Completely new keyboard idea

[Zweitaktmotor]

The following is an idea that may not be feasible for this version of the Pinephone, but it generally came to my mind and I do not know where else to raise it:

My problem with the Android soft keyboard is that I very often get the characters wrong and hit adjacent keys. It has perhaps something to do with the fact that my fingers do not hit the screen in an exact vertical fashion but at a slight angle.

The haptic feedback (brief vibration) does not help, unfortunately.

In another post, I was talking about my old Palm Treo 680 and how easy its physical keyboard was to use. In fact, the Treo 600 was even better, because the rows of keys were not curved:



I took those old phones out of their cupboard recently and started them up. And even after not using them for over 5 years, I was surprised how quickly and error-free I was able to type on them.

Here is my idea:

In the picture above, the keyboard takes up half of the front of the phone, which is not acceptable nowadays. However, why can't we have a screen with in-built little nobbles, representing the keys in the the picture above? They would need to protrude just enough to be felt under your fingers but smooth enough to swipe over, if necessary. No need to have a physical press action, just those nobbles in the glass.

Why hasn't any manufacturer thought of this?

Oh, hang on, now I've got it: Why not have a screen protector with such nobbles? It can't be that difficult!

(Sorry I was developing the idea while typing.)

[wibble]

If you do it as a screen protector it'll distort the screen image, but depending on use case that may be fine. Something similar was discussed as an assistive technology for the openmoko but I don't think anyone ever made it. Another option would be to have it on a flap that you could pop down when you wanted to see the whole screen. Sony-Ericsson did that on one or two of their Symbian-era touchscreen phones. The small key area might be a problem with a capacitive screen- in those days it was a resistive touchscreen so small contact area was an advantage not a disadvantage.

[vinnie]

Obviously, replacing the keyboard with a screen extension over the years has made the phones more versatile. A keyboard is always a keyboard, a touchscreen can be a keyboard (maybe more uncomfortable) and many other things too.
So I think that wanting to go back to the initial idea is only useful for those who exclusively prefer that way of interacting, and a disvantages for the others.
Uhm... but the idea of something that can be placed on the screen to improve the typing feeling is not a bad idea.
If this is possible I think the best way is a case to put the phone in from the top, like a pack of cigarettes, so that whenever you need to use the whole screen, you can remove the phone from the case (or open the keyboard somehow).
If some passive material was enough, without the use of electronics, proably this would also be the cheapest type of keyboard possible!

[VaZso]

If some passive material was enough, without the use of electronics, proably this would also be the cheapest type of keyboard possible!

...and the most unusable for me...