With the imminent release of Apple’s touch-enabled iPhone, the conversation is in full swing as to whether it’s a good idea or not to have a mechanical keyboard.
Today the New York Times covers both sides of the debate. In a nutshell, the question is: will users realize that they can’t live without a keyboard, even though they also can’t live without an iPhone? Or will have Apple hit the form factor sweet spot on with its keyboardless iPhone?
For those of us who have been actively using the Tablet PC and UMPC form factors over the last few years, this is an old, well-known debate. Most people say it all depends on what you’re doing. I’d add it also depends on how the OS supports input without a mechanical keyboard. With the introduction of Windows XP SP2, Microsoft came up with a solution that’s gotten us to this point. A flexible, floating Tablet Input Panel (TIP) that provides handwriting input, a correction UI, and an onscreen keyboard as a fallback. In addition, the TIP provides context awareness and shortcuts to speed user input–correct, user input.
When the Tablet PC first came out there was a lot of criticism of early slate form factors since they didn’t have keyboards on board. Even though some of my favorite Tablets are slates, I understand completely why a keyboard is useful. Some of this has to do with the Windows OS. Some of this has to do with the fact that we type emails and the like a lot. Quickly. In addition, many apps are tuned to keyboard input. So if you take away the keyboard, things are possible, but also can be a bit clumsy. Then again, if you’re taking handwritten notes anyway, this whole argument is mute.
An interesting thing has been happening over the last couple years, however, while this keyboard debate has been raging. Cell phones and in particular text messaging has caught on. When Steve Jobs argued back in 2003 that death would solve the problem of people accepting keyboards over handwriting, I don’t think he realized how quickly the market could swing the other way and people could accept alternative keyboards, such as on cell phones with their T9 entry. To correct Steve Jobs’ original jab at the Tablet PC–it’s not death that “solves” the problem. It’s the next generation. And that’s exactly what the market is encountering today.
People–young people in particular–are accepting alternative input approaches that enable them to communicate more efficiently. Carrying around a fullsized keyboard on a notebook isn’t the best experience for rapid fire communication. A cell phone, with even a partial keyboard, trumps it.
The theory goes that the iPhone is riding this wave of openness to keyboard alternatives–especially if owners are going to be using the device much of the time for things that don’t involve typing. Although the debate is in full swing whether people will miss a mechanical keyboard of some kind for when they really do want to type, such as when twittering or messaging friends.
My guess is that eventually there will be an iPhone model that provides a keyboard. Why? Because for some people a keyboard will be an ideal solution. For others, a keyboardless unit will be just fine. Why not give users a choice? That’s the lesson that the Tablet PC market has learned too. Choice is good.
The question will be how the numbers pan out. Given a choice, would most people pick an iPhone with a keyboard? If so, would retail go that direction and stock pretty much keyboard only devices? Up to this point, that’s the kind of thinking that’s been going on in the Tablet space. Retailers are reluctant to shelve Tablets without keyboards or without DVDs or without all the standard gadgetry you find in a table-top notebook.
Russell Shaw over at ZDNet has an interesting poll going, asking readers whether they care whether or not an iPhone has a keyboard or not. The current results might be surprising to all those familiar with the argument in the Tablet world (where keyboards are included in most purchased units), but the results are probably not surprising at all to those that follow the efforts from Apple and the current state of the art in hardware and software.
Now there is a significant difference in form factors between Tablets and iPhones and how people are expected to use them, however, the lessons that are being learned as we speak in the iPhone arena are the same lessons being re-learned in the Tablet world.
You have to look no further than the UMPC. The original UMPCs were all keyboardless. Although handwriting is supported, the resistive digitizer used in most doesn’t lead to the best handwriting experience–or at least the experience we’ve all grown to love on the Tablet side. Dialkeys was one option that some have adopted as an option to user input. It looks cool. Although, in practice I haven’t found that sweet spot, so I usually disable it. I’ve heard of some people, however, that can blast away at the Dialkeys. I’m just not one of them. I turn it off.
Anyway, now in the UMPC market there are a couple different devices that offer mechanical keyboards in some fashion. There’s no doubt this is the trend. The OQO is one example. The Samsung Q1 Ultra with its split keyboard is another. And Intel has been shopping around several concept designs that have slide out or swivel out keyboards. Keyboards are hot in the UMPC space.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that the iPhone will meet the same fate, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes an option. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see an iPhone with more buttons. It just makes sense. We’ll have to see if Apple sticks to its one-button mantra, however. Sometimes design principle trumps user expectations.
The last point I’d like to make here is for the Tablet audience. If there’s one thing the iPhone is showing everyone is that expectations and “standards” are not carved in stone. Given the right combination of hardware and software amazing things are possible….and practical….and desirable.
Maybe now the competition from Apple will also spur some technical innovation that the Tablet market has been sorely missing. Where’s T9 support on a UMPC or Tablet, for instance? I’ve never understood the lack of this. And what about multi-touch? I don’t mean single user, dual-point touch, like on the iPhone. I’m talking about multiple users, multiple-touchpoints, with hover support and even tactile feedback—the whole works. What about scanning and camera support within the displays and cases? What about built-in FM audio recording so we can record over the FM waves rather than over the air when at events? What about….what about….what about. You guessed it. There’s lots of innovation to come. I can’t wait.
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