call keys, and i always thought it was a good and courageous move for BB10 to present a brand new experience together with a new OS.
Maybe i could see something interesting in the trackpad for selecting text or browsing internet...
would like to see it in action and try it by myself... but Q10 experience is already very good at browsing with the space bar to scroll and other shortcuts...
so let's see (i only hope that move won't confuse a little more the consumers as those physical keys and trackpad were associated to old BB7 experience that was very poor for a smartphone...)

Yes, and it was courageous for Coke to go with NEW COKE. Who cares about our loyal drinkers - give them kool aid.

The new OS and the New Design did not seem to take the BB world nor the rest of the world by storm (no pun intended). So re-introducing a beloved feature for those who like EDITING CONTROL is a step backward. I am not so sure. 70 million track-something (ball/pad/?) users did not jump on board. Maybe 35 million will for a trackpad device.

[collinc93]

forward ever backward never!!! No man who plows and keeps looking back will ever dig a proper farrow.....time for BB to keep moving.....seriously

[Bbnivende]

Well the mirror image of that is: What if you want a BB10 qwerty device, but you also want a trackpad? That is where millions of BBOS users are now, and they cannot or will not upgrade without it. Those are the people John Chen is trying to rein in. Not you, and not me. Those of us already using BB10 are taken care of. We have both qwerty and full-touch devices to choose from. Why would you object to a device designed to appeal to the bulk of Blackberry users out there? (Assuming it's true that BBOS devices far outsell BB10 devices.) Nobody ever said the Q10 would be done away with - if you love your qwerty device as it is, then use it happily. We don't have to think the trackpad is a good idea, but the legacy device holders do. I say, bring it on, and keep the BBOS users happy and willing to upgrade. Otherwise, someone else will do it anyway, and Chen will lose all those users forever.

Not so fast .. BBOS users are not a monolithic lot. Some want a cheap Curve Q3. Some want an upgraded 9900. Some want a Q10 running BIS. Some want a 4:3 screened Q10. Some want a slider. Some want a Q10 with a trackpad. Some want BB10 -lite.

I think they are getting a Q10 with a belt and maybe suspenders.

[chrisjsandlin]

I am interested to see how this all shakes out. Should be a fun year at BlackBerry.

Posted via Q10

[redlightblinking]

i hope this is just a rumour... that would be a terrible choice by blackberry..terrible... why not move for ward by going backward...i hate the back button..and no offence but if you can't figure out how to push end call you really shouldn't be operating anything... .

i hope if this is true that they would make the space bar on the keyboard phones a track pad.. and that is it.. no back button...but DO NOT PUT ANYTHING ON THE FULL SCREEN PHONES.... i would be finished with any new blackberries..ahh i can't believe how mad i am right now with this news..

How ironic. The back button is the single most used button on my 9930. I use it to wake the screen, to clear pop-ups, and to do something that you must do a lot....go back to something else. Like...the home screen. Like, where you just were.

Gosh, I wonder if that's why the best selling phones on planet earth have a back button too.

[redlightblinking]

forward ever backward never!!! No man who plows and keeps looking back will ever dig a proper farrow.....time for BB to keep moving.....seriously

No man that abandons a fertile field will ever yield a full crop.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Where is BB moving, exactly? Other than away from even their most dedicated users?

[Zenith_Inferno]

With regards to adapting to new technology, there has to be a benefit, and it has to outweigh the downsides. Yes, you can do everything without a trackpad and physical buttons. In that regard you can do everything without a physical keyboard. Different people will have different preferences. If Blackberry is willing to make something I would prefer, then that is a win for me. To provide options that some of your customers want is a nice customer centric approach. Even if they are in some ways redundant. As long as it doesn't hinder the usage of people that don't want it, I don't see the issue. Not really needed on an all touch device.

If I wanted a company to tell me what I'm supposed to like, I would buy apple products.

[SC457]

can't wait to see it, miss the dedicated buttons and track pad sometime. if done right i think it could be a great combination between OS 7.1 and BB10!

[aha]

Why??????????

[anon(4185604)]

This might be a rumour, but it still irks me to an extent

What was the whole point of transitioning people to the new experience then? Bring in a trackpad and you can't call it an all gesture based OS anymore

Posted via CB10

It still will be an all gesture based because it does not lack functionality without gestures. The gestures do not increase functionality but only increase ease. Plus in reality, we do have a volume rocker and lock key :P

I think as far as the usage goes, it's a great addition as it helps copy and paste text like a boss. No other input device on our phones at the moment is so good at doing so. Also, it won't be on all phones, it is likely to only make a return onto a BlackBerry 10 phone with a physical QWERTY keyboard, I mean, that would make sense, right? About a few months before we got proper BlackBerry 10 device news I heard from a Junior BlackBerry rep that the trackpad would make a return, but when BlackBerry 10 came out I realised they were lying.

Maybe, just maybe, she was telling me the truth... Then again she told me to buy a PB as they were cheap, which never got the upgrade. -Sighs-

Back to the topic, the only actual con I can see to this is image, people will think it's the "same clunky old piece of ship" (yes), and perhaps, to some, screen real estate. However, they may opt for other models as for the extra 0.2 inches. However, as for you guys worried about image, who cares about what others think? They think we're stupid carrying a BlackBerry to begin with. Take pride in the unique and signature features that once made BlackBerry devices "the best". Accept them with open arms. Thank you.

Posted via CB10

[Ragbert]

Apologies, I didn't mean to imply that they are all of one mind. But from the people in these forums who have clamoured for the return of the trackpad, and from the people I know personally who once used or still use BBOS, it seems that the trackpad and call buttons are the features that were most loved, are most requested, and most lamented by people who feel BB10 is not as good as what they used to have. Obviously John Chen got the message. I think it's great for Blackberry to try to rectify that. Since I never had a BBOS device, I don't see it as a step backwards, I see it as Blackberry giving its users reasons to continue to be loyal to their brand.

Not so fast .. BBOS users are not a monolithic lot. Some want a cheap Curve Q3. Some want an upgraded 9900. Some want a Q10 running BIS. Some want a 4:3 screened Q10. Some want a slider. Some want a Q10 with a trackpad. Some want BB10 -lite.

I think they are getting a Q10 with a belt and maybe suspenders.

[jegs2]

It is with big regrets that i post this link:

The trackpad, together with the function keys row, is apparently coming back to Blackberries phones!!!

BlackBerry to bring back function keys to win back former fans - The Globe and Mail

Sweet! I just might consider surrendering my trusty 9930 if they do that.

[steinercat]

Early rumor at best, and NO indication that there won't be a plan to have multiple devices (QWERTY or otherwise) with AND without a trackpad. WHY couldn't there be right?

[Kris Simundson]

maybe like the "gesture keyboard" this trackpad will be able to track gestures on it?

[southlander]

My problem / opinion is that those things aren't well implemented on ANY all-touch device, because by nature touchscreens are imprecise.

Agreed. One thing folks often overlook that annoys me -- when editing content on an all touch device your finger necessarily obstructs your view of said content at times.

[southlander]

maybe like the "gesture keyboard" this trackpad will be able to track gestures on it?

Great point. Perhaps a slightly larger trackpad then -- that would be nice.

[Anilu7]

For someone like me who dislikes the inaccuracies of the 'circle' for editing and selecting text, the return of the trackpad is welcome. For those people who see no need for the trackpad then there will be devices there for you too. But don't brush people off for liking part of BBOS so much that they stick with it. It's personal opinion, just like some like the Q-series and some like the Z-series.

[FF22]

Agreed. One thing folks often overlook that annoys me -- when editing content on an all touch device your finger necessarily obstructs your view of said content at times.

Tonight I was trying to edit an html file on my z10 using Noted. I had a hell of a time blocking out the text I wanted to replace with an already copied LINK. I could not easily select the existing 12 characters xxxx.yyy.com. I selected lines above and lines below and characters left and right but getting those and only those characters highlighted took about 15 tries. Since formatting and syntac are important to html, I did not want to accidentally delete or cut out critical data. Give me a POINTER/cursor and the Shift from the old days.

[W1ck3D86]

whats the point of having a trackpad when u have a touchscreen...

[anon(4185604)]

whats the point of having a trackpad when u have a touchscreen...

You know, here at CrackBerry a lot of us think we're so "open minded" and don't have a narrow mind because we don't follow the crowd.

In this thread there are primarily those that love the idea and those that hate it (we have neutrals and peaceful people too). However, even if those categories were evenly numbered, we'd still have 1 in 4 members with such narrow minded comments, almost as if they're just trolling.. A trackpad has never been a touchscreen replacement or vice versa. They may have similar functionality and be used for the same tasks, but they are two separate input devices. It's like saying why use a mouse when you have a keyboard and vice versa.

25% of CrackBerry man... Dayum. Btw those statistics are statistically incorrect, just letting you know, don't be narrow minded enough to agree or disagree with me ;D, or even believe me for that matter

Posted via CB10

[silversmith75]

blackberry just made a huge nistake