What do you mean by "full size" keyboard? My suggestion doesn't shrink the size of the N810's keyboard. It gives plenty of room for a thumb keyboard.

If you mean a keyboard the size of the Think Outside iGo Stow away keyboard ... I don't think you'd come up with a really good way to build that into an internet tablet. The closest I've seen in a Korean device, but it looks really awkward. And I wouldn't want to use it, say, on a bus or while looking up things while I'm watching TV from my couch.

I meant that the left corner for the dpad can be used to extend the thumbkeypad

I think that'd be pretty ideal as well.

With the "buttons at the thumbs" idea, if the button cluster was a second d-pad, then you could have the 2 dpads be programmable. "right dpad is a button cluster with escape/home/menu/extra, left dpad is a dpad", or visa versa. I suppose that could be done with the "buttons on the back" as well.

What might be really interesting, with buttons on the back, is if the buttons can detect the presence of the fingers (not pressing, just resting), then a translucent overlay on the screen could appear. And it could give an indication of which finger movement would give what result.

Lift your index fingers off of the back buttons, no translucent over lay.

Put your left index finger on the left dpad (on the back of the device), and it shows a dpad shaped translucent image over the screen, along with icons over each direction that indicate what will happen if you press that direction. So, by default, it would have arrows pointing up/left/down/right, and an "S" in center (for select).

Put your right index finger on the right dpad, and it shows a dpad shaped translucent image over the screen. By default, it would put the words "escape, home, menu, B" over the 4 directional parts of the image, and "A" in the center.

And then there'd be a control panel that lets you put the "directional" cluster on either the left or the right dpad ... and lets you assign which direction is which function for the non-directional dpad (so, you pick whether "escape" is up, down, left, right, or center on that dpad).

I suppose that overlay technique could be used for "buttons at the thumbs" as well. I just think it'd be extra useful for "buttons on the back".

I've had a couple other useful ideas about how to keep the size of the N810 (and the narrow side bars), but improve the ergonomics ... but I don't know that Nokia is actually listening (other than Texrat, but I don't know if that means _nokia_ is listening). If I hear from Nokia maybe I'll suggest more ideas.

All of my ideas, though, keep the "only the screen slides" idea. That way you have a firm and consistent place to hold the device. And, since that means your thumb would cover the N810's camera, it also means that all of my ideas require that the camera move somewhere else.

Maybe I'll draw up a couple mock-ups.

I just wish Chinook implemented transparent thumb board for the N800 that is the only usability issue I have with using the device for chats etc right now. I already have BT GPS and so this little enhancement would have gone a long way.

I guess the first step would be to convince ... um, convince that a transparent thumb keyboard would actually be a good and usable idea.

A transparent thumb keyboard would be a good and usable idea. Trust me.

Why not write your own? The input method specs have been published recently

I am a man of science, not of faith. I need something a bit more than that.

Would a poll here suffice?