Should Apple iPhone have full QWERTY hardware keyboard?
It is now 2009 and the Apple iPhone 3GS has been released, yet many people have called the lack of a physical keyboard a deal-breaker.
Steve Jobs prefaced his introduction at Macworld in 2007, by saying what was wrong with smartphones (the hardware keyboard).They do not go away when you don’t need them, they don’t change if you switch text entry to bitmap editing and if you come up with a good idea later, you can’t go back and add an extra button. The keyboard is a big factor for a lot of people, on the other hand the pain-in-the-fingers and arms they give you pretty much make people avoid them entirely, zero stress typing with the iPhone.
Most people can thumb type on the Apple iPhone just as well or even better than using the Blackberry or a slider-style keyboard like the G1. It is believed that Apple will never make an iPhone with a QWERTY keyboard and are not likely to suffer because of this. Over 40million iPhone and iPod touch software keyboard devices have been sold opening weekend alone, so I am sure you would agree it’s hard to argue the point. Please vote below
[poll id=”36″]
Source – Theiphoneblog
Comments
7 thoughts on “Should Apple iPhone have full QWERTY hardware keyboard?”
For myself and the people I know, once you use the use the iPhone virtual keyboard (if you had reservations about it) you get as fast or faster than with the keyboards on other phones.
It would be interesting to poll in that direction. For the most part, the main complainers in this regard would like an iPhone but don’t think the iPhone keyboard would work for them.
I doubt you would have many keyboard complaints from people that have iPhones.
It doesn’t matter what you or another thousand people want. Steve Jobs doesn’t like hardware keyboards so Apple won’t make a iPhone with a slider keyboard as you might like. It would make the iPhone heavier, thicker which he doesn’t like. Plus a hardware keyboard is contrary to the global not localized nature of the iPhone. There would have to be manufactured dozens of variations for various parts of the world where different languages hold sway. Software is far more flexible and customizable. Remember the Steve Wozniak moto, if you can do something with less chips, and the CPU can handle the software load, then do it in software. The benefits are more reliable and lower costs.
Sooner or later, someone is going to make an external keyboard attachment for the iPhone.
When this happens, case is closed on this issue.
Steve hates buttons, moving parts, or anything that makes a device too complicated. In all honesty, I don’t think the iPhone should have any physical keyboard. I’m not sure if texters are going to be happy with this and I fear it might slow down the iPhone getting into the enterprise even more, but Apple has set out to change the way people do things and if that’s the Apple philosophy, then that’s the way it will be. As one of the other commenters mentioned, get a folding bluetooth keyboard and use that.
I’ve got the hang of the iTouch’s keyboard and it certainly encourages the virtue of brevity.
If I had to use it for more extended typing I’d be hoping for an app to access bluetooth keyboards.
So far OS3.0’s bluetooth seems to be a non-event. My iTouch is sitting between my Logitech mouse and MacBook and is discovering neither. It can see my Vodafone 720 but can’t or won’t connect.
There are already external iPhone keyboards that work based on a wired connection to the iPhone’s dock connector. There is a small startup company in Boston that makes them and I found them through a local ad, you can inquire at tsparcs2@gmail.com.
(Disclaimer: I’m not speaking from theory here; I had an iPhone for 2 weeks and returned it because even after those 2 weeks I was still making many typing mistakes.)
I wish they would make an iPhone with a slide-out keyboard. It’s not just easier for texting; typing in URL’s, editing documents, and entering form information on any website are all easier with a physical keyboard.
I don’t doubt that the virtual keyboard gets easier to use over time, but anyone that claims it’s faster than a physical keyboard is kidding themselves. How can a virtual keyboard be faster, when it literally removes your sense of touch, i.e. something that speeds up every keystroke.