Flashback: Samsung tried to resurrect the hardware QWERTY with this case

11 February 2024
Unlike the Lens Cover that we looked at previously, this lasted for three generations.

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I like the tactile feeling of physical keys, but I'm afraid it hasn't been well implemented yet, especially in the case of a portable, one-handed device. I'm not sure if it ever will be, but this case by Samsung is about as close as we can come to a better one-handed keyboard.

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    • Pete
    • 4GM
    • 14 Feb 2024

    I still have a samsung galaxy s relay by tmobile. What i wouldnt do to have this phone with service today. !!!

      Nah, a keyboard attachment is not for me.
      A slide out keyboard is more practical (phone's gonna thick though).

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        • Lol
        • tZ0
        • 13 Feb 2024

        this is when Blackberry Fans totaly went speechless and gave up thier Blackberry Phone.

          Imagine the gigantic iPhone 15 pro Max with this keyboard. Lol 😹😹😹 that's gonna be ginormous

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            • Anonymous
            • IbI
            • 12 Feb 2024

            I used to be a bit of a QWERTY fanboy, but I'm a lot faster now that I've mastered the swipe keyboard.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • m62
              • 12 Feb 2024

              Anton el - PAPI, 11 Feb 2024galaxy s10 line* the last thing that samsung did well....Not really, their new phones are pretty nice

                While I am a huge advocate for physical keyboard on smartphones, I never get the appeal of portrait-style keyboard layout. For me, there's not enough space to put a lot of keys on it. That's why I much prefer landscape-style layout like those on Motorola Droid 4 and Planet Computers Astro Slide 5G Transformer. You still get a normal smartphone experience but with the added flexibility of full length keys to use.

                  You can even GESTURE TYPE on some of these physical keyboards. I would love one of those!

                    I thought it was from a 3rd party

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • C@V
                      • 12 Feb 2024

                      I had that keyboard case on my S7 Edge, it was a nice change and useful for times where I was typing and not looking at the screen.
                      Downsides were it meant you had to use the Samsung software keyboard, for some reason you had to use the default Samsung theme (for the whole system not just the keyboard theme), and you couldn't remap the keys (they acted exactly like the software keyboard) so things like remapping the keys like a controller for games didn't work.

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                        • Mgkole
                        • S7y
                        • 11 Feb 2024

                        I think that there's a reason why physical keyboard disappeared. Although I do feel a prick of nostalgia when I see this kind of articles, i never really missed a physical QWERTY keyboard, even though I used this kind of devices back in the days. Clicks looks like a beautiful product, but I don't see it succeeding.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • qCn
                          • 11 Feb 2024

                          To each his own preference. I am used to software keyboard so then I shall keep using it. If I had the option to have a either a phone with a physical keyboard, I would not choose it . I don't want to scrape my physical keyboard when I have my phone on the table or damage it by accident.

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                            • Husss
                            • 86Y
                            • 11 Feb 2024

                            I would definitely buy something like this. However, i dont want to lose my screen space, and it would be interesting to see how they handle centre of gravity issue if it was added lower part of the phone, as phones are heavier now and that would create imbalance.

                              Why a flashback? It's been two days.

                                • L
                                • Lister
                                • pLY
                                • 11 Feb 2024

                                If I had known about this, i would have definitely bought this for my S7 Edge.

                                  Never knew this existed. It's actually a pretty cool and clever idea tbh, basically turns it into a BlackBerry KEY2.

                                    Years ago I had one of those slide-out smartphones. Can't even remember what it was anymore, probably HTC Touch Pro 2 or something of that design.
                                    I loved the physical QWERTY keyboard. No amount of software crap can really replace physical feedback of touching an actual, existing button. I didn't even have to look at the keyboard, muscle memory paired with real keys meant looking at the screen while typing. Didn't even need autocorrect since any mistake could've been corrected on the spot.
                                    But after some time the phone broke down - the electric connection of the two halves of the phone wore out and that meant also screen was no longer usable.
                                    I also remember then switching to SPV M650 that had stylus and no physical keyboard - it was a pain to write any email or SMS on the tiny screen while trying to hit miniscule buttons on the screen. Still have that phone in my drawer today and still works, though resistive touch screens... I'm glad they're gone from a mass smartphone market.

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                                      • Israelfaternomishan
                                      • Nug
                                      • 11 Feb 2024

                                      The truth is people prefer bigger screen but honestly we need a change for fun. Let's try it again ✌️👍

                                        Wouldn't it have made more sense for the keyboard to slide out like on the Sidekick?

                                        I mean this thing is impractically small and blocks the screen.

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