Samsung's folding keyboard brings a little starfighter to the cellphone
Looks like Samsung's elves have been busy thinking up new ways to cram a QWERTY onto all those touchscreen phones they've been selling lately: check out this patent application for a side-mounted flip-down keyboard. We're not sure if this would be comfortable, usable, or even stable, but we do know that we support any design decision that makes our phones look more like super-awesome space planes from the future. Carry on, Sammy.
[Via PhoneArena]
[Via PhoneArena]























Autobots...Transform and ROLL OUT!
...and txt message!
Do you realize how hard it will be to type on that thing without folding it back in?
Samsung and Sony never pass the joint back. puff, puff, pass. wtf?
This is a joke article, right? No company would be crazy enough to have a fold out keyboard for a cellphone.
Make it fly.
I want to attach a firework to it after the one/two year mark. It's like the idea of skipping ones pre across the water at the 2 year mark.
Need to see a hands-on model. Just from the sketch, I'd imagine it'd be top head, and flip out of your hands.
ahhh, top head, my favorite kind of head...
brain fart...
"...top heavy..."
YES.
This is really, really cool. Hope it fixes the thickness that slide outs bring.
No, no.
That's not a keyboard, its a featurephone. The primary feature? Making waffles.
It's a cool concept but if they make it that thin... "SNAP"
I believe they sell those at Toys R' Us already...it's the Batman communicator!
If you need a paddle fan during hot summer then there you have it!
Interesting in design. Lets keep it that way, shall we?
What?
lolwut
uh.
It will be called Death Blossom
Hahaha.....thanks Samsung, I really needed a laugh and you just gave it to me.
OUCH !
This looks like a lesson on how NOT to design.
Imagine a "coil/sprung" based cable, that you pull from the bottom like a string tape-measure, to provide mousing functionality.
eeek!
Reminds me of my old Nokia 6800 with the fold out keyboard. The keyboard on it worked fine, but this looks pretty flimsy.
My homie still uses that phone. Lol.
Ugly!!
How are you going to hold the device?
lol thats what I thought.. it looks like it would be really awkward to hold, let alone type on while holding.
My thoughts too, Why not turn the whole design upside down? The keyboard flips toward the top of the phone instead, then you have someplace to put your fingers (the back of the phone, below the kb) making the whole thing more stable. As an added benefit, it wouldnt want to fold up on you like the current design appears it would do.
"Lock SMS-foils in attack position!"
You win.
winrar is you
Swiss Army Knife of Phones, just add a screw, magnifying glass, toothpick, etc...
wtf.
wow this is some grade A crap from samsung. thumbs up on amazing garbage
Shouldn't you have said, "Play it again, Sam."
Put the sharp edges of a Pre on it and have a Samsung switchblade
Every phonemaking company:
"no we can't put a regular headphoneplug, there's no room"
"no we can't use mni USB there's no room"
And now they have this patented? Makes no sense, where would the battery and PCB go?
And yeah, joe23521 has a point too, how to hold it?
And who will underwrite the massive returns as people break off these things then demand a refund? Although I guess you could make some sort of flexible hinge setup where if you bend it it'll just bounce back.
not to mention it won't even work if you tried to fold it back in, the keyboards occupy the same plane and would hit each other. if they were on higher and lower planes it would just look stupid as well...
I think I saw this on the cover of a journey album. :P
very old ... as the german Siemens SK65 had this type of keyboard a few years(!) ago and Engadget even reviewed it ;-)
http://www.engadget.com/2005/02/09/siemens-sk65-review/
That keyboard twisted, like two l one behind another twisting to become a X
This new keyboard is like ||| becoming -|-
It's different.
Actually the Siemens SK65 from WAY back in 2004 did this IMO much better. Would be nice to see that design resurrected with an Android smart-phone.
http://www.mobileburn.com/imagepop.jsp?Id=1098&file=media%2Fsiemens%2Fsk65%2Fthumb_sk65_open-IMG_1862.jpg
No sillies, those are Solar collectors/ cheese graters for your fresh Parmesan
Wrong, it's a cyborg UAV carrier pigeon.
Yeah great Samsung, way to go! So when the all-spark comes to town we're not going to even try to make it work? You've just made it easy to create a mini-Megatron!
Vrrooom!! Zzzzooooommmm~! Whoossshhhh
Thanks, but my motor skills have already developed to use both physical keyboard (PC) and touchscreen keyboards (iPhone).
What are ya talking about? That's "Cell-Wing" the newest Decepticon.
A DECEPTICON!!!
Weird