[HN Gopher] Clicks - Physical keyboard for iPhone
___________________________________________________________________
Clicks - Physical keyboard for iPhone
Author : guyinblackshirt
Score : 284 points
Date : 2024-01-04 20:43 UTC (2 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.clicks.tech)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.clicks.tech)
| bochoh wrote:
| Disappointing (but understandable) that this is not available for
| my 14 Pro Max.
| netsharc wrote:
| Someone should just(TM) take the mechanism from a pinching
| phone holder (like [1] ), add the Bluetooth keyboard at the
| bottom, and make a universal phone keyboard extension...
|
| [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpbsbLIU5f8
| Affric wrote:
| Women's hands in every image yet a man's face everywhere. Just a
| little on the nose.
|
| Obviously I am not the target demographic but I am interested to
| see where this goes.
| SketchySeaBeast wrote:
| I'm confused as to what you're implying - the first image with
| a person (after Mr. Mobile) is of a fully embodied woman, hands
| and all.
| marcellus23 wrote:
| There looks like a mix of both women and men on that page?
| asow92 wrote:
| The second photo of a person on the page is of a women holding
| the phone and you can see her face.
| raylad wrote:
| iOs now has a way of moving the cursor by holding down spacebar
| and then dragging your finger. This also lets selections be
| extended.
|
| How will this keyboard replace that for cursor movement?
| I_Am_Nous wrote:
| Similar to other 3rd party keyboards, it probably just won't
| implement that. I don't think I've seen a 3rd party iOS
| keyboard that does.
| afandian wrote:
| I recently bought Samsung Galaxy add on keyboard, on a whim, to
| see if it would work with my iPhone. It sits over the screen
| where the onscreen keyboard is situated. On eBay it said
| "Bluetooth" but had no obvious signs of charging. Didn't work
| with the iPhone. Next hypothesis was something clever with NFC.
|
| Nope. Zero electronics. The reverse of the PCB has pads that fit
| over regions on the screen. On the front of the PCB, tactile dome
| switches short each pad through to a plane, presumably
| capacitively coupled to the hand.
|
| (Edited for detail)
|
| Why won't anyone do this for iPhones? (Patents or market?)
| sleepybrett wrote:
| My guess is 'you didn't look hard enough' or 'there were some
| but noone bothered to buy them and everyone stopped making
| them'. I was an avid sidekicker until the iphone2. I might have
| (lo 15 years ago) been interested in a slide out horizontal
| keyboard case for the iphone. Never happened, adapted and now
| with 'slide' keyboards never going back to chicklets.
| afandian wrote:
| I've seen various phone keyboards over the years but never
| recalled one that used capacitance.
| I_Am_Nous wrote:
| So it's basically a membrane keyboard with plungers hitting the
| "contacts" which are the keys on the touchscreen?
|
| My first concern would be tolerances - enough press to feel
| good, but not so far that you have to press too hard. Too short
| and you might accidentally press keys you didn't mean to.
| afandian wrote:
| These are standard tactile dome switches. And the PCB pads
| are static.
| zamadatix wrote:
| Do you have a model/name/link of this? I'm having a hard time
| following the description but it sounds like it sits on top of
| part of the screen? What happens when you fullscreen a video or
| otherwise don't have the keyboard up?
| osamagirl69 wrote:
| Seems to be this https://wonderfulengineering.com/samsung-
| unveils-a-qwerty-ke...
| afandian wrote:
| This, or similar. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mjwAqDS6EcU
|
| It clips on the front of the phone. Has a small magnet that
| presumably triggers the onscreen keyboard to show and resize
| the visible screen.
| chedabob wrote:
| I'd be surprised if Sony Ericsson didn't have a patent on it,
| because that was exactly how the numeric keypad worked on their
| early smartphones. They were resistive displays though, so they
| just required something hard on the back to register a touch.
| sleepybrett wrote:
| feels like this is ... 15 years late.
| stavros wrote:
| It might be 15 years overdue.
| matt_s wrote:
| Does it come with the Blackberry breakout game and a scroll
| wheel?
| otoburb wrote:
| I wonder how the microphone input and speaker ouput are affected
| with the keyboard cover. As shocking as it seems, not all iPhone
| users use AirPods for their calls.
| NoMoreNicksLeft wrote:
| With it plugging into the lightning connector, can't it just
| use the pins on that to bring the mike and speaker back out to
| extras built into the new device? Or are those not exposed in
| such a way as to allow it?
| happyopossum wrote:
| They could totally do that via lightning or USB-C (iPhone 14
| vs 15), but it doesn't appear that they have.
| bastijn wrote:
| I wonder how this would feel in hand, grip seems to have
| unbalanced weight when I mimic on my iPhone pro max 11. Like it
| wants to tip over but maybe if you really have something physical
| at the bottom it is not that bad.
|
| Blackberry sacrificed screen for the keyboard so balance was all
| OK.
|
| I also caught myself thinking these buttons were too round and
| too tiny as compared to my on-screen keyboard. Also not having
| the luxury of seeing all my special characters appear on the keys
| when pressing the 123/#+= etc to toggle keyboards would be
| something to get used to. E.g. Type a {} or ~.
| intrasight wrote:
| Why not have the keyboard part of the case and fold down
| markrogersjr wrote:
| I wonder what the effect of the key rows not being offset is on
| the UX.
| apimade wrote:
| The fake podcast promo video is.. Weird.
| allenu wrote:
| It's fascinating that a fake podcast conversation is a
| potentially better way to communicate a sales pitch than
| someone talking directly at the audience. I'll admit I was also
| wondering "Who is this guy talking to? Was this a clip from a
| podcast he was on?" Having never seen him before, my conclusion
| was he is a podcast guy, but then again maybe it's a fake
| podcast environment purely for enhancing the marketing message?
| dqv wrote:
| It was supposed to be a joke! Not inspiration!
| https://i.redd.it/g8o4nu49rfz51.jpg
|
| I like having a physical keyboard, but not like this... it makes
| the phone too long. A slide out is preferred. I'm just going to
| stick with a regular bluetooth keyboard.
| iddan wrote:
| Slide out, now that's a 2000s throw back!
| dqv wrote:
| I want to throw it back even further to a Sidekick honestly.
| I never got to experience having one and I'd love a modern
| phone that flips open like the Sidekick does.
| abathur wrote:
| Same, though I did have a Sidekick (2008).
|
| I've never stopped missing it. Every time I start trying to
| ~swipe some technical term that the keyboard won't get
| unless I've added it previously. Every time I type 'n'
| instead of a space. And more.
|
| I was perusing the patents a few weeks ago and noting that
| some of them are coming up (but some were a few years out).
| MetaWhirledPeas wrote:
| I liked my Sidekick, and the keyboard was pretty good. But
| honestly I've been pretty happy with how software keyboards
| have evolved, and I'm pretty sure physical buttons would
| just slow me down at this point.
|
| However, one thing I'll continue missing from the Sidekick
| are the gaming controls. It had a horrible d-pad and
| buttons but at least it _had them_. They 've been forced
| out of smartphones in the name of shaving off bezels and
| making the aspect ratio taller (eww). Give me a phone with
| a tiny d-pad and buttons please
| RHSeeger wrote:
| I would love to a Droid 2 style keyboard for my phone
|
| http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/wireless/detail-page/mo...
| RajT88 wrote:
| The Astro Slide is exactly this.
|
| Although - good luck getting one. And once you have one, it's
| just OK. Missing some fit and finish both in hardware and
| software.
| rrix2 wrote:
| I dropped mine less than a foot and the display broke
| entirely, six months ago, and they never shipped the
| "protection pack" with extra screen protectors and a hard
| shell case. Their support has yet to reply, much less quote
| an RMA. :(
| RajT88 wrote:
| I am in a similar boat. That thing is relatively fragile,
| with no options for cases/screen protectors.
|
| I think the company is well on the way to going belly up.
| Too bad too, their devices all had promise, they just
| needed to have more iterations to get better. They were
| too small clearly to even produce a new iteration, they
| were all-in on new designs from the Gemini / Cosmo /
| Astro Slide and now on to ARM Linux computers.
| LegitShady wrote:
| Brings back fond memories of htc phones of yore
| roughly wrote:
| Man, the droid is still my favorite mobile device I've ever
| owned. Such a great form factor, and felt super cyberpunk -
| especially the droid 1 in the early days of smart phones.
| Shame Jony Ive won the design war, it's all been flat black
| rectangles since then.
| nerdponx wrote:
| Bring back the Sidekick!
| dylan604 wrote:
| the slide out could work if nothing more than to just balance
| the protrusion from the camera housing.
| gotbeans wrote:
| No one here realizes the sheer thumb strength of the guy in the
| pic.
| mzitelli wrote:
| Nice horizontal scroll.
| alexchantavy wrote:
| As someone who grew up with the Blackjack and Sidekick phones I
| like this. I'll nitpick on a marketed scenario though:
|
| > Launch Spotlight
|
| > cmd + space
|
| Cool that there's a keyboard but this is more easily done by just
| dragging the home screen down. There are probably more powerful
| hotkey combos they can pick for the marketing here.
| I_Am_Nous wrote:
| If it can open spotlight while I'm still in another app and I
| don't have to go to the Home Screen before pulling down, that
| would be pretty awesome!
| taejavu wrote:
| Not exactly the same, but I much prefer using cmd+space on my
| iPad's physical keyboard than the equivalent touch action. This
| goes for pretty much all the shortcuts, keyboard wins every
| time due to tactile feedback and predictability.
| MBCook wrote:
| Remember they can't do anything special.
|
| Those are the standard shortcuts all keyboards get, meant for
| keyboards on iPads that also work on iPhones and thus work
| here.
| SketchySeaBeast wrote:
| Is the idea that you always have this on, making your phone much
| longer (and potentially more unbalanced) than it was before, or
| that you keep it around for when you want to text? Seems like you
| always want to keep it on because you have to hook it up to the
| port, but you're adding a fair bit of length to the phone.
|
| I generally enjoy Mr Mobile's reviews, but I just don't know
| about this product.
| CharlesW wrote:
| From the page: "Add a compact, lightweight keyboard when
| needed, or leave it on all the time - you decide!"
| SketchySeaBeast wrote:
| So they aren't sure either?
| jonplackett wrote:
| Unless you have ridiculous clown length pockets, I'm saying
| it's gonna be in your bag til you need it.
| micromacrofoot wrote:
| seems like it could make the pro max quite top heavy
| zyang wrote:
| I have a feeling this is going to get bent in my pocket and
| damage the charging port. A desk stand with integrated keyboard
| would have been better.
| TaylorAlexander wrote:
| Does it interface with the charge port? This image doesn't show
| a charge plug.
|
| https://assets-global.website-files.com/6571c5a614be2a1a6376...
| zyang wrote:
| Yes it's in the video. Part of the pitch is "no bluetooth
| just plugs into your charging port".
| TaylorAlexander wrote:
| Oh gotcha thanks
| cazim wrote:
| It somehow reminded me of the Ericsson Chatboard.
| breitling wrote:
| Doesn't BlackBerry have a patent for this?
|
| Ryan Seacrest had started a iPhone physical keyboard company,
| Typo I think, and got sued so bad he abandoned the whole thing.
| How will these people get around it?
| bsimpson wrote:
| Apparently so:
| https://www.theverge.com/2015/6/1/8696991/blackberry-typo-ke...
|
| Our patent system is so absurd. How can BlackBerry own the
| concept of using a keyboard with a touchscreen?
| gjsman-1000 wrote:
| Two patents were at play: D685,775, and 7,629,964. (http://ia
| 600308.us.archive.org/35/items/gov.uscourts.cand.27...)
|
| D685,775 expires in 2027. Whether it's relevant, only a
| lawyer can say.
| (https://patents.google.com/patent/USD685775S1/en)
|
| 7,629,964 expired in 2018.
| (https://patents.google.com/patent/US7629964B2/en)
| Findecanor wrote:
| Some articles about the lawsuit list a _third_ patent. It
| is a (real) invention patent, not a design patent, for the
| shape of the keys:
|
| 8,162,552 which expires in 2031.
| <https://patents.google.com/patent/US8162552B2/en>
| notatoad wrote:
| typo pretty blatantly ripped off the unique shape of the
| blackberry keys that makes them easier to hit than normal
| mini keyboards. i'm not a fan of the patent system, but that
| seems like an actual novel thing that blackberry legitimately
| invented.
| victorbjorklund wrote:
| Doubt they have a patent for "keyboard on phones" (I had a
| nokia with a physical keyboard). Was probably because it was
| very similar to blackberrys keyboard (really looks like they
| just stuck a blackberry keyboard on an iphone) while this one
| seems more different.
| pavon wrote:
| I'd guess those patents would have expired by now. They only
| last 20 years, and you must file them within 12 months of a
| product coming to market including that invention or you
| forfeit the right to patent it. So any patents related to the
| 7000 line or earlier would have expired, and I don't see
| anything about this keyboard that is similar to later BB
| keyboards.
| matt_heimer wrote:
| The Blackberry lawsuit against Typo seemed to be heavily design
| related, see the comparisons between Typo and Blackberry
| devices on page 14 and 15 of
| https://regmedia.co.uk/2015/02/18/blackberry_complaint_typo....
|
| I wonder if that is in part why Clicks has more colorful
| designs.
| bragr wrote:
| The proportions compared to a classic blackberry seem terrible
| for typing ergonomics. With a Blackberry, the overall device is
| closer to a square and the keyboard is basically the bottom half
| of the device. With the case, the keyboard is like the bottom 20%
| and it seems like the weight of the rest of the phone would be
| constantly trying to leverage it out of your grasp, especially
| since blackberries were like half as heavy as a modern
| smartphone.
| CodeWriter23 wrote:
| Marketing would say: enhanced tactile feedback
| Findecanor wrote:
| They did add a weight behind the keyboard so that it wouldn't
| feel too top-heavy.
| skygazer wrote:
| I both love this and am horrified. It looks like it'd turn a Pro
| Max into a 9 inch tall phone. Since it's a case, you'd need a new
| one each phone upgrade. (I used to do this with the Apple battery
| cases, until I came to my senses and/or magsafe.) Although, I
| still occasionally long for the blind accuracy of the old
| Blackberry keyboard.
|
| I think I'd prefer an adjustable magsafe attached keyboard that
| can do either landscape or portrait, though. Sadly, I don't see
| ctrl, alt or arrow keys. SSH won't benefit as much.
|
| All that said, if this were $50, I'd already have ordered it.
| iancmceachern wrote:
| I hate that's its needed, but love that it exists
| jayd16 wrote:
| I wonder if a magsafe secured, size agnostic version could be
| made. Less locked in but easier to split across pockets and
| possibly works for more than one model.
| pedalpete wrote:
| This was my initial reaction, why have an entire case when it
| could be attached via magsafe. I wonder if it could be made
| to swivel/slide out of the way when not in use. Membrane
| keyboard could be super thin.
|
| But also.... no, I don't think I need/want this. But a cool
| design exercise.
| Caddickbrown wrote:
| In theory all it would need to be is a tiny Bluetooth
| keyboard with a MagSafe attachment and it would be
| functionally the same!
| cowsup wrote:
| Bluetooth would require separate charging and a heavier
| design for an onboard battery. Not to mention needing to
| turn it off and on, or making it "smart" and only turn on
| when pressed, which slows down typing itself when you
| really need it.
| silisili wrote:
| It'd be nice if the keyboard could flip backwards or slide away
| seamlessly.
| JadeNB wrote:
| That sounds like re-inventing the Sidekick
| (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_Hiptop)!
| loloquwowndueo wrote:
| 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).
| dumpHero2 wrote:
| If it gains any traction, you'd be able to get a fairly decent
| Temu version in about 6 months from now for $30.
| FullyFunctional wrote:
| I've been on a physical iPhone keyboard quest since I got my
| first (4S). I have a pile of BT keyboards and one keyboard
| case. Still looking for something I would actually use. Indeed,
| my primary use case is for SSH (via Terminus).
| ortusdux wrote:
| I wonder if there is room for a battery behind the keyboard?
| jonplackett wrote:
| Anyone else hoping this would be landscape?
|
| I feel like this is going to be ridiculously top heavy.
| xenospn wrote:
| This is such a beautifully designed website.
| catapart wrote:
| Neat! I like it enough to _almost_ buy it. I use an android as my
| daily driver, so it 's not a real productivity booster for me,
| but I would like to get my hands on it to see how it feels. I was
| a big fan of the Blackberry Key2 android phones (still use mine
| for dev work!), which included the full keyboard, so if this is
| anywhere close to that, it's probably pretty cool.
|
| Really the only thing stopping me is that this doesn't also
| include a touch sensitive volume rocker that would scroll the
| screen for me. That would really reiterate that focus on 'not
| touching the screen'. I know that's not something anyone has
| every developed before, nor is it something anyone promised. But
| it is both super feasible, and seems like a really killer
| feature, so if I'm buying a luxury item, I'd like it to have
| every feature I'm looking for instead of just most of them.
| Again, if an iPhone were my daily driver, that calculus would be
| different.
| keriati1 wrote:
| I find it awesome. Maybe it is targeted to my age group. Sadly I
| have an iPhone 13 and won't upgrade in the next 2-3 years.
| Otherwise I would order it right now.
| boomskats wrote:
| For anyone interested in something closer to the feel of the
| original Bold keyboard, the Fairberry[0] uses the keyboard from
| the BB Q10, which is excellent and can be had for about $5 a
| piece. They can look pretty decent[1][2] and are more easily
| removed.
|
| If anyone wants one PM me, I'll mail you a couple. I've got like
| 30 of them.
|
| [0]: https://github.com/Dakkaron/Fairberry [1]:
| https://imgur.com/a/wYub8JD [2]: https://imgur.com/a/DLhlY7m
| vqbd wrote:
| Would it work on an iphone if the USB is adapted? I'm curious
| on getting one of these to work.
| boomskats wrote:
| I've not tried it, but if you check out the mainboard Readme
| [0] it mentions the possibility of a lightning port
| connector. I assume OTG is how the product OP linked to works
| too.
|
| [0]: https://github.com/Dakkaron/Fairberry/blob/main/Document
| atio...
| vqbd wrote:
| Neat. I couldn't find PM info for you but Id like to get
| one to adapt it.
| dustmote-cowboy wrote:
| this looks great! would be interested in snagging a keyboard
| indymike wrote:
| Needs function keys to be useful for my use case... but I love
| it! Also... love that the connection is not Bluetooth and is
| lightning or usb-c. Nice!
| kardianos wrote:
| Phones with physical keyboards:
| https://www.unihertz.com/collections/titan-series
|
| Unihertz Titans
| nyanpasu64 wrote:
| What on earth is a "creator keyboard"?
| brk wrote:
| That was my initial thought as well. The "creator" pitch and
| visuals immediately turned me off. It gave me the impression
| that this was kind of a gimmicky thing intended for an audience
| the polar opposite of what I would want.
| Minor49er wrote:
| It's for "content creators", which is the modern way of saying
| "people who post shit on the Internet"
| tomasreimers wrote:
| Would seriously consider buying this if it were a case with a
| back-sliding landscape keyboard. Something like:
|
| https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/fd8703ad0b0ec545ac98701c39...
| valianteffort wrote:
| I think the camera bumps kind of prevent this without turning
| the phone into a literal brick. Would have to be more like a
| clamshell/folio type case like with the iPads.
|
| That said the keyboard in OP looks so unbelievably fucking
| stupid and impractical I can't understand how it made it to
| production.
| devmor wrote:
| Doesn't have to cover the entire back of the camera. Just
| needs to use magsafe to attach.
| cududa wrote:
| I don't think magsafe is strong enough to support the
| entire phone on a keyboard
| happyopossum wrote:
| MagSafe supports my 'entire phone' bouncing around in my
| truck, and hanging on my headboard at night - it's more
| than strong enough to hold a phone to a keyboard.
| cududa wrote:
| Fair and good point!
| kridsdale1 wrote:
| I enjoy that your unwritten implication is that your
| headboard is banging around at night with equal amplitude
| to your truck.
| ClassyJacket wrote:
| Supporting the entire phone is the entire point of
| Magsafe, what else would you even use it for?
| valianteffort wrote:
| That wouldn't be very comfortable at all
| drudoo wrote:
| I had this as a case for the iPhone 4 (or 5S, can't remember).
| Was amazing but very bulky.
| cududa wrote:
| The Palm Pre was my dream phone
| lazzurs wrote:
| +1
|
| I can't get over how long it took Apple to adopt the same
| charging mechanism. It's depressing how good the Pre phones
| were and how long it's taken to get anywhere near close to as
| good.
| hanniabu wrote:
| I always loved the LG env2
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_enV2_%28VX9100%29
| Aardwolf wrote:
| Could use arrow keys and a headphone jack
| 1B05H1N wrote:
| Long long phone
|
| https://youtu.be/6-1Ue0FFrHY
| codexb wrote:
| First it was flip phones. Now BlackBerry has come full circle.
| Can't wait until windows phones and beepers make a comeback.
| boomskats wrote:
| That's it, I'm doing it. I'm making a BlackBerry keyboard for
| my flip phone.
| SushiHippie wrote:
| This made me realise how much I'd love a physical keyboard on my
| phone.
|
| But not like this, this is too long and I don't think one will
| have a pleasant typing experience with this.
|
| I thought about this one for a few minutes, but I can't think of
| a good way to integrate a keyboard in a smartphone case, that
| will give you the experience of a blackberry or similar.
|
| The slide-out ones that you could use in horizontal orientation
| are probably the best way I know of, but I wish something similar
| could be feasible in vertical orientation.
|
| EDIT: I just realised that the coolest way would be, if the phone
| display is only as large as the current phones minus the
| keyboard, and then a physical keyboard beneath it. The phone
| would be physically as large as the phones today and you would
| have a superior typing experience. Only problem would be watching
| videos or images which are all either 16:9 or 21:9 (or vice
| versa). And I'd personally trade the screen size for a physical
| keyboard
| TylerE wrote:
| I had an android phone with a physical keyboard. It was
| terrible. To avoid bloating the thing to a full on tablet the
| keys are so small it's practically impossible to not hit a
| whole cluster of keys, at least with my large-but-not-
| freakishly so hands. (e.g. average for a 6'ish adult male). To
| top it off the feel was horribly as the keys have about 0.1mm
| of travel.
| roywashere wrote:
| I had the T-mobile G1 with the slide out keyboard. Loved it!!
| oslem wrote:
| Sounds to me that you just described the format of a
| BlackBerry!
|
| I could almost envision a clip-on (or magnetic?) keyboard that
| sits on top of your screen when you need it. Perhaps it could
| be taken off and stored on the back of your phone, much like a
| MagSafe battery on an iPhone.
| SushiHippie wrote:
| That could work too. A keyboard that you put on top of the
| screen, the only thing that would need to happen is that the
| operating system detects this and moves the content to the
| top, the same way as the software keyboard.
|
| Similar to what @walterbell suggested
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38872674
| andiareso wrote:
| This existed before a lawsuit
| https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/20/5325272/typo-keyboard-
| rev...
| stemlord wrote:
| I like the magnetically attachable kb idea A LOT. Could also
| attach to the back of the phone when not in use to not live
| as a separate part. Seems like it'd be a pain in the ass to
| spend multiple seconds mounting the kb every time you need to
| type but I would actually keep it mounted and take it _off_
| when watching videos only. So it 'd remain there for 95% of
| the tkme.
| walterbell wrote:
| _> the coolest way would be, if the phone display is only as
| large as the current phones minus the keyboard, and then a
| physical keyboard beneath it. The phone would be physically as
| large as the phones today and you would have a superior typing
| experience._
|
| iOS Reachability, but pinned to top of display?
|
| https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-reachability-iph1...
| SushiHippie wrote:
| Yes, and then there could be a keyboard flips around to the
| black part
| pb7 wrote:
| >you would have a superior typing experience
|
| Would you? I don't think so. All to permanently lose 30%+ of
| your usual screen space on a device that you likely use to
| consume 90% of the time and input 10% of the time.
| SushiHippie wrote:
| I don't consume anything on my phone that would require that
| much vertical space, except occasionally a video someone sent
| me. And the touch keyboard bugs me so much that I really
| wouldn't care about losing ~1/3 of the screen.
| dannyw wrote:
| Different people use devices in different ways.
|
| My phone is 80% emails, Slack, iMessage, Discord; 15% Google
| Maps, Uber, or Safari, and 5% YouTube.
|
| To each their own, but I realised content consumption is a
| seriously net negative on my happiness, productivity, and
| satisfaction with life, so I stopped.
| Cthulhu_ wrote:
| I think a sideways one would be most ergonomic, like a Backbone
| (https://playbackbone.com/products/backbone-one/) but with
| keyboard keys. Actually iOS supports a split style keyboard as
| well:
| https://www.lifewire.com/thmb/gSGW1OzKc1r6QWfVYO7g0rdfXuw=/1...
| tinytuna wrote:
| The new iPad pro's don't have that feature sadly
| carlosjobim wrote:
| You described the BlackBerry Priv.
| ChrisArchitect wrote:
| Have a sudden urge to rewatch the _BlackBerry_ movie
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3icHg3N5ym0
| dylan604 wrote:
| This is in my queue as well. I've watched several of the
| TechBro movies and enjoyed several of them. Things like The
| Social Network and Super Pumped, they've all had interesting
| takes on the situations. The Tetris movie was decent as well.
| Recently watched one on the history of Google Maps that I was
| not familiar with the back story, but the name is slipping at
| the moment.
| guynamedloren wrote:
| I haven't seen the movie yet, but I just finished the book,
| Losing the Signal. Totally captivating story with so many
| powerful takeaways. I'd highly recommend it, even if you're
| already familiar with the BlackBerry story.
| codetrotter wrote:
| But the question everyone is asking is: Do they have a Dvorak
| version
| ugjka wrote:
| Dvorak for thumb typing?
| codetrotter wrote:
| Gotta flex them thumbs in alternating rhythm, you know.
| doodpants wrote:
| Makes as much sense as QWERTY for thumb typing. In either
| case you're not touch-typing, so the only advantage is visual
| familiarity of layout. (As a Dvorak user, I prefer desktop
| keyboards in which it's possible to pry off and rearrange the
| keycaps to match.)
| gamedna wrote:
| Love the idea, but its a missed opportunity - some wheels and it
| could have been a skateboard too.
|
| With all seriousness, keyboard should have flipped or slid out so
| its more compact. I can't see that in peoples pockets.
| mintplant wrote:
| I was looking around recently to see if I could find some kind of
| attachable physical thumb-typing keyboard / landscape phone
| holder combo for my Pixel, after convincing myself that my GPD
| Win 2 handheld computer was really, truly dead [0]. Couldn't find
| anything, so now I'm rather jealous of the iPhone crowd seeing
| this today.
|
| [0] Can't recommend GPD products - they're just not made to last,
| and rely on hacked-up Windows installations to drive them. Which
| is a shame, because the Win 2's form-factor and cursor control
| scheme are basically perfect, and also seemingly unique.
| MetaWhirledPeas wrote:
| One that opens down the middle like a cabinet would be fun to
| see. One half of the keyboard on each side. I mean, I wouldn't
| use it, but it would be fun to see.
| Sweepi wrote:
| What would personally sell me on a keyboard for my iPhone:
| getting the missing keys (home, end, arrow keys)
| drakonka wrote:
| What I want is a physical smartphone keyboard with nine keys. The
| one with three letters per key. I've never been faster and more
| accurate at typing on my phone than when these were a thing. I
| have pretty small hands, but even for me those full-size mini-
| keyboards are too imprecise to make them much better than a touch
| keyboard.
| huytersd wrote:
| I don't believe you. There's no way you type faster with up to
| three taps needed per letter. What a disgusting monstrosity
| those things were.
| poyu wrote:
| I could easily type blindly on those, the Nokia days
| ClaraForm wrote:
| Seconded, I could text from within my pocket if needed.
| yjftsjthsd-h wrote:
| If the claim is
|
| > I've never been faster and more accurate at typing on my
| phone than when these were a thing.
|
| It's easy to believe the accuracy claim (after all, you can
| feel the keys and there's fewer of them) while doubting the
| speed claim (since you have to perform 1-3x the number of
| keypresses to get the same result).
| phinnaeus wrote:
| It's one press per key, even if the letter you want is
| the third letter.
| yjftsjthsd-h wrote:
| Well now I feel dumb. So it's like Minuum but way
| earlier. That's pretty cool, then, and I can definitely
| see how it would be faster.
| spiderice wrote:
| It's especially easy to doubt it if you don't understand
| how t9 keyboards work :)
| SketchySeaBeast wrote:
| You didn't tap three time. You type out a few button that
| contained the letters for the first few letters of the word
| and then jabbed the "next" button until it gave you the right
| word. You could do a very long word with just a few
| keypresses.
| Mogzol wrote:
| You don't need three taps per letter, they had T9 [1], you
| only had to hit the key with the letter you wanted once, it
| predicted which letter you actually wanted, and worked
| surprisingly well. Once you got used to it you could type
| messages very quickly.
|
| [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T9_(predictive_text)
| freedomben wrote:
| Yes exactly. Also three taps per letter was _worst case_
| scenario. 1 /3 of the letters were only one tap, and 1/3
| were two taps.
| throwaway284534 wrote:
| Lookup a stenographer's keyboard. There is a learning curve
| but a chorded keyboard can exceed typical typing speeds. I
| imagine a T9 isn't too different in this regard.
| yungporko wrote:
| i'd say predictive text/t9 was way faster than any other
| phone input method ever for texting. nothing else comes close
| imo, not even blackberry keyboards (unless you need more fine
| control over capitalisation and punctuation and stuff e.g
| work emails)
| porsager wrote:
| It doesn't even need to be physical - You should definitely
| give Type Nine a try ( https://typenineapp.com ) - (disclaimer
| - I'm the author). There are some promo codes below so you can
| try it out:
|
| I've used this since 2014 when I made the first version, and I
| have yet to meet anyone typing faster with the stock iPhone
| qwerty keyboard.
|
| 7AMYNPKN63KY EMMHTLRA9399 Y4TPAXMJFHLL 4F3Y4JJ3RHME
| YREJF6L4TYE7 KWM9LRRXJEXW Y6JJRM99NYLM KRJXYPLE666L
| 43Y3EANXXW9F 9H99XY3FTT7L
| drakonka wrote:
| This looks great! I'd try it for sure if I was on iPhone. Do
| you have any plans to release this for Android as well at
| some point?
| spiderice wrote:
| Looks awesome! I've missed t9 typing ever since I got my
| first smart phone. I just bought your keyboard.
|
| Question: When I try to type the word "a" (by pressing the
| ABC key then space) it defaults to "c". Will it relearn that
| I actually want to type "a" if I correct it enough? No idea
| why it's defaulting to "c".
| dabluecaboose wrote:
| Sounds like what you're looking for is the Qin F22 Pro[1]
|
| It's got a cult following among dumbphone and dumb-er-phone
| enthusiasts (think Lightphone, Punkt, etc) and has personally
| tempted me, but I'm put off by it being a Xiaomi product and
| haven't been able to decide if that hardware is safe enough for
| me to consider using after a ROM swap.
|
| [1]
| https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804386537909.html?gateway...
| rckt wrote:
| I would understand pros of the physical keyboard if there was no
| slide to type feature. But it's there for some time already and I
| don't see how having a physical keyboard is going to be
| beneficial.
|
| The issue with typing on touchscreens is not only about keyboard
| but also about the whole UX around it. All these short/long taps,
| struggling to make selections etc.
|
| I see this product as a gimmick.
| joshstrange wrote:
| It doesn't support MagSafe so it's not something I would buy but
| it's very interesting. If it supported MagSafe and was only $100
| I'd probably would have bought it just to try it out. Yes, it
| would make my 15 Pro Max a monster but it would be interesting to
| try.
|
| That it plugs into the USB-C port is both expected and worrisome
| (also none of the product photos show this for some reason). I
| know it has the whole case to help but I'd be worried about
| putting strain on the USB-C port while your hands are down on the
| keyboard. Again, the case will help but you are absolutely adding
| strain to the port, the whole phone's weight is on it aside from
| what the case can help relieve which can't be much since it's not
| rigid. It's "Liquid Silicon" but since the phone plugs into the
| USB-C/Lightning in the bottom you probably have to first plug the
| phone in, then pull the case over the top/sides of the phone
| meaning its ability to reduce strain is extremely limited
| ianburrell wrote:
| It should be a MagSafe device instead of case. It could attach
| to the back and stick out the bottom. Even better is that there
| are third-party "Magsafe" cases and adapters for other phones.
|
| It should also be Bluetooth. Which is annoying to pair but
| easier to put on. My guess is that people would put the
| keyboard on when they need it instead of putting in case.
| gregsadetsky wrote:
| the launch video says that magsafe is supported for charging
| (see here [0]), but that magsafe accessories (that assume a
| magnet on the other side...?) are not supported
|
| [0] https://youtu.be/e2n2ftM-MwI?t=443
| joshstrange wrote:
| I think they just mean wireless charging is supported but a
| MagSafe mount/holder won't work because the case doesn't have
| the proper MagSafe "magic" in it (that ring you see on a
| clear iPhone case).
| racl101 wrote:
| I hate the iPhone virtual keyboard. It sucks. I would try this.
| dylan604 wrote:
| I love (/s) how heavily the marketing is aimed at being a
| trendsetter and using it as yet another status symbol. This plays
| out to me louder than functionality of its actual purpose.
| Spending time on Founder's Edition and badges just screams with a
| megaphone at me in stomach churning ways.
|
| Clearly, I'm not the audience for the branding, but a smart
| device I would be interested in if marketed for adults.
| elzbardico wrote:
| I solved this issue by getting a 13" macbook air as my second
| computer. It is small and lightweight enough to be comfortable to
| use as a personal browsing and communication device in the
| situations where you'd probably be using your phone and trying to
| type too much on it like long group chats with friends. it is the
| ultimate portable typing machine for me when I don't want to be
| bound to a desk.
| xpe wrote:
| You whip out your Air during social occasions for some quick
| texting?
| hn_throwaway_99 wrote:
| Curious - do folks not use swiftkey-like onscreen keyboards? I
| feel like I'm legions faster using this style on a phone vs
| tapping. I get preferring a physical keyboard if you're tapping,
| but I can't imagine going back once I got used to swiping.
| afandian wrote:
| There's a bit of a trope that people who want hardware
| keyboards in the era of touchscreens are idiots. I'm one of
| them. There's a huge number, and therefore diversity of mobile
| users. Some of us have different preferences to the mainstream.
|
| I feel crippled typing on my iPhone. It takes ages to type and
| correct messages. I often can't get my pass code right first
| time. And I remember that typing was never an issue on a
| blackberry.
| zakki wrote:
| I wonder how they compensate COG movement. I guess iPhone will be
| heavier while typing.
| throwaway81523 wrote:
| What an incredibly useless web page. I came away from it thinking
| it was a software keyboard. So much scrolling. I'm still not sure
| it's a physical keyboard, despite the title of this thread.
| Anyway, a wireless keyboard is perfectly fine. If someone is
| going to make a physical mod to the iphone, why not a new back
| cover that accomodates swappable batteries?
| phinnaeus wrote:
| Have they changed the website since you commented this? It is
| immediately apparent to me based on the hero image that this is
| a physical keyboard.
| ambigious7777 wrote:
| Although I agree that it should probably better state it's
| products intention; I don't see why you would think it's a
| software, as the graphics show an external keyboard and it
| heavily advertises larger screen space.
| I_Am_Nous wrote:
| >Being first has its perks: >Special founder's badge >Serial
| number >Exclusive VIP support
|
| Are they implying you get a low serial number as an early
| adopter, or are they going to stop putting serial numbers on
| future hardware?
| InCityDreams wrote:
| >>Exclusive VIP support
|
| You pay extra to be a beta tester for the plebs that follow?
| johnhamlin wrote:
| I really want to love this. I've been asking for something like
| it for years. I feel like I'd also need a low-mounted popsocket,
| or I can already feel my pinkies breaking from the weight
| supporting this.
| xgl5k wrote:
| Steve Jobs probably rolling in his grave seeing this lol
| jasoneckert wrote:
| Does anyone own this and can comment on the experience?
| thesdev wrote:
| No, it has been just announced, first shipment happens in
| February.
| LZ_Khan wrote:
| New idea: Make the screens for the iPhone even bigger, like 13
| inches, or 15 inches (maybe 2 models?). Then attach a keyboard to
| the screen, maybe via a hinge or something so it can fold. Then
| you can look at the screen while the keyboard fits on your lap.
|
| That sounds like a great iPhone viewing experience.
| koenraad wrote:
| Fuck 'content creation' on mobile phones. I like mobile phones
| for two reasons, 1. because it is a phone and 2. because I can
| use it for authentication stuff. The rest is all focused on
| consuming and giving away your data.
| ianseyer wrote:
| cool
| SalmoShalazar wrote:
| I very quickly went from "that's dumb" to "how do I order this?",
| I have despised touch screen keyboards since they became a thing.
| I'm typing on one now, and I wish I wasn't.
|
| However I'm still on an iPhone 12 which is not supported.
| Hopefully when I upgrade they'll have a superior version
| available. The ergonomics look goofy but I'm sure you adapt over
| time.
| jagger27 wrote:
| Buried deep in the FAQ, you have to take it out of the case to
| use wired CarPlay on USB-C iPhones. That is a real bummer.
|
| > Clicks for iPhone 15 Pro (and models that use USB-C) only
| support fast charging while Clicks is on your iPhone. At this
| time, the USB-C connector will not allow for both Clicks to be
| connected to the iPhone and allow for data and charging. This
| means using wired CarPlay or transfer data will require you to
| remove your iPhone from Clicks. Listening to music via Bluetooth
| and connecting to CarPlay wirelessly will still work with Clicks
| installed.
|
| https://www.clicks.tech/faqs
| jclardy wrote:
| Neat idea, but at $140, being phone specific, and just the
| ergonomics of holding the phone from the bottom when it is now an
| extra 2 inches taller all sound pretty bad.
|
| Also concerning that no where in the landing page does it specify
| how it connects, or show an example of how "easy" it is to put on
| and take off (On second glance - it is shown in passing 2 minutes
| into the 10 minute long intro video.)
|
| Not to mention being called "clicks" but no audio demo of what
| the keys actually sound like?
| w-ll wrote:
| Somebody bring back the OG Motorola Droid slide keyboard and I
| will switch to Android.
| ThinkBeat wrote:
| Blackberry 8700 is the gold standard for a phone with a keyboard.
| It is the most productive cellphone I have ever owned.
|
| Phone calls, text message and email is what it did well. And it
| did exceedingly well.
|
| The thumbwheel was just the right spot to quickly scan an email.
|
| The keyboard is as good as they get.
|
| The operating system was built to do exactly this and not that
| much more.
|
| It is really hard to convey how great it was, without being able
| to offer up demos. I have bought keyboard add ons for iPhone and
| Android as they have become available and usually died quickly.
|
| I even tried to get a company going to create a "blackberry look
| alike" on Android but in the end I didnt get financing and making
| Android be classic BB is not easy.
|
| It was not good for games, web browsing, apps in general, but
| that didn't matter because it did what I needed it to do
|
| BB from then on was a sinking ship, b/c they figured they would
| add all the features from the iPhone and Android to it. And
| eventually released an Android phone.
|
| They lost focus on what the existing customers really loved.
| jiveturkey wrote:
| > They lost focus on what the existing customers really loved.
|
| That's unfair. There was a bit (or a lot) of innovator's
| dilemna going on.
| mikepurvis wrote:
| I mean, in fairness they did spend several key years post-2007
| with their head in the sand pretending that iPhone didn't exist
| or wasn't a threat and running the "tools not toys" ad
| campaign.
|
| It was really the rise of BYOD policies that killed blackberry
| I think-- they had enthusiastic fans but it was a pretty small
| group relative to those who would pick the iPhone given a
| choice.
| nittanymount wrote:
| this site has no valid ssl cert, browser does not allow to visit
| :-)
| Nevermark wrote:
| Can I get one for an iPad Pro? :)
|
| Or a full size flip-phone version, for my friends who think those
| were the golden years? With all the emoji keys?
|
| (Yes, these would be prank gifts. But such great ones!)
| amelius wrote:
| I'd prefer a keyboard that covers part of the screen (and
| interoperates with the OS to mark that part of the screen
| unused), and operates over Bluetooth or the USB-C connector in
| the bottom.
| nasretdinov wrote:
| I'm kinda surprised that no-one has mentioned that languages
| other than English exist. Virtual keyboards, while a bit clunky,
| allow to easily switch input languages, and most of the world for
| whom English isn't their native language use this feature very
| very often. Physical keyboards for laptops solve this issue by
| having different keyboard layouts for different languages (and
| are usually geared towards that language, with English being just
| possible to use in addition to the primary language), but for
| smartphone screens the keyboard is just too small, it won't
| realistically be a good idea.
|
| I'm saying this as a person who loves physical buttons and
| everything quite a lot, but for any non-English user this
| keyboard would be s non-starter
| andix wrote:
| I once tried a typing speed test on my iPhone and compared it to
| my physical keyboard I always type with on the PC. I think on the
| on screen keyboard (OSK) I was reaching over 60% of the speed of
| the full sized keyboard on the PC.
|
| This was really surprising for me, as also the precision was not
| really worse than on the PC.
|
| I have to admit that I can't type perfectly with 10 fingers, but
| reach around 350-500 keystrokes per minute, which is far beyond
| average.
|
| So the OSK is fine for me, as long as the UI is handling the
| missing screen space well, and doesn't provide a bad UX, like
| jumping scroll positions or covering important buttons by the
| OSK.
| LoveMortuus wrote:
| I would love to see a return of physical keyboards on phones.
|
| But I do feel that it might just be a niche.
|
| Since I think most people have already gotten used to all display
| phones, there were even some phones in the past that tries
| removing the volume buttons and such.
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