1. classact's Avatar
    I'm sorry but I just have to vent here, and invite anyone else to second the motion and chime in.

    I have used BB flagship phones exclusively ever since Benjamin Franklin invented the light bulb (okay, fine, so, not exactly -- I know it was actually Thomas Jefferson, but whatever.)

    I'm a business user. I'm busy! Like most BB user! It's a productivity tool, not a way to play games!

    I mainly use it for reading emails and texts and, uh... typing! Emails and texts! Communication!

    The loss of the trackpad has been an amazing source of stress and frustration for me! I know the touch-sensitive PKB is nice, fancy, cool, techie, and all that -- but not in a million years does it come within a fraction of the efficiency and plain ol' control that the dedicated physical trackpads have always provided!

    I'm constantly, constantly fighting with this damn thing as the cursor position goes wherever the hell it damn pleases and I have to wrestle with it and go correct the errors it caused because I was typing when it had jumped to where I didn't want it, or it deleted what I didn't want, and so on! (I don't use predictive text or watch the screen much when I type. I just type -- really fast, and for the most part really accurately, which is faster than going back and forth between the PKB and the screen -- or at least it always was when we had a trackpad and the PKB was... a... KB!)

    Did I say I don't use my phone for video games? Well, with this constant nonsense I feel like I am! It's a damn video game to just control cursor position and typing action when I'm busy typing -- and at least half the time the video game wins and I lose and I have to keep persisting to end the game!

    And yes, I've been using this touch-PKB ever since the day the Priv came out, and am very well versed in the instructions and options and have done all I can do to learn, tweak, and master it.

    And I've been a martial artist and now for decades chi gong and tai chi master, and my manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination are just fine, thank-you-very-much!

    By now, I'm so over it I am actually in the market for any competitor who comes out with a plain candybar with a PKB with a dedicated trackpad! Nothing about the BB experience makes up for this incredible degradation in efficiency since they dropped dedicated trackpads.

    Frankly, it boggles my mind that I'm in the minority and don't see tons of complaints about this. Maybe it's because I'm a bit older and have used BB phones since the days of the trackball and I'm used to the crisp, precision control that the dedicated trackpad provided.

    There's simply no comparison whatsoever.

    BB has told me that since they went to Android a dedicated trackpad isn't as useful since Android doesn't lend itself to using it like a mouse/pointer for things like web selection, but I don't care! I use my phone 95% for typing, and that, to me, is more than enough reason to justify a trackpad.

    Please tell me this isn't a hopeless cause and enough others agree and we can make a case for this, and that there's a tiny bit of hope for some future fantasy build but before we're populating Mars!
    07-18-17 02:40 PM
  2. NightFire's Avatar
    I'm not about to give you a history lesson about Volta or Edison or the other scientists in between, but yes, I miss the trackpad. The accuracy was phenomenal!

    Posted via CB10
    FF22, joshualebowitz and nas2 like this.
    07-18-17 02:48 PM
  3. conite's Avatar
    Unfortunately Android was not designed to accommodate a cursor.
    07-18-17 02:51 PM
  4. anon(2313227)'s Avatar
    the keyboard is a trackpad when needed for editing. yes you can;t use it to navigate but touchscreen is more efficient for that.
    vn425 and pkcable like this.
    07-18-17 02:52 PM
  5. classact's Avatar
    I'm not about to give you a history lesson about Volta or Edison or the other scientists in between, but yes, I miss the trackpad. The accuracy was phenomenal!

    Posted via CB10
    I hope it was obviously I was joking about who invented the light bulb -- though it's interesting to know there was a guy named Volta and that Edison wasn't the only one involved (probably something like a guy named Amerigo being upstaged in history by a guy named Christopher, I presume -- though hopefully that's been largely corrected over time... just like I hope they'll correct the loss of the trackpad. )
    FF22 likes this.
    07-18-17 02:52 PM
  6. bobshine's Avatar
    What about using the capacitive keyboard as a trackpad? It's as precise and doesn't waste room... real estate is prime on a smartphone.

    Apple also has an interesting approach to placing the cursor: their virtual keyboard "doubles as a trackpad" when you 3D touch it.

    I know it's not the same but we have to move on. Trackpad is a thing of the past and people had been living without them for years. BB won't bring it back just for a few enthousiaste... so no, it's not because they are not listening to YOU. It's because they are listening to US... there is no more market for a trackpad.
    pkcable and TCM01 like this.
    07-18-17 02:55 PM
  7. classact's Avatar
    Unfortunately Android was not designed to accommodate a cursor.
    Please. As I said, I know it's not built to accommodate moving around web pages and making selections, but for goodness sake if it can handle cursor position and basic text selection using the touch-PKB it can obviously handle the same functions with a dedicated trackpad. Right? Obviously. Of course.
    07-18-17 02:56 PM
  8. Rico4you's Avatar
    Hello
    Interesting point. Since you versed on the use of the PRIV can add that some these on VERIZON did or have a pointer mode that can somehow get you closer to what you need.

    Here is the links to threads on this.

    http://forums.crackberry.com/showthread.php?t=1100792

    http://forums.crackberry.com/showthread.php?t=1100466

    http://forums.crackberry.com/showthread.php?t=1081698

    Good luck

    Posted via CB10
    wldcrd likes this.
    07-18-17 02:58 PM
  9. classact's Avatar
    Hello
    Interesting point. Since you versed on the use of the PRIV can add that some these on VERIZON did or have a pointer mode that can somehow get you closer to what you need.

    Here is the link to a couple threads on this.

    http://forums.crackberry.com/showthread.php?t=1100792

    http://forums.crackberry.com/showthread.php?t=1100466

    Good luck

    Posted via CB10
    Thanks. I'm aware of it. But that doesn't help me at all. It just helps click things on the screen that are easy to tap on the screen with the finger anyway and it's not my primary need at all. Text selection is text selection. A trackpad frees up the PKB for just typing (and doing tightly controlled things like long-press or Shift-V, of course) without trying to simultaneously be the cursor-positioning tool. That's the problem. This doesn't solve it.
    nas2 likes this.
    07-18-17 03:05 PM
  10. NightFire's Avatar
    I hope it was obviously I was joking about who invented the light bulb -- though it's interesting to know there was a guy named Volta and that Edison wasn't the only one involved (probably something like a guy named Amerigo being upstaged in history by a guy named Christopher, I presume -- though hopefully that's been largely corrected over time... just like I hope they'll correct the loss of the trackpad. )
    Bwah-ha-ha! I was hoping it was all tongue-in-cheek, but you never know on these forums! ☺

    There is something to be said about face-to-face interactions, yes?

    Seriously, I do miss the trackpad, though.

    Posted via CB10
    07-18-17 03:07 PM
  11. evodevo69's Avatar
    Did you ever use BlackBerry 10 devices?

    They had a pretty amazing solution with their gestures (press and hold to select word, hold longer to start selecting entire lines and the entire page, hold alt and move circle to select) and circle cursor.

    Too bad android doesn't do it that way.

    True, a trackpad is just easier but BlackBerry 10's circle took us pretty close.

    And yea you'll never get a trackpad on android unfortunately - that probably isn't BlackBerry's fault though.

    Posted via CB10
    07-18-17 03:09 PM
  12. ajwan's Avatar
    Wholly smokes.....what a bunch of verbal diarrhea. Chill out, use the screen and move on with life!
    07-18-17 03:13 PM
  13. dastillero1975's Avatar
    Unfortunately Android was not designed to accommodate a cursor.
    Really?, then what the hell is that arrow moving around the screen on my Asus TF101 tablet when I use the touchpad? ;-).
    There are some Android tablets (and notebooks with Windows and Android as a boot option) that have keyboard + touchpad and Android manages cursor without issues. In fact the first Nexus phone had a trackpad as well as its HTC equivalent.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_One

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_Desire

    Posted via CB10 on my awesome BB Passport SE
    nas2 likes this.
    07-18-17 03:16 PM
  14. conite's Avatar
    Really?, then what the hell is that arrow moving around the screen on my Asus TF101 tablet when I use the touchpad? ;-).
    There are some Android tablets (and notebooks with Windows and Android as a boot option) that have keyboard + touchpad and Android manages cursor without issues. In fact the first Nexus phone had a trackpad as well as its HTC equivalent.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_One

    Posted via CB10 on my awesome BB Passport SE
    Yes, as a alternative touch interface - but nothing like the fine control suggested by the OP. That would require an OS redesign.
    07-18-17 03:22 PM
  15. conite's Avatar
    if it can handle cursor position and basic text selection using the touch-PKB it can obviously handle the same functions with a dedicated trackpad. Right? Obviously. Of course.
    Clearly it's not a marketable feature.
    TCM01 likes this.
    07-18-17 03:26 PM
  16. anon(870071)'s Avatar
    Android is different than bbos10 which worked great with a trackpad or ball! But if I remember don't they break first on those devices!?
    07-18-17 03:27 PM
  17. dastillero1975's Avatar
    Yes, as a alternative touch interface - but nothing like the fine control suggested by the OP. That would require an OS redesign.
    Hmmm, I don't think so as working with my Asus Transformer using the PKB is like working with Windows or a Chromebook. And I don't remember any trouble when using the trackpad on my old HTC Desire.
    Maybe I'm missing your point.

    Posted via CB10 on my awesome BB Passport SE
    nas2 likes this.
    07-18-17 03:28 PM
  18. conite's Avatar
    Here is the new BlackBerry keyboard beta update. Probably as close as it will get.
    07-18-17 03:49 PM
  19. BLAZEDv3's Avatar
    I got used to simply double tapping anywhere on the pkb to turn on "edit mode" during text input. It works really well coupled with the copy/paste/cut/select shortcuts. The touchpad is still missed but for text input the edit mode incorporated in the pkb does a great job
    07-18-17 04:14 PM
  20. NightFire's Avatar
    Android is different than bbos10 which worked great with a trackpad or ball! But if I remember don't they break first on those devices!?
    I had to remove my trackball on my 8310 once to remove some lint that slowed it down, but the trackpad on my 9700 functions to this day (my spouse uses it daily), some eight years later.
    FF22 likes this.
    07-18-17 04:45 PM
  21. Nguyen1's Avatar
    Hey, want a touchpad? Go back to BBOS then. Get a Bold 9900, and you're set. I use one myself at work, as I was getting tired of lugging around large cell phones.

    Some people double carry. It's probably the easiest solution. Get the best of both worlds then.

    Signature: Still typing away on my Passport SE!
    07-18-17 07:58 PM
  22. Chuck Finley69's Avatar
    Hey, want a touchpad? Go back to BBOS then. Get a Bold 9900, and you're set. I use one myself at work, as I was getting tired of lugging around large cell phones.

    Some people double carry. It's probably the easiest solution. Get the best of both worlds then.

    Signature: Still typing away on my Passport SE!
    Even better, get a 9860 full touch screen
    07-18-17 09:14 PM
  23. evodevo69's Avatar
    Here is the new BlackBerry keyboard beta update. Probably as close as it will get. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a26341789c.jpg
    Whoa - can't wait to try it.

    Not digging that arrow though for text editing. Can see its benefit for clicking on links though

    #qwerty #glassweave #darkhorse
    07-18-17 10:40 PM
  24. ray689's Avatar
    Are you aware that you can double tap on the pkb lightly and easily navigate your cursor anywhere within your text either by using the keyboard itself or the arrows that pop up?
    07-18-17 11:04 PM
  25. ajwan's Avatar
    Are you aware that you can double tap on the pkb lightly and easily navigate your cursor anywhere within your text either by using the keyboard itself or the arrows that pop up?
    That's the thing; the OP is either unaware, or unwilling to change/adapt.
    TCM01 likes this.
    07-18-17 11:40 PM
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