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OK, here goes.
Length:
This device is going to need to be slightly longer than the current Storm by about half an inch.
Width:
The Tour and Onyx are rumored to be slightly wider than the Curve but not as wide as the Bold. I think this is going to be a good width, and the bloggers are saying as much, so I'm going to go with that width.
Description:
It is going to have the screen of the current Storm, but the screen itself will be shifted slightly higher on the device in portrait mode, about an eigth of an inch closer to the earpiece and BlackBerry logo. There will be no "buttons" (send, end, menu, back or select) at all, because that functionality is being moved to physical keys on the keyboard.
Keyboard:
The keyboard currently on the 8900 consists of 4 rows of keys in 10 columns. The new configuration would have 3 rows of keys in 12 columns. The extra two columns of keys would add some width but moving the keys closer to the edge of the device would help a tad as well. As mentioned above, we are shooting for the total width of the Tour/Onyx which is wider than the Curve but not as wide as the Bold, so it will be a tight fit for some people, but ideal for me.
The three rows would consist of the same keys currently in the top 3 rows of the BlackBerry QWERTY keyboards, but the bottom row would be moved to become a new 11th column. This column would be in the center of the current keyboard setup.
The new column would from top to bottom would consist of:
ALT (between the "T" and "Y" keys)
SYM (between the "G" and "H" keys), and
SPACE (between the "V" and "B" keys).
This column would be accessible by both thumbs.
Notice, we do not have a SHIFT key, but we can still hold down a letter key longer for the capital letter.
Then, there would be a new 12th column on the far right, which would replace the current large row of "buttons" (Send, Menu, Select, Back, End). This new 12th column from top to bottom would consist of:
ACTION (to the right of the "P" key)
MENU (to the right of the "L" key)
BACK (to the right of the Speakerphone key).
This column would be on the top right in landscape mode or lower right in portrait mode.
Now this is where I need to stress that this isn't the world's perfect BlackBerry ... this is my favorite form factor. That's why I entitled this post Digital's Dream Berry.
Screen:
The screen would be similar to the Storm's, but it wouldn't move nearly as much and it would be silent. For that satisfying feedback, use the keyboard. The touchscreen would allow for silent typing in meetings or taking notes while using the speakerphone, etc.
Some of the functionality would be changed. The touchscreen would take over much of the input of this phone. The keys would allow for a very satisfying typing experience from my personal point of view. While those expecting this to be a traditional keyboard BlackBerry might be disappointed, I am only really using the keyboard for emails, IM's, etc. It also serves as a shortcut field for things like speed-dial or to call up my favorite apps. The primary input method would be the touchscreen.
Sorry for the long post, but this would be my ideal form factor ...
Digital's Dream Berry.06-08-09 11:09 PM
