HTC Hardware keyboards

[MacinJosh]

In a sordid twist, HTC has announced that they will be going away from hardware keyboards. Very disturbing news indeed as that was the reason I picked the HTC EVO Shift 4G for my Sprint phone.

 

“As a company, the QWERTY keyboard we’re moving away from in general.” “We feel that putting too much effort into that [QWERTY] would take away from our devices.”

 

I personally feel that HTC is making a mistake, as hardware keyboards is how they made their name to begin with.

 

Source: http://www.phonenews.com/htc-shifting-focus-away-from-hardware-keyboards-in-device-designs-20191/

[digiblur]

Yep...been seeing this coming for a long time. Damn you apple!

 

I've had keyboard devices since 2001 or so and just can't go backwards and tap on some glass. I even hate the virtual keyboard on my 10 inch tablet. If I have to type a message I will pick up my Epic and type it instead of on the tablet.

[pyroscott]

Not a great idea, but money talks and if they are not selling keyboard phones...

 

Then again, how many top tier keyboard phones has HTC released? They all seem a little underpowered in comparison to the slab phones.

[Abyss19707]

This is because many people do not use keyboards anymore. Only the 73 million BlackBerry users really use keyboards anymore on phones. Now it is different with tablets. I would like a hybrid tablet/computer so I can use the touchscreen and keyboard together.

[marioc21]

The days of the slide out keyboard are pretty much over. You may see a model or two come out but they'll generally be mid-range models. It's become a very niche market. Everybody wants thin and light, which doesn't seem possible with a physical keyboard. I bought my Epic 4G because it had the keyboard and I must say that I rarely use it. Using the onscreen kb is just faster.

[pyroscott]

Yes, a slider tablet would be sweet. Or something like the Lenovo Yoga.

[Abyss19707]

Yes, a slider tablet would be sweet. Or something like the Lenovo Yoga.

I was thinking something like that Sony Future Hybrid Tablet/Computer shown at CES

[pyroscott]

I was thinking something like that Sony Future Hybrid Tablet/Computer shown at CES

 

Yeah, that is pretty sweet. You could always go with an Asus Transformer too.

[themuffinman]

I always use to tell myself that I will never own a phone without a hardware keyboard, that was one of the biggest reasons why I almost ended up not buying the original evo. At this point though, I will never go back to a phone with a hardware keyboard, I don't care what kind of specs it has.

[ScandaLeX]

Having extremely long fingernails made it difficult for me to use a hardware keyboard until I took the time to learn how.

 

Those same nails cover the letters on these built in/on screen keyboards so apps like swype are a blessing.

 

Lately I've resorted to using my bamboo stylus which is a million times better for me.

 

Sent from my YP-G70 using Tapatalk 2

[digiblur]

Reminds me of those original XBox controllers. They had the big ones then made those little dainty foo foo ones called the XBox S Controllers. The original fit my hands well and worked well then they did away with them. My damn fingers hit the wrong key on those virtual keyboards all the time then the screen real estate they take up is horrible.

 

They need to make a snap on keyboard for the phone and have the best of both worlds and fit everybody.

[MacinJosh]

Reminds me of those original XBox controllers. They had the big ones then made those little dainty foo foo ones called the XBox S Controllers. The original fit my hands well and worked well then they did away with them. My damn fingers hit the wrong key on those virtual keyboards all the time then the screen real estate they take up is horrible.

 

They need to make a snap on keyboard for the phone and have the best of both worlds and fit everybody.

 

Someone made a bluetooth slide out keyboard for the iPhone 4 about a year ago. It was the most awesome thing I had ever seen. I just wish I could find it again. So it is possible to make snap-on keyboards for phones. Maybe someone will finally start doing that for some of the newer Android phones.

[twospirits]

Someone made a bluetooth slide out keyboard for the iPhone 4 about a year ago. It was the most awesome thing I had ever seen. I just wish I could find it again. So it is possible to make snap-on keyboards for phones. Maybe someone will finally start doing that for some of the newer Android phones.

Amazon has one. There were rumors that Apple was testing a keyboard version also.

 

As for Android, I think manufacturers should make two versions of the same phone, one with keyboard and one without. This would take care of folks that want the same (non-sliding keyboard) phone but with a keyboard (and vice versa). Although I haven't used a sliding keyboard phone, there are at times that the on screen keyboard gets in the way seeing what I am typing about.

 

TS out

[MacinJosh]

Amazon has one. There were rumors that Apple was testing a keyboard version also.

 

As for Android' date=' I think manufacturers should make two versions of the same phone, one with keyboard and one without. This would take care of folks that want the same (non-sliding keyboard) phone but with a keyboard (and vice versa). Although I haven't used a sliding keyboard phone, there are at times that the on screen keyboard gets in the way seeing what I am typing about.

 

TS out[/quote']

 

I think that's the keyboard I saw for the iPhone 4. When it first came out I wanted one so bad.

 

Sent from Joshs iPhone 3Gs using Forum Runner

[pyroscott]

The reviews are brutal... LOL

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[MacinJosh]

The reviews are brutal... LOL

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

I'm not surprised. It looks like its quite bulky and Bluetooth was a battery drain on the i4 compared to the 3Gs

 

Sent from Joshs iPhone 3Gs using Forum Runner

[leerage]

I had the PPC6800 (alltel) and the Touch Pro 2 on Sprint... I always thought I needed to have a physical keyboard. But when I decided to get the Evo 4G and a couple weeks of use I did not need a physical keyboard any more. But this mainly boils down to preference. I think HTC should continue to make at least 1 phone with a physical keyboard.

[echo4papa]

Maybe there is a market for an add on keyboard for some of you "I need a keyboard" folks. Maybe a mini bluetooth keypad or something?

[MacinJosh]

Maybe there is a market for an add on keyboard for some of you "I need a keyboard" folks. Maybe a mini bluetooth keypad or something?

 

There have been a few bluetooth keyboards, but I haven't seen any mini ones yet.

[echo4papa]

There have been a few bluetooth keyboards, but I haven't seen any mini ones yet.

 

I'm picturing a mini keyboard built into a phone case. Would be a little bulky though.

[MacinJosh]

I'm picturing a mini keyboard built into a phone case. Would be a little bulky though.

 

So far the only cases with built in keyboards have been for the iPhone 4/4S. But one for other phones would be nice.

[echo4papa]

Oh, see, I didn't know they made those. lol

[MacinJosh]

Oh, see, I didn't know they made those. lol

 

Yeah, when I was on at&t I almost bought one of those cases.

[digiblur]

 

I'm picturing a mini keyboard built into a phone case. Would be a little bulky though.

 

Yeah it would be. I like the thickness of the epic with a case. Perfect to hold and type on. I played with a galaxy ii and it was just too thin to hold and I kept tapping on stuff on the side of the screens with the edge to edge screen. It was terrible. I know I am going to be stuck with that though if I want to upgrade in a few months.

 

Sent from my C64 w/Epyx FastLoad cartridge

[Josh]

Not a great idea, but money talks and if they are not selling keyboard phones...

 

Then again, how many top tier keyboard phones has HTC released? They all seem a little underpowered in comparison to the slab phones.

 

I agree completely, I had the original HTC TOUCH windows 6 phone (the first all touch screen phone, well before android and iPhone were popular)... it had a tiny 3.2 in screen and no keyboard. you could set it up to basically use t9 type keyboard, but it was a resistive touch screen, so to use the full keyboard you had to use the stylus. next I upgraded to the first HTC HERO, which was night and day different than the windows phone... it was slick, customizable and responsive. Sadly this only lasted a few months, as new versions of android came out, and I loaded it with apps, it strained to keep up. Eventually I switched to a Samsung Moment to try one with a keyboard, while I wasn't too impressed with the phone interface with the lack of sense (which I really liked) but the keyboard more than made up for it.

So it had become time to upgrade again, and I was left with a tough choice, HTC phones which I liked the interface but lacked the keyboard, or a Samsung phone, which I wasn't as crazy about but had a keyboard I was crazy about... I went with the Epic 4G and have really gotten hooked on a keyboard. (the epic is a decent phone too, btw)

 

The Shift was too small and had a sub-par processor, as well as a mediocre screen, plus it was rather thick and had no spring assist to open it. If HTC wanted to actually design a full keyboard product that was on par with their other phone offerings, people like me would buy it in a heartbeat! If they could slim down the thickness of the G2 (I really liked the opening mechanism and keyboard responsiveness), add a dual core processor, and put a 4.2" screen on it with gorilla glass, I would buy it today!