Why do reviewers believe a physical keyboard is 'old school'?

Originally Posted by xtremeled

Thank you!!! If PKB were so great, so popular, and in demand, other manufacturers would have them.

Not sure sure if that is true. I've had all touchscreen phones and thought I wasn't missing anything before getting the q10.
I did have an android slider for a brief time but really didn't like it since the keyboard was too small and the keys so tight that I would mistype all the time.

The q10 is my first blackberry and I can honestly say the first phone with a keyboard that I actually like.
So maybe most people (like me) just haven't experienced a good keyboard and like me didn't know they are missing something.

If consumers haven't had enough exposure then they haven't really had a full choice.

Originally Posted by ravencore

Not sure sure if that is true. I've had all touchscreen phones and thought I wasn't missing anything before getting the q10.
I did have an android slider for a brief time but really didn't like it since the keyboard was too small and the keys so tight that I would mistype all the time.

The q10 is my first blackberry and I can honestly say the first phone with a keyboard that I actually like.
So maybe most people (like me) just haven't experienced a good keyboard and like me didn't know they are missing something.

If consumers haven't had enough exposure then they haven't really had a full choice.

I'm not sure I agree 100%. In early 2000's every manufacturer had the PKB's. Evolution has made them old school. I think the reason BB still makes a few models is that they were the king of the PKB device. I still have 2 of them in a drawer. The Z10 was revolutionary as far as a VKB goes. it's a shame they dont license the technology to other manufacturers. It sure wont hurt them since they cant seem to build a winner. Let someone else build it and get a fee for every single one. Considering the amount of iPhone's that are sold every year, BB could make a mint on this technology alone. All the tech patents that BB owns are just a waste. Clearly they wont be used on any BB phones

Originally Posted by fschmeck

That's so true! I remember back in the old days you used a stylus on your Palm Pilot. A stylus!!! Who would even think of that today? :)

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It's funny that i'm on the keyboard q10 now since I preferred the stylus for a long time on Palm Devices and then later on the Samung Omnia II..
I could write seriously fast on those things.
Sometimes I want to go back to them honestly :).

Originally Posted by xtremeled

I'm not sure I agree 100%. In early 2000's every manufacturer had the PKB's. Evolution has made them old school. I think the reason BB still makes a few models is that they were the king of the PKB device. I still have 2 of them in a drawer. The Z10 was revolutionary as far as a VKB goes. it's a shame they dont license the technology to other manufacturers. It sure wont hurt them since they cant seem to build a winner. Let someone else build it and get a fee for every single one. Considering the amount of iPhone's that are sold every year, BB could make a mint on this technology alone. All the tech patents that BB owns are just a waste. Clearly they wont be used on any BB phones

They can't license their keyboard, they're already licensing it from SwiftKey.

Originally Posted by Fret Madden

They can't license their keyboard, they're already licensing it from SwiftKey.

I stand corrected. They do have other patents. If they coulod get the HUB to work on other platforms the way it works on BB10. That maybe worth something. Building phones is not gonna be their thing. That should be clear by now.

The idea that BB might possibly stand a chance in the software universe dominated by software giants like Google & Apple is a pretty tough sell, for me. Software has historically been their predominant bottleneck, IMO. Time after time, their hardware ages into obsolescence before their software catches up! Sometimes before release!!

Given Google's version of ethics, how many lines of Hub, or any, code would Google's pirates need to rephrase in order to claim it as theirs? (yes, I worked with SUN in a previous life) What can BB possibly offer the all touch world that Samsung or Apple can't do? Or that Google can't pirate??

BlackBerry is THE master of physical keyboard excellence. Their name recognition is synonymous with pkb. The BlackBerry name itself originated out of PKB visual cues. It's an unequaled core competency that provides ready market differentiation. Tiny as that niche market might be, compared to glass, it's ONE thing they do better than ANYone else. And SOME of us find irreplaceable value in that.

I just can't visualize BB's long term survival in a software only Googleverse. Fwiw.

Originally Posted by ravencore

Not sure sure if that is true. I've had all touchscreen phones and thought I wasn't missing anything before getting the q10.
I did have an android slider for a brief time but really didn't like it since the keyboard was too small and the keys so tight that I would mistype all the time.

The q10 is my first blackberry and I can honestly say the first phone with a keyboard that I actually like.
So maybe most people (like me) just haven't experienced a good keyboard and like me didn't know they are missing something.

If consumers haven't had enough exposure then they haven't really had a full choice.

But then they're have to give up the larger screen. I'm not sure most people would make that choice.

That's where a Priv type device might satisfy both.

I said it earlier in this thread, but was was hundreds of messages ago -- I've actually typed out an abstract for an academic conference on my Q10; and I collaborated with a colleague who was on her laptop. Having owned (for 1 year) and used slab phones, I KNOW that wouldn't have been possible on a vkb. Oh yes, the abstract submission was successful and the paper was accepted. Take that vkb.

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Originally Posted by Oshasat

I said it earlier in this thread, but was was hundreds of messages ago -- I've actually typed out an abstract for an academic conference on my Q10; and I collaborated with a colleague who was on her laptop. Having owned (for 1 year) and used slab phones, I KNOW that wouldn't have been possible on a vkb. Oh yes, the abstract submission was successful and the paper was accepted. Take that vkb.

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Good stuff... yeah, a keyboard is a keyboard. Doesn't matter whether desktop or in your pocket.

Physical. The ones you can actually hammer and hit yourself on the head with... :-D

�   There's a Crack in the Berry right now...   �

Originally Posted by Oshasat

I said it earlier in this thread, but was was hundreds of messages ago -- I've actually typed out an abstract for an academic conference on my Q10; and I collaborated with a colleague who was on her laptop. Having owned (for 1 year) and used slab phones, I KNOW that wouldn't have been possible on a vkb. Oh yes, the abstract submission was successful and the paper was accepted. Take that vkb.

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More than what I've done on my z10. I found it fun filling out an employment application pdf

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I will say the Z10 has been the best I've found for a VKB experience, and iPad stock one is decent, but mostly because of the size. Every single Android one I've tried has been terrible, including Swift. Drawing those lines to connect the words works well until you can't get the word you want; then it falls apart.

The Q5 has been great. Would love a Classinc or passport for productivity if it weren't for BB10 going stagnant.

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Originally Posted by Oshasat

I said it earlier in this thread, but was was hundreds of messages ago -- I've actually typed out an abstract for an academic conference on my Q10; and I collaborated with a colleague who was on her laptop. Having owned (for 1 year) and used slab phones, I KNOW that wouldn't have been possible FOR ME on a vkb. Oh yes, the abstract submission was successful and the paper was accepted. Take that vkb.

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Fixed it for you.

Originally Posted by donnation

Fixed it for you.

You mean it doesn't mean everyone cannot type on a vkb?

Originally Posted by TgeekB

You mean it doesn't mean everyone cannot type on a vkb?

Apparently if one can't, then no one can. Don't even try it.

Originally Posted by donnation

Apparently if one can't, then no one can. Don't even try it.

OK. Thanks for saving me lots of time and frustration.

Because they were born after touchscreens were invented...

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No time in life millennial's.

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OP because their audience thinks they are old school.

I still like reading reviews for all devices and everyone usually has a personal bias of some sort

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

Because they don't really understand that it's for typing accuracy purpose, virtual keyboard sure is faster, but it's less accurate

 Passport via CB10 || previous device : Q10, Z3, Z10, Storm 9530, 8520, 8530, 9000, 8320

I hope the Rome upsets this view on sales!

Originally Posted by Troy Tiscareno

Physical keyboards on phones went from virtually 100% marketshare in 2007 to around 0.05% marketshare in 2015. If that doesn't clearly communicate how most people feel about a hardware keyboard on a smartphone, nothing will.

Sure, you love your PKB, but you are an outlier - a rare exception - not part of the mainstream. And that's okay, but you should accept the truth of that fact: in the mainstream world, PKBs on smartphones are obsolete. Most people use their phones for all kinds of things beyond banging out long emails or documents all day long, and most people who bang out documents all day long prefer to do that on a desktop/laptop with a much bigger screen and a full-size keyboard.

The physical keyboard is essential for me. A virtual keyboard uses real estate better utilized by the applications that I need especially when connected to a remote GNU Linux server.

BlackBerry Priv with CrackBerry App for Android

Originally Posted by Troy Tiscareno

...Sure, you love your PKB, but you are an outlier - a rare exception - not part of the mainstream. And that's okay, but you should accept the truth of that fact: in the mainstream world, PKBs on smartphones are obsolete...

I think this is one of the major fundamental misunderstandings about this issue of PKB vs. VKB. It's not really about being different, elitist, an outlier, etc.

I think the main divide lies between those who value perfection/accuracy as a goal, and, let's say, those who (e.g.) only mop their kitchen floor after a spill.

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Originally Posted by Oshasat

I think this is one of the major fundamental misunderstandings about this issue of PKB vs. VKB. It's not really about being different, elitist, an outlier, etc.

I think the main divide lies between those who value perfection/accuracy as a goal, and, let's say, those who (e.g.) only mop their kitchen floor after a spill.

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The same misunderstanding as Blackberry.

Originally Posted by Oshasat

I think the main divide lies between those who value perfection/accuracy as a goal, and, let's say, those who (e.g.) only mop their kitchen floor after a spill.

Because everyone knows it's absolutely impossible to type accurately on a VKB, right?

:rolleyes: