Weekly poll: BlackBerry KEYone serves a hardware QWERTY, will anyone bite into it?
The first BlackBerry got its name thanks to its characteristic keyboard - the keys made it look like a blackberry. That keyboard arrangement, with keys at the bottom, was an ergonomic win and became a trademark for the company.
The BlackBerry KEYone is a return to that legacy, after the company lost its way in the torrent of touchscreen-only phones that washed away its market share. The square grid of the QWERTY keyboard doesn’t look like the eponymous fruit. However, if you look closely, the keys still have a 3D shape that follows the arc of your thumbs as you move to type at a blinding pace.
No slider mechanism here, as if the uppercase KEY in the name wasn’t enough of a clue - you won’t be using the KEYone without the keyboard. That keyboard also serves as a trackpad, so you can scroll through apps and text without your fingers obscuring the screen.
On-screen keyboards didn’t become properly usable until text correction got on the level. But now it’s great, almost prescient. Do you really need a hardware keyboard to type fast?
And even if you do, you’ll have to settle for a mid-range device - unlike the Priv, the KEYone aims for the middle segment though someone forgot to tell the person who came up with the $550 price tag. Plus, any modern smartphone will work with a Bluetooth keyboard, there are several compact options (there are even first-party options like the Galaxy S8 Keyboard cover).
Reader comments
- Trump fan 1980
- 11 Jun 2017
- qNg
It would seem that BlackBerry is fairing better than many expected, what with Android operating systems on board, and both with and without physical keyboards...
- AnonD-152638
- 06 Jun 2017
- mhB
Have you actually had a mobile with a physical keyboard? And in that case which one? There has been som bad mobile keyboards. A mobile with a hardware keyboard, in general has a much higher acurracy compared to touchscreens. One can be pushi...
- Roy
- 06 Jun 2017
- U%{
52% want to buy..wow.