The iPhone and Its Keyboard

With its release scarcely more than two weeks away, the iPhone has been the subject of quite a great deal of buzz and speculation. Apple seems to have done it again, improving upon its old great seller, the iPod, and catching the smart phone industry with its pants down in the process.

It's small shiny device, which works simultaneously as a phone, an mp3 player, and web browser, seems to have all the competition beat. Not only is it the only device to convincingly combined the phone and the mp3 player, being the only smart phone with any storage space to speak of, it is the only mobile device to run a real operating system. It only drawback seems to be its keyboard, according to Engadget. A number of other websites have also alluded to this potential problem, including this satirical article in The Enquirer.

Text entry on mobile devices has always been a thorny matter. The fact is that there simply is not enough space to put a keyboard and something that goes in your pocket, and no alternative that measures up. Looking back to the old school palm pilots, we saw attempts at handwriting recognition. Anyone who tried to use one of those, however, knows the system was slow at best, and never really worked well.

Alternatively, there was that tiny little onscreen keyboard which one could practice the art pointillism, using the stylus that tucked into its little holder on the back. Since then, brands such as Treo and BlackBerry have improved the technology a bit, putting an old fashioned physical qwerty keyboard, be it a small one, on their smart phone. This improved the matter somewhat, allowing the user to enter text in a familiar manner, using his thumbs.

Apple must have been somewhat scared looking back at these previous attempts. Although the button keyboard seems to be the best bet, it simply would not have gone along with the ascetic apple was hoping for. It would have appeared quite clunky, and would have ruined the iPhone's sleek appearance. Attempting a compromise between the onscreen keyboard and that some keyboard, apple created an onscreen keyboard operated with the user's thumbs.

It remains to be seen whether consumers will be able to handle this feature. While anyone would have to admit that an onscreen keyboard is not as effective as a physical keyboard, it is unclear whether the visual advantage of not having a bunch of buttons along the bottom of the device will prove to be a big selling point. It could well be that the iPhone's keyboard, or lack thereof, will be its downfall.

Sources:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/08/will-the-iphone-be-undone-by-its-keyboard/

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=40205