4 ms·

It'd be nice if the keyboard could flip backwards or slide away seamlessly.

JadeNB 3y ago
That sounds like re-inventing the Sidekick (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_Hiptop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_Hiptop)!
- loloquwowndueo 3y ago
  And giving iPhone a physical keyboard is reinventing the blackberry. Never mind that the iPhone’s mantra from the beginning has been away from the inadaptability of physical keyboards. (Watch the 2007 keynote for reference).
  - schiffern 3y ago
    > Never mind that the iPhone’s official marketing line from the beginning has been... Fixed. It's an age-old sales tactic. "It's not a bug, it's a feature!"
    - ceejayoz 3y ago
      Given everyone else fairly rapidly followed along, and still are nearly 15 years later, “feature” seems accurate.
- xp84 3y ago
  RIP, I miss the Sidekick so much. Probably every millennial would have given anything to have one of these in 2001, but a data plan, the hardware cost itself, and exclusivity to T-Mobile placed it firmly outside the reach of everyone I knew including myself.
  - mattl 3y ago
    I had one much later in 2008, it cost $1 a day for unlimited data/service on a prepaid account IIRC.
- hamburglar 3y ago
  I think a lot of people would like to see the sidekick reinvented tbh
  - abustamam 3y ago
    I agree. My mom's first android phone was the sidekick 4g https://www.t-mobile.com/devices/sidekick https://www.t-mobile.com/devices/sidekick It was a solid device, but it got sluggish pretty quickly. Not sure if it was because of my mom's usage habits or the hardware. And my first android phone was the Motorola cliq https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Cliq https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Cliq I think I went through several devices on warranty because it malfunctioned in some way. Anyway, I just mention this because smartphones with keyboards are not new inventions, but fewer are being manufactured. I don't think I would get a smartphone with a keyboard, but I'd love to see more innovation in this space. I'm kinda tired of the whole "more, better cameras" and "more processing power" pattern we've been seeing.
callalex 3y ago
Wow I guess it’s been long enough. The mid aughts explored this whole world extensively and it all sucked which is why we ended up where we are. Although watching video content wasn’t a thing the last time around so maybe there is room for improvement now…
- chihuahua 3y ago
  Back then, I had a phone that had 2 separate slide-out keyboards: one for the digits, and one full qwerty. I didn't buy this monstrosity; my employer gave it to me for testing the app we were working on. Absolute madness, but also admirable that someone manufactured it.
Eric_WVGG 3y ago
So many folks insisted that touchscreen keyboards were a fad, and everyone would come back to keyboards sooner or later. I knew they were wrong, but I figured there would at least be a permanent market for some 5% minority who needed their chiclet keyboards. Wrong! Honestly surprised that a device took so long to come to market… I’m not making any predictions this time.
- ansible 3y ago
  I was a long-time holdout for landscape-mode physical keyboards. I owned the original ADP1 from Google, which had a decent keyboard. I then upgraded to the Samsung Sidekick 4G, which had an even better keyboard. After fixing the keyboard map, I installed a cut-down Debian userspace on it for mobile software development. After that, I looked at buying a Motorola Photon Q, but I would have had to hack it to get it on my preferred carrier. Even then it would have been expensive. I think my next actual phone was a Nexus 4, and I eventually got used to swiping. For overall typing and mobile software development experience, I've instead settled on relatively small and handy Chromebooks. This is even easier now days, because installing the Linux development environment is a few clicks.
balaji1 3y ago
Exactly, a fold-away/flip-away form factor that doubles as a phone-case might be better.

That sounds like re-inventing the Sidekick (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_Hiptop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_Hiptop)!

loloquwowndueo 3y ago
And giving iPhone a physical keyboard is reinventing the blackberry. Never mind that the iPhone’s mantra from the beginning has been away from the inadaptability of physical keyboards. (Watch the 2007 keynote for reference).
- schiffern 3y ago
  > Never mind that the iPhone’s official marketing line from the beginning has been... Fixed. It's an age-old sales tactic. "It's not a bug, it's a feature!"
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    Given everyone else fairly rapidly followed along, and still are nearly 15 years later, “feature” seems accurate.
xp84 3y ago
RIP, I miss the Sidekick so much. Probably every millennial would have given anything to have one of these in 2001, but a data plan, the hardware cost itself, and exclusivity to T-Mobile placed it firmly outside the reach of everyone I knew including myself.
- mattl 3y ago
  I had one much later in 2008, it cost $1 a day for unlimited data/service on a prepaid account IIRC.
hamburglar 3y ago
I think a lot of people would like to see the sidekick reinvented tbh
- abustamam 3y ago
  I agree. My mom's first android phone was the sidekick 4g https://www.t-mobile.com/devices/sidekick https://www.t-mobile.com/devices/sidekick It was a solid device, but it got sluggish pretty quickly. Not sure if it was because of my mom's usage habits or the hardware. And my first android phone was the Motorola cliq https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Cliq https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Cliq I think I went through several devices on warranty because it malfunctioned in some way. Anyway, I just mention this because smartphones with keyboards are not new inventions, but fewer are being manufactured. I don't think I would get a smartphone with a keyboard, but I'd love to see more innovation in this space. I'm kinda tired of the whole "more, better cameras" and "more processing power" pattern we've been seeing.

callalex 3y ago

Wow I guess it’s been long enough. The mid aughts explored this whole world extensively and it all sucked which is why we ended up where we are. Although watching video content wasn’t a thing the last time around so maybe there is room for improvement now…

chihuahua 3y ago
Back then, I had a phone that had 2 separate slide-out keyboards: one for the digits, and one full qwerty. I didn't buy this monstrosity; my employer gave it to me for testing the app we were working on. Absolute madness, but also admirable that someone manufactured it.

Eric_WVGG 3y ago

So many folks insisted that touchscreen keyboards were a fad, and everyone would come back to keyboards sooner or later. I knew they were wrong, but I figured there would at least be a permanent market for some 5% minority who needed their chiclet keyboards. Wrong! Honestly surprised that a device took so long to come to market… I’m not making any predictions this time.

ansible 3y ago
I was a long-time holdout for landscape-mode physical keyboards. I owned the original ADP1 from Google, which had a decent keyboard. I then upgraded to the Samsung Sidekick 4G, which had an even better keyboard. After fixing the keyboard map, I installed a cut-down Debian userspace on it for mobile software development. After that, I looked at buying a Motorola Photon Q, but I would have had to hack it to get it on my preferred carrier. Even then it would have been expensive. I think my next actual phone was a Nexus 4, and I eventually got used to swiping. For overall typing and mobile software development experience, I've instead settled on relatively small and handy Chromebooks. This is even easier now days, because installing the Linux development environment is a few clicks.

balaji1 3y ago

Exactly, a fold-away/flip-away form factor that doubles as a phone-case might be better.