5 ms·

I miss the keyboard on the HTC Dream/T-Mobile G1[0], it hid behind the screen until you needed it, so there was no need to sacrifice screen or keyboard size. [

I miss the keyboard on the HTC Dream/T-Mobile G1[0], it hid behind the screen until you needed it, so there was no need to sacrifice screen or keyboard size. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_Dream https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_Dream

FridayoLeary 4y ago
Aren't sliding keyboards dust traps?
- b112 4y ago
  I feel you're just trying to find any reason to dislike a phone keyboard. This one hides away, so the "takes valuable screen real estate away" angle is not valid. So instead, beware of dust! Anyhow, have no idea why they would be dust traps. People's cases are far worse for that. (I don't use a case)
- gibspaulding 4y ago
  I'm pretty hard on phones - I tend to end up having to pick all the dirt and sawdust out of my charging and headphone ports a couple of times a year. But somehow I don't remember having issues with dust in keyboards. I think on a lot of them the keys were all one piece of flexible plastic so there wasn't really a way in.
- jeroenhd 4y ago
  Not in my experience. Maybe some pocket lint makes it between the keyboard and the screen, but that's easily wiped off. I don't live near a desert, though.
- anaganisk 4y ago
  Foldable phones, canceled?
- soylentcola 4y ago
  I had a couple of HTC PocketPCs and a Palm Pre back in the day. All were sliders and never had dust issues. Just unpolished UI (WinMo) and underpowered hardware (Pre). I'd love a "modern" phone that's a slab with a landscape slider keyboard. Don't care if it makes the phone thicker (especially if they use the space to cram in some more battery capacity).
- nunuvit 4y ago
  My sliding keyboard phone used to disassemble itself whenever I dropped it, which had the unintended benefit of being self-cleaning.
dustincoates 4y ago
Oh, I loved that phone. The phone was bulky, but it never seemed like too much in the pocket. And there's something to be said for the satisfying click as you flipped open the phone.
- jayknight 4y ago
  Ours are now play "phones" for the kids, and they still have that satisfying click 15 years later. I now swipe type faster than I could type on that thing, but I did love it at the time.
timw4mail 4y ago
For me it was the G2. But yes, very similar practical design.
martin_a 4y ago
This was my first Smartphone. I miss it. Good old times. :-D
mst 4y ago
I still miss my Nokia N900. Being able to feel a text or other message come in, pulling it out and popping the keyboard to activate the screen, reading the message, and then being able to type my response with two thumbs without looking at the screen was a delight. Plus the one window per conversation thing across all protocols (it was IIRC libpurple backed) worked -really- well due to the extremely good window switching system. Oh, and a resistive touch screen which meant (a) tactile feedback (b) it actually worked in mild rain. Ok, it was significantly pants at pretty much everything else, but as an upgraded pure communications device I don't think I've ever liked anything better (remove 'upgraded' and it and my beloved series of 6310i dumbphones are neck and neck).

FridayoLeary 4y ago

Aren't sliding keyboards dust traps?

b112 4y ago
I feel you're just trying to find any reason to dislike a phone keyboard. This one hides away, so the "takes valuable screen real estate away" angle is not valid. So instead, beware of dust! Anyhow, have no idea why they would be dust traps. People's cases are far worse for that. (I don't use a case)
gibspaulding 4y ago
I'm pretty hard on phones - I tend to end up having to pick all the dirt and sawdust out of my charging and headphone ports a couple of times a year. But somehow I don't remember having issues with dust in keyboards. I think on a lot of them the keys were all one piece of flexible plastic so there wasn't really a way in.
jeroenhd 4y ago
Not in my experience. Maybe some pocket lint makes it between the keyboard and the screen, but that's easily wiped off. I don't live near a desert, though.
anaganisk 4y ago
Foldable phones, canceled?
soylentcola 4y ago
I had a couple of HTC PocketPCs and a Palm Pre back in the day. All were sliders and never had dust issues. Just unpolished UI (WinMo) and underpowered hardware (Pre). I'd love a "modern" phone that's a slab with a landscape slider keyboard. Don't care if it makes the phone thicker (especially if they use the space to cram in some more battery capacity).
nunuvit 4y ago
My sliding keyboard phone used to disassemble itself whenever I dropped it, which had the unintended benefit of being self-cleaning.

dustincoates 4y ago

Oh, I loved that phone. The phone was bulky, but it never seemed like too much in the pocket. And there's something to be said for the satisfying click as you flipped open the phone.

jayknight 4y ago
Ours are now play "phones" for the kids, and they still have that satisfying click 15 years later. I now swipe type faster than I could type on that thing, but I did love it at the time.

timw4mail 4y ago

For me it was the G2. But yes, very similar practical design.

martin_a 4y ago

This was my first Smartphone. I miss it. Good old times. :-D

mst 4y ago

I still miss my Nokia N900. Being able to feel a text or other message come in, pulling it out and popping the keyboard to activate the screen, reading the message, and then being able to type my response with two thumbs without looking at the screen was a delight. Plus the one window per conversation thing across all protocols (it was IIRC libpurple backed) worked -really- well due to the extremely good window switching system. Oh, and a resistive touch screen which meant (a) tactile feedback (b) it actually worked in mild rain. Ok, it was significantly pants at pretty much everything else, but as an upgraded pure communications device I don't think I've ever liked anything better (remove 'upgraded' and it and my beloved series of 6310i dumbphones are neck and neck).