[anon(10601319)]

I have to say over a month of having the Key2 LE and still it's a joy to use. But I wonder with all the new and expensive non physical keyboard phones, will PKB still continue to be around in the future? Will this niche market dwindle?

[Bla1ze]

Will this niche market dwindle?

Unless there's a resurgence of people looking to go back to a keyboard, yes. That has been the process for the past few years. People have been 'aging' out of the keyboard. There's a whole generation of people out there who don't even know what a phone with a keyboard is lol.

[Platinum_2]

BBMo, like BB Ltd. in the past, has done a horrible job at marketing to consumers why they "need" a physical keyboard. Since they have given no reason to own one, virtually nobody does. End of story.

[RonZed10]

To be completely honest, even if they went full force with marketing and had a budget of millions for it, as much as I would of loved to see that, the reality is...not only you would have to convince and entire new generation as Bla1ze mentioned doesn't even know about such of a device and the use for it, you have the others who may have known about it and owned one at some point of time, have moved on for years and have gotten use to the use of a full touch screen device for one handed use, speed of typing, not too mention media consumption.

Even women with long nails, which I've heard in the past use to love BlackBerrys over the first iteration of iPhone because it was easier to type on because they couldn't see the content they were typing, and they would use the tip of the nail on their thumbs to type, have bigger size screen options and when at work or in a place with desks or tables at a shop, would lay the device plat on the surface and use one finger to type their content and even type at the speed of light by doing so.

[anon(10601319)]

Thank you all for your response. I find it sad that eventually the PKB will fizzle out. A whole generation that don't even know what a phone with a PKB is as Bla1ze said. Even more saddening.

Let's enjoy these devices while they last eh!

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Thank you all for your response. I find it sad that eventually the PKB will fizzle out. A whole generation that don't even know what a phone with a PKB is as Bla1ze said. Even more saddening.

Let's enjoy these devices while they last eh!

Like a whole generation that doesn't know what VHS Tapes are....

Grandkids don't understand that we use to watch a Disney move once ever decade of so... if it got re-released to theaters. That when VHS Tapes came along year later, it was so great for our kids. Now you could drive down to a store and rent a tape for a few days, and then you take it back.. and pay the late fees as you always forgot.

[the_boon]

would lay the device plat on the surface and use one finger to type their content and even type at the speed of light by doing so.

Yeah I doubt that.

Doesn't matter if its PKB or VKB, this method of typing is super slow.

[RonZed10]

Yeah I doubt that.

Doesn't matter if its PKB or VKB, this method of typing is super slow.

You haven't seen them in action then.

[Gene Fells]

I have to say over a month of having the Key2 LE and still it's a joy to use. But I wonder with all the new and expensive non physical keyboard phones, will PKB still continue to be around in the future? Will this niche market dwindle?

It would be great to see the PKB option remain on offer in future markets, but I doubt it will. It is a niche market, similar to mechanical keyboards for desktop computers.

I proudly use a desktop mechanical keyboard with MX blue switches. IMHO they are the best for typing and using it always brings a sense of satisfaction. That's my opinion; some would disagree and most would not even know that mechanical keyboards are still sold.

I selected MX Blue switches because of key travel, pressure required and the absolute feel of the switch action at a determined point in the key travel. I can mention mechanical keyboards and MX switches to 1000 people and 999 will have no idea what I am talking about.

Mechanical keyboards are not cheap to produce. They also suffer catastrophic damages from spilt liquids near them. They can suffer individual switch failures.

This mechanical keyboard is my first. It has been replaced once because of a backlighing issue with one switch. That required undertaking a month long warranty claim to the country of sale (grey import). It was an inconvenience but I had another rubber keyboard lying around and therefore it was no big deal.

I have owned this keyboard now for 3 years now and still enjoy using it. As much as I enjoy using it, I am well aware that these items are disappearing from the market because of the cost of production and number of moving parts, leading to failures.

Would I purchase another? Maybe, but I would also be checking how far rubber backed, short key travel keyboards have improved. The low profile and minimal appearance is something mechanical keyboards cannot achieve.

The longer key travel of mechanical boards has always been touted as the saviour for RSI and other "keyboard related injuries". Having owned one, I am not a believer of this rhetoric. Others claim, one can type faster on a mechanical keyboard - I don't accept that either.

I have used many scissor switch keyboards previously and think they are fantastic. I was sploit with my first laptop (IBM Think pad).

I use a mechanical board because I like it. I am 1 out of 1000. The tale of phone PKBs has many similarities - IMHO.

Enjoy it while you can

[anon(10562251)]

Enjoy it while you can

This pretty much sums it up. As with all things in life...