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I think this is a misunderstanding of the UX of phones. The fact that keyboard input is harder on a touchscreen than a physical keyboard is of course a disadvan

I think this is a misunderstanding of the UX of phones. The fact that keyboard input is harder on a touchscreen than a physical keyboard is of course a disadvantage. But it is a much smaller disadvantage than the UX gains from having more screen space for content when you're not typing. Also, a touchscreen is much better for input than a keyboard for various navigation features - panning, zooming, selection, not to mention many styles of games are all more suited to touchscreen input then keyboard input. So, the choice is between a phone with a good keyboard but half the screen size (horrible for the web, maps, photos), or a phone with a subpar but still functional keyboard with a full screen. The UX is clearly overall much much better on the second one.

nottorp 3y ago
Some people had had PalmPilots for years when Jobs launched the iPhone and were wondering why no one puts a cell phone on them... Also some people (looks in mirror) had noticed that you could press buttons in apps with your thumbs even on the resistive Palm touch screens and were hoping they enlarge the scroll bars so you can at least view data without taking out the stylus. Yes, there was the Treo, but mobile internet was still crap and expensive. If i recall correctly, they even added a keyboard back because their customers thought they needed better Blackberrys?
corethree 3y ago
Yeah that's one perspective of the tradeoff. I'm neutral on this actually. I think both perspectives are correct depending on your angle. The mouse and keyboard still haven't been replaced by a touch screen.
- tsimionescu 3y ago
  > The mouse and keyboard still haven't been replaced by a touch screen. That is very much in line with what I'm saying. Where you don't have a space problem, having a keyboard and a mouse and a big screen is ideal. But just as no one is seriously considering putting a mouse on a phone, I don't see why they'd consider a keyboard as mandatory either.

nottorp 3y ago

Some people had had PalmPilots for years when Jobs launched the iPhone and were wondering why no one puts a cell phone on them... Also some people (looks in mirror) had noticed that you could press buttons in apps with your thumbs even on the resistive Palm touch screens and were hoping they enlarge the scroll bars so you can at least view data without taking out the stylus. Yes, there was the Treo, but mobile internet was still crap and expensive. If i recall correctly, they even added a keyboard back because their customers thought they needed better Blackberrys?

corethree 3y ago

Yeah that's one perspective of the tradeoff. I'm neutral on this actually. I think both perspectives are correct depending on your angle. The mouse and keyboard still haven't been replaced by a touch screen.

tsimionescu 3y ago
> The mouse and keyboard still haven't been replaced by a touch screen. That is very much in line with what I'm saying. Where you don't have a space problem, having a keyboard and a mouse and a big screen is ideal. But just as no one is seriously considering putting a mouse on a phone, I don't see why they'd consider a keyboard as mandatory either.