Comments
9 CommentsFrom the Clip An iPhone with a keyboard? posted by Scrivs:
Rumours from inside Cupertino suggest that Jobs himself doesn't have this sort of religious hangup about his own work. Reports from inside mobile operators show that whether or not he ever makes it work, he is already trying to make a "slide-out" keyboard for a corporate version of the iPhone.
You almost had to venture that Steve-O was working on this at some point, but will only release it if they do it completely different from the rest of the industry. It almost has to pass the "oh shit that is so cool" test before it can be released no matter how much sense it makes.
I'm a touch typer, I hope this becomes a reality.
Mike
Written Jul. 1, 2008 / Report /
I don't think it'll slide out like we're used to. Maybe it'll all be magnetic and will glide out on it's own when you're thinking about typing... integration straight with your brain.
fuscom
Written Jul. 1, 2008 / Report /
Interesting if they're doing this to appease the enterprise given that RIM is apparently coming out with a virtual keyboard with the release of the Blackberry Thunder.
Ozone42
Written Jul. 1, 2008 / Report /
I'd be happy if they just allowed it to use bluetooth keyboards. Seems like a firmware update would do it.
Scrivs
Written Jul. 1, 2008 / Report /
I would think they would do it to appease the people are hesitant to get one because of the touch screen and therefore taking all of the market.
RightOn
Written Jul. 1, 2008 / Report /
I don't see it happening as almost everyone has a prototype or marketed phone model out now with on screen controls and keys.
It would be nice if you had a bluetooth keyboard, if there was a way to interface to it from the phone. The apple ones are so small, they fit in my laptop bag and I think it would be super cool to whip it out and send a long email from my iPod in the park.
fuscom
Written Jul. 1, 2008 / Report /
Actually, I think the next major thing from Apple will be a virtual keyboard for a MacAir sized device that'll have Apple winning the failed tablet PC market.
Scrivs
Written Jul. 1, 2008 / Report /
So because everyone has a keyboard version Apple can't release one?
RightOn
Written Jul. 1, 2008 / Report /
I think it's the other way around Scrivs... Apple's keyboard is dynamic to the application in use, if I'm emailing something the @ key is readily available, if I'm surfing I have a .com key. BTW here we are @ 2.0 on Apple's iPhone and we still can't hold down the .com key and get a pull out for .net and .org???
If I was on a device with a hard keypad, I have to adapt the use of the application to the restrictions of the device, the reverse is more logical (adapt the device to the application)..
ryanarrowsmith
Written Jul. 1, 2008 / Report /
I'm with RightOn...can't see a physical keyboard, especially after Jobs mocked it at WDCC. They can make one unit that is capable of changing languages at any time, within moments. Plus more moving parts = more opportunities for shit to break, something Apple wants to prevent.
In the wake of the iPhone, the market is moving towards touchscreen technology. Look at how many have been released in the last year. Why would Apple go backwards?