4 ms·

What percentage of the market for phones come with physical keyboards? I know some cling to the idea but I think the technology has progressed far enough to mo

What percentage of the market for phones come with physical keyboards? I know some cling to the idea but I think the technology has progressed far enough to mostly eclipse it in every practical way, certain holdouts not withstanding, and the market reflects that.

HarryHirsch 6y ago
Do people really like these huge breakable touchscreens that you leave oily fingerprints on, or do they merely tolerate them? It's a damn shame that phones with smaller screens and optical touchpad don't exist any longer.
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  > Do people really like these huge breakable touchscreens that you leave oily fingerprints on, or do they merely tolerate them? Yes, people like them, which is why when they and “lets use half the available space for a physical keyboard” phones were on the market together, the latter got slaughtered by the former. Physical keyboard win for tactile feedback (touchscreen haptics aren't even close), but lose in adaptability (can't switch positions or layouts dynamically for different languages/contexts/emojis/gifs/one-handed use/handwriting/etc, usable screen space when the keyboard isn't in use, and, plus, the screen is still breakable but smaller, but now you also have a bunch of breakable mechanical parts.
- VectorLock 6y ago
  Glass and screens on modern phones are amazingly durable now. I don't even bother with screen protectors now since under normal usage they're virtually unscratchable.
  - Normille 6y ago
    It's not the scratching that's the problem. It's the shattering. I'll take, any day, a hard plastic screen which will survive being kicked round the streets with only a bit of scuffing to show for it over a scratch-proof glass one which turns into a mosaic if it drops off my desk.
- Normille 6y ago
  I wonder this myself. If I can ever be bothered to read a review of a mobile phone these days [which is rarely] it seems to be accepted as self-evident that ultra-thinness, huge screens and non-existent bezels are what everyone wants. Not me. I want a phone that has a bit of ruggedness to it, will fit in my pocket and leaves some room round the edge of the screen for me to hold the damned thing, without triggering some unwanted app or function.
boring_twenties 6y ago
Even after over a decade to adjust, typing on my old Blackberry's keyboard was just light years better than any touch keyboard I've tried since. Gesture typing, aka "swype," seemed promising at first but has somehow progressively gotten worse since then, to the point where I'm now considering disabling it. I guess for most people, probably myself included, the tradeoff is still worth it, because most of what we do with our phones benefits more from a larger screen, than it would from a physical keyboard. But, if I had a job that required me to write messages all the time, I would certainly consider a physical keyboard again. In fact I would even consider carrying a second device with it.
- smiley1437 6y ago
  I miss the days of rattling off detailed email responses with practically zero typos on the physical keyboard, on a touchscreen I'm constantly checking for incorrect Autocorrect replacements. I carried two phones (an Iphone and a blackberry) for about a year before dropping the Blackberry, and I'd had about 10 different Blackberry models over the years. That said, I don't think going back to physical is worth it anymore, I found that getting a slightly larger touch screen phone made the keyboard just big enough that my typing became sufficiently accurate that I can live with it.
  - boring_twenties 6y ago
    I have a gargantuan phone now (which I can't stand, but anyway), but I think my typing accuracy is worse than it was on 2013-era Android, and I think that it's because the keyboard software is getting worse and worse. Virtually every single time I have to enter anything more than "ok" or "5m", it's a frustrating experience. The only reason I put up with it is that I never need to write emails or engage in long chats on the phone. I just use a computer for those. If I'm not home, well, you might have to wait until I get home to chat with me. This is a rather stark difference from the Blackberry days, I was happily emailing and chatting away on mine even at home with a computer within easy reach. Since the pandemic started, I only use my phone for the 2FA app. It's regularly a chore to even find it, when it's been a week since I've used it and the battery is dead, so "Find my phone" can't be used. Side note, I just got a new phone in December... considered the more expensive S10e, but ended up with the dirt cheap ($150 shipped) Moto G6. Man, was that a great decision in hindsight or what!
wenc 6y ago
A touchscreen keyboard is definitely one of those "good-enough" pieces of technology. It works because fewer and fewer people are into composing long texts these days. I don't think it has eclipsed physical keyboards though. I make tons of mistakes on my iPhone 11 keyboard and have to backspace and retype, sometimes several times because the predictions are persistently incorrect. It's supposed to learn from my mistakes but I've been training it for a couple of months and it still hasn't figured out my typing habits. I've accepted that it is what it is. The iPhone is a better phone than any phone with a physical keyboard. But a physical keyboard is incontrovertibly superior to a touch-screen one.
627467 6y ago
In the (previously) fast growing smartphone market people prioritize other things (mostly software, camera and multimedia playback related things). But in a plateaued market? I think there will be opportunity for differentiation. I certainly would consider a qwerty smartphone after trying the Passport.

HarryHirsch 6y ago

Do people really like these huge breakable touchscreens that you leave oily fingerprints on, or do they merely tolerate them? It's a damn shame that phones with smaller screens and optical touchpad don't exist any longer.

dragonwriter 6y ago
> Do people really like these huge breakable touchscreens that you leave oily fingerprints on, or do they merely tolerate them? Yes, people like them, which is why when they and “lets use half the available space for a physical keyboard” phones were on the market together, the latter got slaughtered by the former. Physical keyboard win for tactile feedback (touchscreen haptics aren't even close), but lose in adaptability (can't switch positions or layouts dynamically for different languages/contexts/emojis/gifs/one-handed use/handwriting/etc, usable screen space when the keyboard isn't in use, and, plus, the screen is still breakable but smaller, but now you also have a bunch of breakable mechanical parts.
VectorLock 6y ago
Glass and screens on modern phones are amazingly durable now. I don't even bother with screen protectors now since under normal usage they're virtually unscratchable.
- Normille 6y ago
  It's not the scratching that's the problem. It's the shattering. I'll take, any day, a hard plastic screen which will survive being kicked round the streets with only a bit of scuffing to show for it over a scratch-proof glass one which turns into a mosaic if it drops off my desk.
Normille 6y ago
I wonder this myself. If I can ever be bothered to read a review of a mobile phone these days [which is rarely] it seems to be accepted as self-evident that ultra-thinness, huge screens and non-existent bezels are what everyone wants. Not me. I want a phone that has a bit of ruggedness to it, will fit in my pocket and leaves some room round the edge of the screen for me to hold the damned thing, without triggering some unwanted app or function.

boring_twenties 6y ago

Even after over a decade to adjust, typing on my old Blackberry's keyboard was just light years better than any touch keyboard I've tried since. Gesture typing, aka "swype," seemed promising at first but has somehow progressively gotten worse since then, to the point where I'm now considering disabling it. I guess for most people, probably myself included, the tradeoff is still worth it, because most of what we do with our phones benefits more from a larger screen, than it would from a physical keyboard. But, if I had a job that required me to write messages all the time, I would certainly consider a physical keyboard again. In fact I would even consider carrying a second device with it.

smiley1437 6y ago
I miss the days of rattling off detailed email responses with practically zero typos on the physical keyboard, on a touchscreen I'm constantly checking for incorrect Autocorrect replacements. I carried two phones (an Iphone and a blackberry) for about a year before dropping the Blackberry, and I'd had about 10 different Blackberry models over the years. That said, I don't think going back to physical is worth it anymore, I found that getting a slightly larger touch screen phone made the keyboard just big enough that my typing became sufficiently accurate that I can live with it.
- boring_twenties 6y ago
  I have a gargantuan phone now (which I can't stand, but anyway), but I think my typing accuracy is worse than it was on 2013-era Android, and I think that it's because the keyboard software is getting worse and worse. Virtually every single time I have to enter anything more than "ok" or "5m", it's a frustrating experience. The only reason I put up with it is that I never need to write emails or engage in long chats on the phone. I just use a computer for those. If I'm not home, well, you might have to wait until I get home to chat with me. This is a rather stark difference from the Blackberry days, I was happily emailing and chatting away on mine even at home with a computer within easy reach. Since the pandemic started, I only use my phone for the 2FA app. It's regularly a chore to even find it, when it's been a week since I've used it and the battery is dead, so "Find my phone" can't be used. Side note, I just got a new phone in December... considered the more expensive S10e, but ended up with the dirt cheap ($150 shipped) Moto G6. Man, was that a great decision in hindsight or what!

wenc 6y ago

A touchscreen keyboard is definitely one of those "good-enough" pieces of technology. It works because fewer and fewer people are into composing long texts these days. I don't think it has eclipsed physical keyboards though. I make tons of mistakes on my iPhone 11 keyboard and have to backspace and retype, sometimes several times because the predictions are persistently incorrect. It's supposed to learn from my mistakes but I've been training it for a couple of months and it still hasn't figured out my typing habits. I've accepted that it is what it is. The iPhone is a better phone than any phone with a physical keyboard. But a physical keyboard is incontrovertibly superior to a touch-screen one.

627467 6y ago

In the (previously) fast growing smartphone market people prioritize other things (mostly software, camera and multimedia playback related things). But in a plateaued market? I think there will be opportunity for differentiation. I certainly would consider a qwerty smartphone after trying the Passport.