point of hardware keyboard?

[soccerballtux]

Ok best I can determine there are 3 killer-reasons for having a hardware qwerty handset--
1. shortcuts-- mapping applications like
Messaging to search+M and
new text to seach+n and
compose new email to search+c and
navigating through app menus with menu+key--for example,
menu+u to refresh in Gmail and
menu+space to switch chats in Talk.

2. type without keyboard covering up display.
3. type without looking at screen [once you have the muscle memory]

#1 is the main benefit IMO and is why I plan to always have a hardware qwerty phone... Makes using the phone more like a computer-- if it can multitask, you can do be doing a lot at once very quickly.

Are there any others I missed? also please vote.

 

[Pliablemoose]

No option for "I don't need no stinking keyboard" ?

 

[soccerballtux]

No option for "I don't need no stinking keyboard" ?

no
sorry. I didn't have the foresight

 

[Ksyder]

Those are all good reasons but they require a thicker, heavier phone with a slider mechanism. I know from my Droid 1 days that it could possibly be prone to problems.

That said, I still like the idea of a h/w keyboards but I like Swype so I won't use the physical keyboard most likely. Unless I was playing a game and I'm not a big gamer.

The one thing I hate is that no stock launcher that I've ever seen will go into landscape mode without having a physical keyboard open. I think that 3rd party ones do, though.

 

[podspi]

I said #3 and Other:

Other:
Without a physical keyboard, I fat finger everywhere. Swiftkey actually fixes much of this (so much so that for short messages, I use the on-screen keyboard), but if I'm texting a lot or writing a long message, the keyboard is a must.


And don't even get me started about trying to use the terminal w/ the on-screen keyboard. Seriously? One of the sweetest things about these phones and tablets are that they are super-mobile, and relatively powerful. It seems like a waste to not have a decent input device coupled with that...

Disblamer:I also always rocked the QWERTY dumbphones too...

 

[Pia]

I don't see the point of hardware keyboards anymore unless they are large enough to touch type. So any phone I get will definitely have a software KB. Tablet like the Transformer is the smallest thing I want a physical KB on.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Why waste the space for something that cannot be reconfigured? With a software keyboard, you can have a keyboard for any situation. Want to type in Spanish? You can do that. Want to get your Emoji on? You can do that too. Want to write characters in Japanese or Chinese? You can do that too.

Honestly, I think for the majority of the people that are adamantly for hardware keyboards, if they just take the time to get used to a software keyboard, they'd see that the cons of a hardware keyboard outweigh the pros.

That's not to say that some people cannot live without hardware keyboards. There are people that still need the hardware keyboard. But I think the norm will start moving more towards software keyboards than hardware keyboards.

 

[corkyg]

Other. A hardware keyboard is the only way to quickly input text on multiple pages quickly. (one can't touch-type on screen- the fingers are too big for the keys.) On screen keyboard is really limited to brief tweet type notes - not useful in the work department, i.e. "texting."

As for "I don't need no stinkin' keyboard," - that easily falls under "Other." But, I guess that would require some typing.

I guess OP is thinking phone - I'm thinking tablet. I don't need no stinkin' phone.

 

[alyarb]

i'll probably always have an iOS phone because I've got it themed just how i like and love my remote desktop app and so forth, but my friend has an Epic 4G and we put an SNES emulator on it, and the keyboard works great. I'm really jealous of the keyboard for this one capability.

 

[zerocool84]

I still miss my real keyboard. Plus it was great for playing emulators. But having a thinner phone does offset it, plus 99% of high end phones won't have one so if you want one you're relegated to mid to lower end phones.

 

[Deeko]

Other - I just don't like typing on screen. Its preference...I dislike that experience. Auto correct makes it tolerable for conversational texting, but its still miserable for typing in usernames.

 

[vi edit]

Other - I just don't like typing on screen. Its preference...I dislike that experience. Auto correct makes it tolerable for conversational texting, but its still miserable for typing in usernames.

Yep. Even a year into a iPhone touch screen I still prefer a physical keyboard. I simply have less mis-keys on them. Most of my problems come from hitting the caps arrows and having to backspace. But I also liked having a physical cursor control as well as numbers and special chars still on the same keyboard without having to toggle.

 

[MotionMan]

3. type without looking at screen [once you have the muscle memory]

I blind touch-type on my iPhone. Muscle memory is not limited to hardware keyboards.

MotionMan

 

[lothar]

No option for "I don't need no stinking keyboard" ?

This.

 

[Oyeve]

Emulators. That is all.

 

[makken]

Honestly, I think for the majority of the people that are adamantly for hardware keyboards, if they just take the time to get used to a software keyboard, they'd see that the cons of a hardware keyboard outweigh the pros.

What cons tho?

Slightly thicker and heavier? I never got the obsession to be razor thin. After a certain point it hits diminishing returns, and ends up feeling somewhat awkward in the hand. I use an HTC vision (aka tmobile G2), a phone many consider thick and heavy. Yet, I feel that it is the absolute perfect size and weight for a smartphone, and I wouldn't dream of trading it for something lighter or thinner.

The only con I can think of is a slider mechanism that may be prone to failure.

 

[Anubis]

TBH voice to txt is good enough where i almost never use txt input

i got the OG droid partly because it had a KB. 2 months later i regretted that i had done that, never missed it when i went to the droid X, really don't miss it now with the nexus

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I liked my old phones keyboard, but ended up with a thunderbolt since it didn't seem like a good keyboard phone would be out any time soon. I still liked the physical keyboard better, but I can live without it.

 

[Zaap]

I had a Samsung Alias 2 with eink keyboard that was absolutely brilliant. That idea should definitely be followed up, as it was the best solution I've yet seen for having most benefits of hardware and software keyboards combined.

That said- I've since gotten used to onscreen keyboards and I no longer feel any need for a hardware keyboard, even an updated eink keyboard. Between Thumb Keyboard and Swiftkey Tablet X all my mobile typing needs are met.

 

[Raduque]

#2 for me. Trying to IRC from my phone with the keyboard in landscape mode sucks.

 

[hanoverphist]

No option for "I don't need no stinking keyboard" ?

this would have been my choice as well, but i also think the full screen is about the only benefit i can see from your list.

 

[Munky]

I'd take a hardware keyboard over a touchscreen one any day of the week. Been using a touchscreen phone for over a year, and it's a poor substitute for the real thing.

 

[Red Storm]

I can type faster with one hand on a Swype like keyboard than I can with two on a hardware keyboard.

Sliders make a phone look ugly and feel bulky. And I like to watch media on my phone, so screen size is important.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I chose only Other.

1. Search/Menu key shortcuts - less convenient on my phone's physical keyboard than its capacitive keys.
2. Not taking up screen space - I like to use my phone in portrait mode so switching to landscape whenever I want to type something is even more inconvenient.
3. Typing without looking at the phone - not the case with me. I can touch type on a regular PC keyboard but not on a phone keyboard. However, in a similar vein I do find the physical keyboard useful for typing while walking. The constant movement makes it hard to type on a software keyboard but easy on a hardware one.

The other reason, in addition to the typing while walking thing above, is for typing in long or convoluted text or things with lots of special characters. Like if you want to type commands into Terminal Emulator. But I almost never do that so it's not much of an advantage.

I slide open my phone to use the physical keyboard about 1-2 times per week. Otherwise it's all Swype.

My next phone will not have a physical keyboard at all. I can do without the extra bulk, extra moving parts to wear out, less space for a battery, etc.

 

[soccerballtux]

Those are all good reasons but they require a thicker, heavier phone with a slider mechanism. I know from my Droid 1 days that it could possibly be prone to problems.

That said, I still like the idea of a h/w keyboards but I like Swype so I won't use the physical keyboard most likely. Unless I was playing a game and I'm not a big gamer.

The one thing I hate is that no stock launcher that I've ever seen will go into landscape mode without having a physical keyboard open. I think that 3rd party ones do, though.

I have a droid1, what were your problems?