RIM developing angled Blackberry keyboard?

If you've been astounding friends and family with your thousands-of-words-per-minute typing skills on your Blackberry, RIM's latest patent may come as a bit of a heart-stopper. According to "recent" filings from the smartphone manufacturer, a new style of keyboard is on the table which may move your familiar key placement into a slightly more angular position. The purpose of the proposed pad is ostensibly to improve accuracy by creating a more "natural" placement for your thumbs -- though this concept might be a little more effort than required. Of course, since all kinds of crazy designs get filed with the patent office, we wouldn't put too much faith in this seeing the light of day, though it is an intriguing look into RIM's design process.

[Via Mobilewhack]

[Ray @ Dec 25th 2007 9:24PM]

Well I am the 1st here to ya'll a Merry Christmas & Best Wishes on everyone's New Year!! I don't think this new concept is gonna work on BlackBerry Fans due to the new adjustment on inputting keys.

[DJDevine @ Dec 26th 2007 9:51AM]

it's like a tilted keyboard for your desktop, i hated it

[Mischa Lockton @ Dec 25th 2007 9:32PM]

Sorry, but the patent for diagonal lines is held by Geometrical Leverage, Inc. If Rimm thinks they can get a patent using their patented "diagon-ALL" lines and "obToose (TM)" angles.... they are going to be in a royalty royale....

[Sabrina @ Dec 25th 2007 9:41PM]

that would actually be incredibly helpful so you're not stretching your fingers to reach the keys in the middle of the keyboard, and the keys would be long enough for easier typing if you're of the big-thumbed persuasion.

[BigD145 @ Dec 25th 2007 10:11PM]

People will have to relearn the keyboard with this. The angles here are much sharper than any ergonomic keyboard and the shape of the keys have changed. The difference is subtle enough to trip up most users.

[tonyleachsf @ Dec 26th 2007 1:39PM]

Agreed - and it takes away the possibility for one-handed typing. No good!

[Michael LaFramboise @ Dec 25th 2007 10:33PM]

Oh please, people were whining about the absence of a physical keyboard on the iPhone "boo hoo hoo, however will we type when we have no feedback" - and now you see some people doing 40+ words per minute on it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nZ5QsUCHAE

Lets be honest; its not the keyboard, its the user... Some people can't even get 10wpm on a regular computer keyboard...

[Michael Chastain @ Dec 26th 2007 4:26AM]

If you don't believe it's the user *and* the keyboard you're delusional. The fact one person can do 35wpm is irrelevant. Hell, many people can't do faster than that with Morris Code. The average person will pick up a physical keyboard quicker and type faster than they will on a virtual keyboard. 35wpm is nothing on a Blackberry or similar keyboard.

[jd @ Dec 25th 2007 11:11PM]

what's rimm's point? i dont see how that innovation create more keys for the same given space. next..

[JayMonster @ Dec 26th 2007 8:46AM]

It is not about getting MORE keys in the space, it is about making the keys available in a "more natural" position for the hands (with a presumable "selling point" being about ergonomics and less stress on the hands/fingers)

[Constable Odo @ Dec 25th 2007 11:15PM]

WTF. Tens-of-words-per-minute most likely. Isn't the record around 65 wpm on a BlackBerry. That's still pretty darn fast. However, RIM must be getting really desperate to hold off the hard-charging iPhone. I don't think it'll be enough.

People keep harping on they can't get up to speed on such and such keyboard. I knew people that couldn't type fast on IBM Ball Selectrics and they had some of the finest keyboards you could use in key spacing, pressure and feedback. The whole trick to fast typing is practice constantly on one particular keyboard till it hurts.

The more you become proficient on one keyboard, the more likely you'll get screwed by subtle differences in another keyboard. When a seasoned BB texter tries that angled keyboard, the griping will surely begin.

[freakmarket @ Dec 25th 2007 11:22PM]

Did you see RIM's 3rd quarter figures? They are making some great profit ... iPhone isn't really a competitor at this point ... if Apple makes the iPhone actually do some business stuff then maybe. Blackberry and iPhone customers are a very different customer.

[Jonathan Bergeron @ Dec 26th 2007 11:27AM]

The iPhone isn't competition to the BlackBerry really. The iPhone has a horrible, almost impossible, time dealing with corporate email. The BlackBerry runs seamlessly with corporate email.
This change has to deal with all great looking WM phones.

[Christopher @ Dec 25th 2007 11:18PM]

* glances at his 8 year old MS Natural ergonomic keyboard

* glances at illustration

* shrugs

* carries on

[euclid @ Dec 26th 2007 2:44AM]

same thing came to mind..

[eM @ Dec 26th 2007 12:16AM]

Patent application. Not a patent.

[Michael Chastain @ Dec 26th 2007 4:32AM]

The angled keyboard is great (and it's been done on UMPCs and the like) but the real issue there's no way that keyboard can be QWERTY--there aren't enough keys across. Learning different key spacing/angling is one thing, learning a new layout is another.

[JayMonster @ Dec 26th 2007 8:45AM]

My guess would be that they would use their "standard" 2 letters per key (so as to not completely alter the landscape that their users are becoming used to, but to simply improve the ergonomics for more "natural" hand placement.

Like somebody said earlier, very reminiscent of the Microsoft Natural Keyboard. Helpful and ergonomic... if you can get used to it.

[Wwhat @ Dec 26th 2007 8:34AM]

Is that a separate profession? Patent cartoonist.
And what do they make?

[Jonathan Bergeron @ Dec 26th 2007 11:23AM]

Maybe RIM has had enough of trying to compete with Windows Mobile and finally want to kill themselves. This would totally do it.

[Jwalant Natvarlal Soneji @ Dec 26th 2007 1:29PM]

I liked the idea and brave heart to put this in Indian market.

[Gilberto @ Dec 26th 2007 3:21PM]

now pat your head and rub your belly at the same time.

[wickedpheonix @ Dec 26th 2007 9:22PM]

So let me get this straight - Apple creates a touch keyboard for the iPhone, which causes BlackBerry and Treo users to say "whatever" and pass on cause they need tactile feedback. But now, if RIM decides to put an angled keyboard on the next BlackBerry, which is going to cause people to relearn how to thumb-type all over again, we don't hear the same complaining? WTF?

[AM @ Dec 27th 2007 12:50PM]

Why not anyone put ps/2 or USB-connector on mobilephone so you could plug in a standard PC-keyboard. That is the only way to write SMS's at reasonably speed.

[Wwhat @ Dec 27th 2007 7:50PM]

I wish I knew.

[hotwings1 @ Dec 27th 2007 8:44PM]

More natural position for your thumbs? Maybe so. More natural eyestrain for your eyes? Definately.

[pheer6224 @ Dec 28th 2007 11:11PM]

someone should write this onto the iphone, I think the finger-swipe system involved would make better use of the multitouch system, and bring more users to the device. I would be more of a candidate for the iphone if it were more innovative than, say, Amiga OS. Think about it, what more has apple done than put a regular pda phone emulator on an expensive touchscreen.

[pheer6224 @ Dec 28th 2007 11:11PM]

doesn't that device bring up pictures of the HTC android prototype?

[pheer6224 @ Dec 28th 2007 11:11PM]

I think this would be better than their current layout, but isn't it similar to the older models? I'll definitely have a look. Remember, anything to replace the suretype would help, and something they bill as more efficient could help bring more features like document to the RIM proprietary OS.