[the_boon]

Ok, some of you have seen me write this countless times around these forums, but I think it's worth creating a thread over.
Time to debunk this myth / misconception.

So, it seems many believe that a PKB device cannot have a proper IP rating.

I strongly believe that this is not the case, let me explain why.

This phone is an example that it has already been done before.
https://www.jmprime.co.uk/product_in...luetooth-p-230
However, a water resistant keyboard doesn't have to come in such a bulky package, so this is where it gets interesting:

The BlackBerry PRIV. Its keyboard is essentially waterproof.

Check out JerryRigEverything's video below and skip from 2:41 to 2:58



You can also check these screenshots



As you can see, the entire keyboard is made up of a single piece of rubber. Rubber is a sealant material, water cannot permeate through it.

Therefore, we can conclude that if TCL / BlackBerry Mobile studies this very design, they can accomplish a an IP rated or at least water resistant PKB device.

That being said, one thing that comes to mind is that the PRIV's keyboard felt quite a bit mushy, compared to BlackBerry Mobile's KEY devices.

However,

Blackberry Limited had to figure out how to cram a full QWERTY keyboard under a moving screen module. This is not necessarily easy to do, especially as it was also capacitive.

But since the KEY line phones are candybars, there is no need to make a cramped key design, because the keys don't need to hide behind anything. BlackBerry Mobile is free to copy this design but make the grooves for each key deeper for better key travel, and add tougher springs for the satisfying clickiness that the KEYone, KEY2 and KEY2 LE provide.

And besides, in 2019, the tech world has come so far, such powerful tech is crammed into such small packages.

So don't think that a PKB device with an IP rating isn't possible. It is.

[Chuck Finley69]

Ok, some of you have seen me write this countless times around these forums, but I think it's worth creating a thread over.
Time to debunk this myth / misconception.

So, it seems many believe that a PKB device cannot have a proper IP rating.

That is wrong, thankfully.

This ugly phone is an example that it has ALREADY been done before.

https://www.jmprime.co.uk/product_in...luetooth-p-230

Of course everyone wants to carry something like that around, right?

Attachment 436298

So this is where it gets interesting.

The Priv. It's keyboard is essentially waterproof.

Check out JerryRigEverything's video below and skip from 2:41 to 2:58



If you're feeling lazy to do so,

Check these screenshots



As you can see, it's a single piece of rubber. Rubber is a sealant material. Water does not go through rubber.

Therefore, we can conclude that if TCL / BBMo studies this very design, they can accomplish a proper IP rating for their future PKB devices.

That being said, before you go all out in the comments saying how the Priv's keyboard was a half-baked mushy mess, well, look.

Blackberry ltd had to figure out how to cram a full qwerty keyboard under a moving screen module. That's not easy to do, especially as they figured out how to get those keys to be capacitive as well.

Since the KEY line are candybars, there is no need to make the keys cramped, because they don't need to hide behind anything. BBMo is free to copy this design but make the grooves for each key deeper for better key travel, and add tougher springs for the satisfying clickiness that the KEYone provides.

And besides, it's 2018, the tech world has come so far, such powerful tech is crammed into such small packages.
So don't think that a PKB device with an IP rating isn't possible. It is.

Post this up on twitter for BBMo/TCL.

[the_boon]

Post this up on twitter for BBMo/TCL.

If only I had twitter. Not sure if its worth creating an account for that lol.

[FF22]

I don't want to burst your WATER BALLOON but while it may be possible, I don't see them doing it.

[zer0ten]

it's definitely possible. they'll just need to prove that the engineering cost involved will be offset by the demand for a PKB.

I would kill for a waterproof high spec Blackberry. TCL doesn't seem to be interested in bringing high specs right now and that's ok. I'll wait.

[Chuck Finley69]

I don't want to burst your WATER BALLOON but while it may be possible, I don't see them doing it.

Possible? Yes. Probable? No. At least not for now. Too late for a KEYtwo. If the IP ratings become significant feature with future devices across the industry then maybe. How much does this add to actual cost?

[mfk2901]

Ok, some of you have seen me write this countless times around these forums, but I think it's worth creating a thread over.
Time to debunk this myth / misconception.

So, it seems many believe that a PKB device cannot have a proper IP rating.

That is wrong, thankfully.

This ugly phone is an example that it has ALREADY been done before.

https://www.jmprime.co.uk/product_in...luetooth-p-230

Of course everyone wants to carry something like that around, right?

Attachment 436298

So this is where it gets interesting.

The Priv. It's keyboard is essentially waterproof.

Check out JerryRigEverything's video below and skip from 2:41 to 2:58



If you're feeling lazy to do so,

Check these screenshots



As you can see, it's a single piece of rubber. Rubber is a sealant material. Water does not go through rubber.

Therefore, we can conclude that if TCL / BBMo studies this very design, they can accomplish a proper IP rating for their future PKB devices.

That being said, before you go all out in the comments saying how the Priv's keyboard was a half-baked mushy mess, well, look.

Blackberry ltd had to figure out how to cram a full qwerty keyboard under a moving screen module. That's not easy to do, especially as they figured out how to get those keys to be capacitive as well.

Since the KEY line are candybars, there is no need to make the keys cramped, because they don't need to hide behind anything. BBMo is free to copy this design but make the grooves for each key deeper for better key travel, and add tougher springs for the satisfying clickiness that the KEYone provides.

And besides, it's 2018, the tech world has come so far, such powerful tech is crammed into such small packages.
So don't think that a PKB device with an IP rating isn't possible. It is.

I agree with you that it is completely possible to have a waterproof keyboard. However if you remember correctly the Priv's keyboard was and felt too mushy when using it and I think the reason for that is that piece of rubber plastic. Personally I am more worried by the beach sand sneaking between the keys than actual water that could get evaporated.

[mfk2901]

also I will never understand the craze behind water "resistent" phones. I would never put a top500$ phone in the water anyways. whats the point in those useless innovations. phone companies cant even still offer us phones with 3day or more battery life and can't even provide us with reliable software updates yet we cry about waterproofing phones?

[the_boon]

also I will never understand the craze behind water "resistent" phones. I would never put a top500$ phone in the water anyways. whats the point in those useless innovations. phone companies cant even still offer us phones with 3day or more battery life and can't even provide us with reliable software updates yet we cry about waterproofing phones?

I'm not one that would voluntarily take my phone in the pool. But it's just nice to know that it's there for the occasional spill, rainfall etc..

[dastillero1975]

I'm not one that would voluntarily take my phone in the pool. But it's just nice to know that it's there for the occasional spill, rainfall etc..

^^ This. What I don't want is my 600€+ BB Keysomething destroyed by an accidental spill while having some drink.

[leo edward]

its new technology

[Sigewif]

I agree with you that it is completely possible to have a waterproof keyboard. However if you remember correctly the Priv's keyboard was and felt too mushy when using it and I think the reason for that is that piece of rubber plastic. Personally I am more worried by the beach sand sneaking between the keys than actual water that could get evaporated.

I would like to chime in and say I did/do not feel the Priv keyboard is too mushy at all. I know there are those that feel that way, but then there are people like me. I actually like the Priv's pkb at least as much as the KEYone's, which I also have. I am using both phones daily and use the PKB on my Priv. If we could have a waterproof pkb device with a similar keyboard that would be awesome.

[mikeath]

i had waterproofing on my last two Sony devices. the only thing I really used it for was running in the rain. as others have said I still wouldn't take it in the bath or to the beach, so it's not that big a deal IMO.

Wireless charging would be better :-D

[Sigewif]

i had waterproofing on my last two Sony devices. the only thing I really used it for was running in the rain. as others have said I still wouldn't take it in the bath or to the beach, so it's not that big a deal IMO.

Wireless charging would be better :-D

How about having both. I have wireless charging on my Priv but never got a wireless charger for it. I live in Oregon so the potential for my phone getting wet in the winter months if I use it outside is high. I would like some measure of water resistance, and would be willing to fork out a few extra dollars for that.

[dastillero1975]

i had waterproofing on my last two Sony devices. the only thing I really used it for was running in the rain. as others have said I still wouldn't take it in the bath or to the beach, so it's not that big a deal IMO.

Wireless charging would be better :-D

I have used my Xperia z5 compact to take some great underwater photos in the swimming pool and now I use my Blackview BV8000 Pro to do the same.
I'm not asking BB to have that level of protection, but some kind of water proofing is something desirable for me as you are paying a good price for a K1 to have it broken by some spill.
My Dell Latitude 3150 laptop has an spill resistant keyboard and it was one of the cheapest Dell laptops, so I think it is not that expensive to have some kind of protection in the keyboard.

[leeiling]

You should be happy to have a PKB.
Stop whining.
I guess that's how TCL thinks.
Unless they can create a phone which can fly automatically, I won't buy any products from them.
IP rating?
My Keyone doesn't even work properly on dry days.

Posted via CB10

[the_boon]

Stop whining.

Posted via CB10

Who's whining? We're discussing how waterproofing a PKB device is possible.

Most of us KEYone owners are very happy that this device exists, never said otherwise.

But why not push further with the next iterations?

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

You can also check out JerryRig's disassembly of the Motion... which is suppose to be water resistant.

Just because a thing can be done, doesn't mean that someone cutting corners to eek out every bit of profit... is capable of doing it RIGHT. So even if BBMo release a IP67 rated PKB... I wouldn't count on it in real world, after a little wear and tear.

I have a IP68 phone with an even higher rating and that does actually have some seals in it... but other than maybe pulling it out in a light rain.... I don't take in in the Pool or Shower, and I'm not planning to use it for underwater photography. But having lost (family) at least six phones (4 dumb and 2 Smart) to water over the last 20+ years... I think it's a feature that all phones should have.

Of course I live where we get 60+ inches of rain a year and spend time on the river (Brim are biting), bay and gulf, and do have a pool in the back yard. So plenty of opportunities for things to get wet.

[ToniCipriani]

If only I had twitter. Not sure if its worth creating an account for that lol.

Twitter is great for fiing complaints, actually. For the longest time I had this closed credit card account with a bank that they never took off my credit file, and the branches, call centre were with no help, one tweet to their account got it all sorted.

[mfk2901]

I would like to chime in and say I did/do not feel the Priv keyboard is too mushy at all. I know there are those that feel that way, but then there are people like me. I actually like the Priv's pkb at least as much as the KEYone's, which I also have. I am using both phones daily and use the PKB on my Priv. If we could have a waterproof pkb device with a similar keyboard that would be awesome.

I my self did not complain about it neither, however there is a noticeable difference between the priv's keyboard and other bb's. The priv's keyboard was bit small for my hands but it was a respectable one nevertheless.

[valer466]

Well if TCL has to jack up prices by another 120 bucks for propah IP rating, they'll sell all the more less & everybody at CB will complain about the higher price.

[gjh1978]

Well if TCL has to jack up prices by another 120 bucks for propah IP rating, they'll sell all the more less & everybody at CB will complain about the higher price.

That because everyone in their little protected, unrealistic CB land thinks a Flagship Blackberry device with every high end spec and feature should be no more than $350-$400.

[gjh1978]

also I will never understand the craze behind water "resistent" phones. I would never put a top500$ phone in the water anyways. whats the point in those useless innovations. phone companies cant even still offer us phones with 3day or more battery life and can't even provide us with reliable software updates yet we cry about waterproofing phones?

I would much rather have peace of mind knowing if I get caught in a storm, pushed in a pool, etc. that my device will likely be fine. Water resistance is FAR from a useless innovation. Three day or more battery life is a useless innovation to be honest, who isn’t near a charger or has access to one on the daily at home, in the car, or at an office? I’m MORE than pleased having a device that stays powered up from 6am until 10pm. That’s MORE than enough.

[dastillero1975]

That because everyone in their little protected, unrealistic CB land thinks a Flagship Blackberry device with every high end spec and feature should be no more than $350-$400.

I don't think so. It should cost 900 - 1000€ that is the standard price for a good flagship nowadays.
What I don't like are the prices BB is asking for a mid range device that only differs from another one in having a PKB. They are asking 200€ more for a PKB. Fortunately there are some sites where you can get a black K1 reasonably priced.

[FF22]

I would much rather have peace of mind knowing if I get caught in a storm, pushed in a pool, etc. that my device will likely be fine. Water resistance is FAR from a useless innovation. Three day or more battery life is a useless innovation to be honest, who isn’t near a charger or has access to one on the daily at home, in the car, or at an office? I’m MORE than pleased having a device that stays powered up from 6am until 10pm. That’s MORE than enough.

And there you have it - or not. Everyone and I do mean EVERYONE has their own needs and desires. Larger, smaller, more battery life, less battery life, water proof or water resistant, more costly, less costly. Forget 3d printers, we need cell phone printers - design your own!