Home Opinion Touchscreen BlackBerry With Slide-Out Keyboard

Touchscreen BlackBerry With Slide-Out Keyboard

Posted on May 30, 2008 Written by 19 Comments

 
I know that all the BlackBerry buzz right now is about the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry KickStart. The machine is even getting into gear for the BlackBerry Thunder. The device that I believe a lot of BlackBerry users that really follow RIM are waiting for, however, is the touchscreen BlackBerry that will have a pull out keyboard.

I know that there are BlackBerry traditionalist that don’t think RIM should ever come out with a slider, but, many of those same people didn’t think that a camera, SureType, or even a color screen would ever fly. The biggest knock on a BlackBerry slider is durability, however, I believe that RIM, who has a knack for building sturdy devices, will be able to get past this hurdle.

There is no doubt that if the BlackBerry Thunder rumors are true, I will probably be getting one day one or sooner, however, I think that a BlackBerry with a touchscreen and a slide-out keyboard will be the next really big thing for RIM.

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  • Omar

    I know that this is just a scetch but if RIM is coming out with BlackBerry with a slider keyboard that it looks a lot better than this.

  • I Goncang

    I hate sliders! They’re too small and all greasy, and don’t cost 25 cents anymore. Oops … wrong slider — we’re not talking White Castles. I still hate sliders, though. After awhile, the keyboard doesn’t sit firmly anymore and the whole thing feels wobbly. Unless it’s been bad luck on my part to get defective HTC units.

  • bluehorseshoe

    This is one design I personally thought would be great. Looking forward to seeing this one when and if it comes out.

  • REV

    Aw, man. When I saw this article’s headline in my RSS, I thought there was some official announcement by RIM of a slider/touch combo. :(

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  • Emilie

    Well I’m not gunna lie… I was excited about a touch screen. I can’t stand the iPhone but I was really hoping that RIM could do it better. I agree with the previous comment about how the phone can become wobbly or not sit right after a while. That would suck. Non the less, out of the Bold, Kickstart and the Thunder…I would for sure get the Thunder.

  • Brian

    I like the whole touch screen ideal. But just like the rest I’m not a fan of the slider ideal. The just don’t last. And let get down to the facts, phone are far from being cheap enough to replace all the time.

  • Ku

    I test-drove a T-Mobile Wing, before I settled on a Curve.

    The Wing is very similar to the drawing above. The touch screen and the idea of the slide-out keyboard were quite appealing. MS also includes a copy of the original Palm Graffiti, which I liked a lot.

    I found the Wing’s KB small enough that thumb typing was unavoidable.
    The size and bulk made carrying the Wing more like toting a brick. In short, the Wing was a better PDA than phone, for me.

    RIM will have to do a lot of work to keep the unit light and durable, and I gather that isn’t easy.

  • Drew

    Blackberry is master of the keyboard, iPhone is the master of the large screen. A slider or a Voyager style clamshell are the logical solutions to have one’s cake and eat it too. However, the execution to date by others has been lacking. I believe a slider is a great idea if it can be reasonably sized and well executed, no inch thick, 6-7 ounce monster.

  • REV

    I wonder if there’s any truth to the rumors that this touch/slider combo is the “Blackberry Storm,” a sister to the touch-only “Thunder”.

    Assuming this is accurate, I agree that thickness would be a big concern for me. I’d rather adapt to a soft keyboard than lug around another brick.

  • Mohbbeen

    hey ppl
    can yall giv me a link of th thunder bc i cant find it
    and i wanna know what company and price it is

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  • Brontegirl

    I would like to see something besides a slide out key board. The tracks never line up on those devices. How about a pivot? The keyboard would be under and the user could type on the keyboad and have the flexibility to look at a landscape or portrait screen? I would think that a pivot would be more sturdy and less likely to break. If you are having trouble visualizing, take a deck of cards. Cut the deck and put one part up and down and the other part right to left so that they share a corner in common. When you are done with the keyboard, you just pivot it back into place.

  • tok toks

    where can i buy this blackberry slider

    • http://www.rimarkable.com Robb Dunewood

      You cannot, it doesn’t exist…

      Yet

  • dan

    they should really make the slide blackberry love it thats why i have a g1 at the moment however if they make a blackberry version bbmessenger here i come

  • mbnva

    RIM excels at an efficient user interface and great physical keyboards especially for me with nerve damage in the hands. Just can’t do index finger touchscreen typing near as fast. I think the 9700 is a downgrade keyboard wise from previous models such as curves but the rest of the unit is a step up. However except for these areas RIM is far behind.

    Their touchscreen just can’t match the elegence of apple. Their development environment sucks ass compared to apple or android. Their bleeding edge feature sets are way behind that of htc such as on the new EVO or Incredible. Their feature sets just make you drool. Their cpus are much slower. Their web browser sucks compared to either apple or android products (even with opera etc).

    Basically either RIM needs to come out with a product that really blows away all these faults or they will be left in the dust as the new iphone 4g / htc evo / incredible and countless unannounced products hit the market. If htc or iphone had a great keyboard and the efficiency of my 9700 I would be theirs in half a heartbeat. Its only because of nerve damage I stay where I am. But the slow, low pixel, low cpu power, bad os dev environment, bad browser etc will start destorying RIMs marketshare this year. The only question is how fast as RIM doesn’t seem to be able to innovate fast enough in this new phone gen market.

  • Geia

    omg NOOO!! the keyboard should be 4; not 3 lines! that’s so ughh..