While most of the smartphone world has long since moved on to virtual keyboards, Kevin Michaluk believes there's still an important place, and 5 important use-cases, for the traditional physical ones as well. CrackBerry:
I've spent enough time on both physical keyboards and touchscreen keyboards now that I'm equally happy on both. And as I stated at the top of the article, in controlled settings I can pump out the words faster on a touchscreen keyboard than a physical keyboard. But there's a lot more to a great typing experience than just speed, and there are simply benefits to a physical keyboard that no touchscreen can yet touch.
When the iPhone first launched a chorus of Treo and BlackBerry users lamented the lack of the hardware keyboard they'd grown up with, and grown accustomed to. They wanted an "iPhone Pro", and suggested no device would be taken seriously — would be more than a toy — unless and until it went full-on QWERTY.
Fast forward to 2014 and, BlackBerry Q10 aside, I'm hard pressed to remember the last time a front-facing QWERTY device hit the market... or anyone asked for one. Sure, there's the Typo, but I'm not convinced that it really has a market beyond Kevin Michaluk, Joanna Stern, and similar long-time BlackBerry users.
There are simply so many new, touch-native smartphones users that legacy hardware keyboards aren't even in their rear-view mirror. From kids to those who simply found the original smartphones inaccessible or unusable, there's hundreds of millions of people now whose first experience is virtual, maybe even vocal, and there's no turning back.
That's not to say the hardware keyboard doesn't have some legitimate advantages, it's simply that the advantages of the virtual keyboard overwhelms them to such a degree as to have almost completely replaced them on the market. Given that everything is a compromise, the virtual keyboard is simply a better compromise.
That's not to say the iPhone's virtual keyboard is perfect. It isn't. From learning algorithms to improved auto-correct to features such as those offered by SwiftKey and Swype, there's a lot of way it can and should be improved. But here's the point — it can be improved. It's dynamic. It's changeable.
To paraphrase Magneto, "Software is the future, Kevin, not QWERTY. Physical keyboards no longer matter."
Check out Kevin's 5 reasons why I'm wrong, and then you tell us — do you still demand a physical keyboard?
Nintendo Recap: Let's talk N64 prices, new Pokémon variants, and more
Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack is bringing N64 games to Switch next Monday. However, fans aren't happy with the price. We've also seen new Pokemon variants, talk OLED model sales, and discuss Metroid Dread's disappointing credit snubs.
Apple announces App Store changes in wake of Epic Games ruling
Apple has updated its App Store guidelines with some big changes for developers in the wake of the Epic Games ruling and criticism about its App Store.
Epic Games files opposition to Apple appeal in App Store case
Epic Games has filed an opposition to Apple's motion to stop an injunction that would force changes to the way it handles payments on the App Store.
Get the Apple Watch Sport Band look for less
Sport Bands look amazing on your Apple Watch, whether you’re at the gym, the office, or out on the town — and they don’t have to cost an arm and a leg, either. You can have that classic Apple Watch Sport Band look for less with these bands.