I had two BlackBerry devices for work, right about the time they were going away. I’d heard the keyboard was good on earlier models but it seemed like the quality had gotten pretty cheap on the later phones. The BlackBerry 10 OS on my last phone was actually pretty good, and probably would’ve kept them in the market if they’d launched it 5 years earlier.
Un popular opinion when I had to support those damn things I actually hated the keyboards, always felt the keys where too small
You need to adjust your patterns to it, but when you do, oh boy is it convenient. I still can type on it blindly almost as quick as I do with full desktop keyboard, and I’m pretty quick with that
It still blows my mind how fast my friends and I were able to text on feature phones with T9.
I wonder if the suggestions ended up shaping our language patterns.
I never used T9 because of that. It never knew what I want to say.
What is this? A keyboard for ants?!?
Oooooh guuurlll!
That said, as a Canadian, it’s always fun to look back at Blackberry’s history and remember a time when a home-grown gadget was the star of the tech world.
Others that fit description were ATI Techologies (now the AMD graphics card division that makes Radeon) and Nortel networks, a maker of corporate and commercial telecom gear (including hardware routers and firewalls).
Finally we can begin to chip away at BlackBerry’s dominance.
They’ve had it good too long!
Hah, yeah, I had a work one in latter days, too, and there was definitely a sense of weird self-importance associated with it you don’t get from touchscreens.
I don’t know if people reviling virtual keyboards would get much from it, though. Honestly, typing on it was just as annoying. I am probably faster and more accurate using swipe inputs than I was on that thing.
To me a physical keyboard feels much better than tapping away on a glass screen. Swiping keyboards are better than tapping, but I still preferred the tactile feel of physical. I’m probably faster with a swipe keyboard, but I could go much more by feel, not having to look at a physical keyboard.
Swype is the best method if don’t have individual key feedback IMO. I find it’s generally pretty good at figuring out what I’m trying to say, and in the odd case it doesn’t I’m usually spelling something wrong, or using a word I almost never use. And then, typing individual letters every once in a while isn’t the end of the world.
Was the best method. Swype has been dead for a while. SwiftKey is an okay substitute.
If you can get a copy of the apk, it still works fine. Might have to jump through some hoops on some Samsung devices though. They started bring dicks about old apps. But they work fine, it’s just getting it installed.
I guess I mean the method, not the specific app. Most keyboards have implemented some form of it and they all seem to work kinda the same.
Yeah. I genuinely don’t know how universal that type of usage is, but I don’t even consider anything else at this point.
Well, an actual full size keyboard. But, you know, for a phone.
Kinda unwieldy to use when I’m out tho
Hah. I’ve stepped away from Samsung, but you have to give them Dex. That looks less ridiculous in one of theirs.
Oh my god, I was at probably 50 WPM on that thing, I would write whole emails without looking down at it. It was glorious. I live (sic) the iPhone, don’t get me wrong, but that keyboard was amazing.
What’s special about Blackberry keyboards that every early slider phone didn’t have?
I would love to have something like my HTC G1 again with modern hardware and screen.
I’m guessing OP means the build quality, as defined by the mechanical and material standards that are needed to recreate the keyboard.
I want the Palm Pre form factor back. Sooo satisfying to slide that thing open or snapping it closed.
Keyboard was ok but not as good as the BB, IMO.
The article is absolute trash for not mentioning this. “Their iconic keyboards…” is the closest it gets to describing them.
Thankfully, there is a link to the patent at the end.
Abstract
A keyboard comprising a plurality of transparent keys. In use, the keyboard is attached to a device such as a mobile device, to overlie a display screen of the device. One or more images displayed on the display screen are made visible to a user through the keys, which may be pressed by a user. User input is determined by identifying a pressed key, and the image or part thereof visible through the key when pressed.
Basically a detachable keyboard of transparent material as a display overlay, providing tactile feedback while the LCD allows for backlit and customizable key labels. I don’t remember seeing a practical implementation of this IRL or in media but I might be too young for that.
So changeable keys on a touchscreen, but with physical buttons on top. Sign me up!
That sounds pretty rad. I’m almost 40 and haven’t ever seen this either. Perhaps it was just the coke addicted business tycoons of the 1980s and '90s that got to experience this tech.
It’s hard to explain. The keyboards they built just felt and worked better. They clicked just right, they had the shape right. Once they licensed out production like their Android branded phones it wasn’t as good.
There was a device called Typo that copied their keyboard exactly but attached to iPhone that was good but they must have really copied BB because they got sued into smithereens.
The build quality and tactile feedback were much better. I never owned a BB but the keyboards were definitely something that I envied.
The only one I ever had experience with was the Blackberry Touch that my wife had. It was a total piece of junk and I think she went through 2 or 3 during the warranty period. This was after their heyday, though, when they were trying to jump on the smartphone bandwagon.
Was that the one where the entire screen moved when you pressed it?
Yes like a shitty car infotainment touchscreen from 2008.
Maybe the layout or that little nipple that could work as a mouse.
The first Android phone had the nipple, so must be the layout or something.
Best keyboard I ever had was a Motorola Q. The phone itself was mediocre, but great keyboard.
Any takers? Any?
I hope we see more keyboard phones. I’d buy an iPhone with a keyboard.
Look up clicks keyboard. Might be the closest you’ll get
Yeah I’ve considered it. But it’s just so loong.
I miss phone keyboards so much. I wish I still had a slide out keyboard
They were so fantastic for gaming. I could actually see what was happening on the screen.
My HTC Desire Z (aka T-Mobile G2) got many years of extra use as a dedicated emulation machine for exactly that reason.
With all the craze to make phones super thin, soon they’ll be so thin you could add a sliding keyboard on it, and it’ll be thinner than phones of a year or two ago!
I loved my N900. Think it would be doable right now with that thickness.
Yes please I hate fucking virtual keyboards and haptic feedback.
I literally go out of my way to use shit like KDE Connect to not have to type on a shitty phone virtual keyboard
Check out Unihertz. Can’t offer any advice or if they’re good, but they look interesting.
I’m very satisfied with mine. Some UI tweeks were required to adapt to the small screen.
Keyboard feels great to use but their current layout sucks majorly
What keyboard do you use? They are not all the same
I have a 60% bluetooth keyboard that I’ll use when I need to type on my phone. A pain to carry with me, but taking a whole laptop is sometimes even worse.
Yea looking forward to this kind of keyboard XD
Urgh split keyboards are the worst. Better to have everything in one higher up central position with easy access to entry ports for finer fingering.
60% Bluetooth, but what’s the other 40%?
Concentrated power of will.
They’re on discount. You don’t have to pay for the extra 40% of a keyboard.
Magic
Wired USB. If I get some time I’m going to put PS/2 or maybe ADB in it as well just for the fun of it.
(Just in case this is a serious question to someone, 60% refers to the keyboard size, indicating what buttons I have and don’t have compared to a normal keyboard)
Potash
Dolomite
It’s the tough black mineral that won’t cop out when there’s heat all about.
I’m 40% dolomite
With our luck? Carcinogens.
You can get these folding keyboards that will fit in a pocket, often have a roughly-cell-phone-sized case.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=folding+keyboard
Still another item to carry, but it might fit the niche you’re looking for better if you’re not happy with hauling a regular 60% keyboard. Larger than those Blackberry-style thumbboards.
I have the protoarc, and it’s awesome. Got it for using with my tablet when I’m stuck in a parking lot (long story) for several hours. Only trouble with it is that the design of the case means you have to use their charger, because the insertable length of the USB c is slightly longer than normal, and the case makes it so a standard USB c won’t fit.
I hate having to have multiple chargers, especially proprietary ones, so I took a knife and carved away the plastic around the charging port, and now I can use whatever USB c I want. Just thought I’d mention, because I’m sure it’ll void the warranty. Lol
God I don’t know how anyone like the haptic feedback. Turn that shit off.
Swiping is pretty cool though.
Haptic feedback maxed out plus the tap sounds with the volume turned up to 100% is the way to go.
“Boomer mode”
Might as well use a typewriter. https://youtu.be/o4nwe7cW_og
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I never tried swiping. Maybe i should look into that.
I hate tapping away on the glass but swiping works okay, until the phone decides a word couldn’t possibly be what you’re trying for. My most recent frustration was New Zealand, which of course worked fine this time.
I use a FOSS (ish) keyboard and it’s not very accurate, but all still way better than typing everything.
Boomers and normies appear to love it.
I can’t even use they keyboard properly without haptic feedback.
I fucking love haptic feedback. They suck only when the system used is a motor with that circular half-weight thingy. The linear oscillating weight ones are amazing.
I like it if it’s really really subtle. Basically the minimum length vibration, which is 2ms on heliboard.
Anything longer, I find annoying.
I’ve been swiping for years. I can’t believe no one else in my tight circle does it.
I’ve always swiped but somehow just installed voice to text last week. Game changer!
I’m in too many places where chatting to my phone wouldn’t go over well.
I can’t get my head round it.
Give it a try, it’s all I use anymore.
It seems to work terribly on iphones, even with Google’s keyboard. (Source: one single iphone which was entirely uncooperative.)
Try going a little slower. That always makes it more accurate for me.
Start with swiping not too fast and keep track on prediction bar, you often don’t have to swipe the whole word. You can take breaks mid-swipe, no problem.
tell me about it. i’ve recently been sort of forced to switch from android to ios (some special circumstance) and holy shit, the virtual keyboard is atrocious.
I would immediately jump on a blackberry keyboard phone when and if one ever gets released.
I can type 60-70 WPM on the virtual keyboard of my phone without autocorrect. While that’s nowhere near the speed of me using a regular-sized physical keyboard, I can’t type that fast on a physical phone-sized keyboard like a Blackberry one.
I know quite a few people miss these physical smartphone keyboards, but I’d argue they were never all that great. YMMV.
There have been a bunch of other phones and devices using that style of keyboard. I used a Nokia E63 for years. Were they under license? What about the one Lilygo sells now? Maybe whoever manages RIM’s portfolio just stopped caring. Anyway this is kind of interesting. I always liked that keyboard.
Lilygo uses old stock bb keyboards, I think. Looks exactly like the one an employer had me carry.
I loved my BB Bold 9000, but the physical keyboard did reduce the screen size to a rather small form factor compared to modern phones. And I dare say that swyping is faster and just as accurate, so even if there would be new phones coming out with hardware keyboards of the same quality as old BlackBerry’s, I doubt I would switch back.
I have a Unihertz Titan and love it. I guess they skirted around the keyboard patent. https://www.unihertz.com/products/titan
Very nice, I didn’t know this existed. Looks very blackberry-esque.
It’s not three straight rows of keys with the other buttons on a fourth row at the bottom. That’s what BB had a design patent for.
Hopefully that means somebody other than Unihertz will make a keyboard phone.
I don’t need it to be super high end, I’d just rather not own a Chinese made phone with all the data they send back.
There’s the FXtech Pro-1, with a slide out keyboard, apparently the hinge is very good.
But it’s pretty ancient by now and there’s still no successor… I doubt it sold well.
