Waiting for a physical keyboard?

[NecroSemen]

If you want keyboard, you could go for BlackBerry

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Daz Voz]

I use Swype now and I the experience is night and day.... I can type both accurately and with considerable speed, with just my thumb... ripping off a fairly long paragraph in the same amount of time it would take me to peck off "call u back later" with that crappy physical keyboard.

What a peculiar claim.

Unless there is something physically wrong with you, you should be able to peck off "call u back later" on a physical keypad in two seconds. I can churn our ninety words a minute on a physical keypad, and I certainly can't approach that on glass with Swype: I don't think anything can. Muscle memory and the ability to touch type beats all.

I'd jump at an Android phone with high specs and a physical keypad: although the BlackBerry Q10 has decent specs, as BB gets less and less popular, fewer and fewer new services bother creating a BlackBerry compatible version.

 

[LeoRex]

What a peculiar claim.

Unless there is something physically wrong with you.

Oh, there's something wrong with me, but that is another conversation.

I just have large hands and fingers, so those tini little keys gave me fits. Even tap typing on a soft keyboard is a bit tricky, it wasn't until I discovered gesture typing with keyboards like Swype that I could start typing quickly with some accuracy.

Besides, I like typing primarily with one thumb ...so gesture typing with a soft keyboard is really my one option.

 

[treetopsranch]

The thumb is for the space bar!

 

[RealCarTV]

I highly doubt we will see high end devices with a physical keyboard. I think the issue is twofold. First it probably feels "dated" to the consumer and from a marketing perspective I am not sure physical keyboard screams "bleeding edge." Second, I think people enjoy the customization that Android keyboards give and the ability to implement new tech (like swipe).

Posted by me

 

[leitor79]

Hi,

Well, I've wait for a year on purpose to came back and tell my experience again.

I've used swiftkey for a year, until december... though I've improved my typing speed, it never reached the typing speed of even the default soft keyboard app. I can use one hand, It's slightly more accurate, but it's very slow. I don't event quit the need to look at the keyboard while typing; ability I acquired soon after started using the xperia x10 mini pro 2.

Then, I switch swiftkey for flesky keyboard. I can type much faster than using swiftkey and it's more accurate (and, because of this, faster too) than the default soft keyboard app. I've been using flesky for 6 months now, I think more than enough time to adapt, and I'm not improving anymore. I still need to look at the keyboard, I make mistakes and the app sometimes corrects them and sometimes don't. And sometimes I write fine and the app corrects for something I don't want to write.

I've tried other soft keyboards too, but flesky is the best I tried (the one that does not fail to autocorrect every other word I type)

So, being a "standard" person (36 years old, 1,73m, accordingly-sized hands, no known mental problems), and having used several options enough time (physical keyboard 2 years, swiftkey one year, fleksy 6 months), I can certify that typing on a physical keyboard is unmatched on speed and accuracy against software keyboards.

So, while I believe that a lot of people don't need or even don't want a physical keyboard on their phones, I know there is a lot of people that does. I've pasted a link on a previous post a year ago regarding Sprint and a big acceptance of their qwerty phones and a lot of people wanting to buy a qwerty phone as their next device (75% of the current-at-the-time qwerty users, 30% of the galaxy note 2 users and 25% of the iPhone users). I'm not buying "the market has spoken" lie.

I don't believe, It can't be true, that with all kind of cars, pizza flavors or even several types of coca-cola, all the people of the world want the same slim-rectangled-glassed-on-one-side as a phone. Even the s6 has come in 2 slighlty-different variants... couldn't it been a third variant with a physical keyboard on it? I think it won't hurt.

 

[LeoRex]

So, while I believe that a lot of people don't need or even don't want a physical keyboard on their phones, I know there is a lot of people that does. I've pasted a link on a previous post a year ago regarding Sprint and a big acceptance of their qwerty phones and a lot of people wanting to buy a qwerty phone as their next device (75% of the current-at-the-time qwerty users, 30% of the galaxy note 2 users and 25% of the iPhone users). I'm not buying "the market has spoken" lie.

It's not a lie. If there truly was a large market for physical keyboards, we'd have plenty of phones to choose from. I mean, it wasn't that long ago that HW KBs dominated... and those slowly died off one by one as people stopped buying them and moved to full screen phones with on screen, software keyboards. Regardless of that poll that has popped around for a bit, those people might have said they wanted a qwerty HW KB, but they turned around and bought more full screen models.

Really... had people kept buying them, they'd still have made them.

 

[leitor79]

It's not a lie. If there truly was a large market for physical keyboards, we'd have plenty of phones to choose from. I mean, it wasn't that long ago that HW KBs dominated... and those slowly died off one by one as people stopped buying them and moved to full screen phones with on screen, software keyboards. Regardless of that poll that has popped around for a bit, those people might have said they wanted a qwerty HW KB, but they turned around and bought more full screen models.

Really... had people kept buying them, they'd still have made them.

Hi LeoRex,

Some comments about what you said:

1) qwerty phones did not "slowly died". At 2011 we had plenty good qwerty phones. At 2013, only 1 new qwerty model was made (according to phonearena), LG Enact, already outspecced when it was released.

2) So, maybe the people who took the poll changed their minds. But the poll talks about users with galaxy note 2, relased on september 2012. So, maybe the poll was made around Q1 2013 (people who already owned the note 2 by that time). 75% of the users said that they will buy a qwerty phone as their new phone. So there should be a lot of manufacturers designing new qwerty phones by 2013, right? But they didin't. So, maybe that people changed their minds because there was no good qwerty phones released in 2013 or later, as I've stated on the paragraph above.

3) "If there truly was a large market for physical keyboards, we'd have plenty of phones to choose from.". So, with 2% of the average market share for years, windows phone shouldn't exist. But 10 models were released so far this very year. http://www.idc.com/prodserv/smartphone-ms-img/chart-ww-smartphone-os-market-share.png So, 1 of 50 people owns a windows phone. I bet you that more than that would but a decent qwerty phone. This very thread supports that claim.

4) "full screen phones"... well, you could have a full screen phone with qwerty keyboard if you buy a slider one.

Regards

 

[LeoRex]

Windows phone has that many devices because Microsoft is behind it. And the vast majority of those phones are Microsoft's own brand.

Look, I understand the frustration... There is a loyal group of fans for physical keyboards, and from their perspective, they are being left out in the cold. But the market, and the consumer, have moved on. I've seen plenty of polls asking what features consumers want to see most in the upcoming phones... larger screens, better battery performance, better camera, beter phone reception, ... I don't recall seeing any that even mention a physical keyboard, never mind ranking it high on the list.

 

[leitor79]

Windows phone has that many devices because Microsoft is behind it. And the vast majority of those phones are Microsoft's own brand.

Look, I understand the frustration... There is a loyal group of fans for physical keyboards, and from their perspective, they are being left out in the cold. But the market, and the consumer, have moved on. I've seen plenty of polls asking what features consumers want to see most in the upcoming phones... larger screens, better battery performance, better camera, beter phone reception, ... I don't recall seeing any that even mention a physical keyboard, never mind ranking it high on the list.

Hi LeoRex,

You can't say "the market has spoken" for one case and "a brand is behind it" for other because if manufacturers are not interested in having physical keyboards, as I'm saying, of course there won't be any manufacturer behind physical keyboard feature.

And I think the example is backwards: windows phone has been around for many years and people don't want it. and microsoft supports it. they have an interest of maintaining it in spite of market share. So, sometimes market voice is not that important. Physical keyboards case is the other way: many people had them, many more wanted them as their next phone (see poll previously attached), but their dissapeared next year.

If you state that there are polls regarding users not wanting physical keyboards, please show some example. I think a poll where people weren't offered physical keyboard as an option (maybe at the time the physical keyboard wasn't seen as a "feature" but a supposed phone component; people won't be answering "I want a phone with a screen")

Also, I don't recall people saying that they want a submersible phone or phones with no front camera, however, they do exist.

And physical keyboards won't hit other features you've mentioned. The HTC myTouch 4g had a big screen and nice screen, very very good camera, standard battery time and reception... I think with a slight better processor and a bit more ram it could be a match for the s3 (which I still use)

Regards,

 

[SharonJCarter1983]

I think that physical keyboard it is a relic of the past.

 

[Kanon Umi]

I still have and use my Droid 4 as a daily "driver" I work in IT so it get's pushed a LOT it's actually faster most times them a co worker's brand new Samsung! I rooted it, did Cm11 on it(Android 4.4.4) used ROEHSOFT RAM Expander v3.19 to give it a 2GB swap to help out the 800MB RAM and away it went! (I have 32GB SD card that shows up as 20 something GB so I placed everything on the SD card and used internal for SWAP. Your milage may very depending on what you do(games?) and how well used yours is, but I find giving it the newer OS with less crap and more SWAP helped. If I need more I plan to overclock it.(Or just tell it to not go under so many Mhz.) Maybe this will let some people keep theirs for longer. Also if you just need a new one because mics or USBs are dead they sell for $30 all day on Ebay.

 

[ahaxton]

If you state that there are polls regarding users not wanting physical keyboards, please show some example. I think a poll where people weren't offered physical keyboard as an option (maybe at the time the physical keyboard wasn't seen as a "feature" but a supposed phone component; people won't be answering "I want a phone with a screen")

How about actual sales as data?

The Kaufman referred to is Doug Kaufman, manager of handset strategy for Sprint.

I COME NOT TO PRAISE QWERTY, BUT TO BURY IT

All the research told Sprint that it was on the right track, that physical keyboards were a differentiator that would help the carrier sell phones. When Sprint conducted surveys, it found that 70 to 80 percent of respondents with side-sliding physical QWERTY keyboards reported that it was easy to type words and letters. By contrast, touchscreen-only devices typically polled under 50 percent.

"The best [touch-only device] we ever had was the Galaxy Note II," said Kaufman, on which 54 percent of respondents said typing was easy. "The iPhone 5 was around 48 percent, just to give you a sense."

And for a time, it seemed like that typing experience would actually drive future purchases. When Sprint asked customers whether they'd buy a physical keyboard the next time around — not so long ago — 75 percent of existing QWERTY users said they would. Even one quarter of iPhone users, and 30 percent of Galaxy Note II users, said they'd prefer a physical QWERTY keyboard on their next smartphone.

"So we had all that data, and we said 'Look, there's still the demand for QWERTY.' And then we went out and built the LG Mach and the Photon Q."

"It was a big party and nobody came." So much for surveys.

What happened? People started buying phones they could recognize, according to Kaufman. He believes the reason that QWERTY phones stopped selling has little to do with large screens and everything to do with a trend towards "iconic" handsets: flagship devices which boast fancy designs and giant advertising campaigns.

"At the end of the day, what happened is two things. Half of your customers buy the iPhone. All those people who said, "Oh, I'm going to buy QWERTY," boom, take them out of the equation."

"And then as you probably know, the market has moved to everyone buying iconic phones... people see the advertising, they walk in, they want to buy a Galaxy S III," says Kaufman. "Or an HTC One," he adds suddenly.

 

[leitor79]

actual sales are not valid as data input on this case. people buy what's advertised. if you make a poll about sales, you'll get scrambled results from several indicators (people preferences, cost, marketing campaign, and several etc.). this is the "scientific" answer.

the "personal" answer is you couldn't compare sales of products if a) one was vastly advertised and the other one, doesn't. b) one largely outspecs the other. c) one was available 6 months before the other. I'm talking about (for example) the S3, the nexus 4, the iphone 5, htc one x or sony xperia s. All of them came out Q1 2012 (except the iphone; september); lg mach and photon q came on december and august.

You can't compare the s3, or other equivalent devices, to lg mach or photon q. Take away the qwerty keyboard and you get outdated phones; or put the other way: lg mach and photon q where outdated phones with qerty keyboards at the moment they were released. For example: I had an s3 but i'd have bought a qwerty phone with similar specs and i'd paid $100 extra for that.

qwerty is not dead; note 4 says so.

 

[Geodude074]

How about actual sales as data?

The Kaufman referred to is Doug Kaufman, manager of handset strategy for Sprint.

I COME NOT TO PRAISE QWERTY, BUT TO BURY IT

This article is very telling. It clearly states that many consumers did (and probably still do) want QWERTY keyboards. But since the iconic flagship phones don't have them, consumers have little choice. Back when the Photon Q came out, here were the choices they had: 1) Spend $200 on a Galaxy S3. 2) Spend $200 on an iPhone 5. 3) Spend $200 on a Photon Q.

The Photon Q had the best QWERTY keyboard on the planet, but its screen, SoC, RAM, storage, battery, etc. were all outdated compared to the S3 at the time (and the S4 that came out 6 months later, which put the nail in the coffin for the Photon Q). Not to mention the Photon Q was locked down to Sprint, so that alienated AT&T, Verizon, and all other GSM/CDMA customers out there.

Put out a top-tier flagship with a QWERTY keyboard, and you might just see many consumers finally partying like they wanted to.

 

[LilMountain]

I'm excited to see the new Blackberry android phone that's coming out. I hope it's good and at least lasts me one more cycle before I'm forced to switch over.

Btw I'm big (6'7") and to me that makes a physical keyboard beneficial because I can actually feel the keys and press down accordingly compared to just touching at the screen and hoping it's registering where I want. I occasionally try the virtual keyboard but it's always so frustrating I switch if I'm typing more than a few words

 

[Kirill Chuzhvo]

I have expiriense with physical keyboard for android. I think it's usefull for tablets, but not for mobile phone, because the phone should be mobile. )

 

[leitor79]

I have expiriense with physical keyboard for android. I think it's usefull for tablets, but not for mobile phone, because the phone should be mobile. )

but there are smartphones without keyboards bigger than smartphones with physical keyboards... not to mention there are plenty of covers and protectors that make phones thicker, and people buy them

 

[LeoRex]

but there are smartphones without keyboards bigger than smartphones with physical keyboards...

Well, I think that is just a simple function of the screen-size boom coming after physical keyboards fell out of favor.... and I think the two are related. Physical keyboards became less of a need once mobile content moved from text-based to more graphics and image based, and this shift also lead directly to the rapid expansion of screen sizes.

 

[leitor79]

Well, I think that is just a simple function of the screen-size boom coming after physical keyboards fell out of favor.... and I think the two are related. Physical keyboards became less of a need once mobile content moved from text-based to more graphics and image based, and this shift also lead directly to the rapid expansion of screen sizes.

I know screen size and resolution is important to most people; I'm not arguing that most phones should come without keyboards but... I don't believe there aren't room for at least one decent model of smartphone with physical keyboard. At least, for product differentiation when all smartphones are slim rectangles except for that square blackberry.