From a real slider-qwerty-keyboard-perspective I can't see any down side with android or upside either. In the thread HW is more important than SW

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The major downside of hardware keyboard is its inability to change its external appearance. You can change the layout of hardware keyboard in software, but it will not change the letters printed on the hardware keys.

The major upside is that it's durable, and does not require much energy. And it can be typed blindly.

It would be funny if the keys could also function as text output, pressing themselves up-and-down accordingly to a received message. However, I anticipate that such output would be difficult to read.

Also, whether the keyboard is software or hardware, auto-completion is important. Be it auto-completion of words, phrases, or messages. And it needs to be adaptable and configurable.

Best wishes.

That might well be the way to go. The most common (actually, the only) argument I hear about manufactures avoiding keyboards is that they are more expensive to make than screens, due to the variety of layouts. A dedicated resistive touch screen covered by a transparent dome sheet would indeed answer that problem. There are already after-market solutions of a similar kind but their problem is that they use part of the existing, nowadays usually capacitive screen, which, as we all know, is somewhat sub-optimal.

@thenelaw, where is this Orwellian paradise? It sounds like some African dictatorship or The Land of the Free, it's hard to tell the difference. All I can say is that the UK is very close.

PS: please let it not be US as I've to visit there sometime in the future (not because I like how things are there though)

PPS: Can't really see it be any other country than US, just look at their "police vehicles"...

A phone like the Sharp Crystal with a 5.2in display would be the best in ergonomics.

Physical qwerty isn't always used and needs changing for different languages.

Hence, OtherHalf concept would be much better.

Relax... They dont use AKs

Can this be a return of a qwerty slider?

http://christiandaily.com/article/mi...-pad/55482.htm

Someone somewhere still has a clue:

Yep, sure sounds like M$'s CMO has a clue:

"We need more breakthrough experiences, breakthrough hardware to get people to move to Windows mobile OS. It’s gotta be a phone that’s sort of like, ‘Wow’.”

Some folks might not like the size but this is one heck of a phone. Also hooks up as a desktop. I think M$ is gradually figuring out that they can fill the void for business left by BB.

http://www.gsmarena.com/hp_elite_x3-7954.php