Play along - create a PinePhone keyboard

[captainmorgan]

I haven't read the whole thread but I just saw the news update. While I like the design of the flip out keyboard I have two concerns:

It will make the device very thick and heavy (with the added battery).

How are you meant to hold it while making a call? My everyday phone has a wallet style folding cover, to make a call I fold the cover right back on itself so I can wrap my hand around the phone. With the cover open I can hold the phone in one hand with my thumb pressing on the cover's spine (this would be the hinge in the case of the keyboard) but this causes the cover to close up a little and push into my neck while the phone is against my ear. Holding it in the other hand is not much better, in fact it's probably worse.

[nas]

Extended battery in the keyboard case make sense to me but then I am partial to a mini netbook design.

Not sure how it clamps together securely without metal hinges or similar?  Would prefer large psion style keys rather than what looks like a small rubber membrane.

[captainmorgan]

This is the problem I see
   

[deedend]

I was really excited for the keyboard extension in the N900 style, but I must admit, when I saw the mock up and read the October update I was quite disappointed... It's really awkward to use the Pinephone as a phone with that kind of design. What a shame, I was looking forward to the keyboard accessory, but at this stage I am not sure anymore to want one. Well, no harm done, I'll wait and see.

[wibble]

It looks like a proposal from someone who's never used a similar device and experienced the various ways the usability can go wrong. I think I'll be sticking with the old Stowaway bluetooth keyboard at this rate.

[lot378]

The hinged design is a disappointment for me also. I was dreaming all this time of a Nokia N900 or Planet Computers Astro Slide style keyboard sliding out from under the phone leaving the display on top when the keyboard is closed. Now if this thing went in to production, for me it would be so I could salvage out the 5,000 mAh battery so that I could blue tac or rubber band it on to the underneath of a PinePhone -- so there's at least one positive. And the keyboard only takes up half the space? It should really occupy all the space instead of just half.

[BronzeBeard]

As others have pointed out, this mockup leaves a lot to be desired.

The biggest of which is the ability to use the phone as a phone. One assumes the hinges won't allow you to fold the keyboard all the way back so it's flat like a phone. If not, it's a step back from the BlackBerry Passport I use. My interest in Pinephone is purely as a pkb replacement for that device, running software I can maintain if needed.

The only solution I see with this is to have a microphone and speaker built into the back of keyboard, when you make a call, you close the phone and talk through the back... Lame, more software to write, and a PITA if you need to input numbers while talking, but as it is now, I can't see using this as a phone. I believe this is how the Cosmo Communicator does it? (Could be wrong though.)


The other big issue, as others have noted, is the empty above the keyboard. Unless you guys are putting some sort of track pad there, it should be entirely keyboard.

I'll buy one either way, just to see if it can work for me. But if not, looks like I'll have to splurge on a Titan or f(x)tec pro...

[hiimtye]

the hinges are on the side so unless you have got a head thats flat and round i dont see it as a problem. youre not going to try holding it in landscape for phone calls

[kelbot]

Hopefully this mockup is just lazy and inaccurate. The hinges appear far too small and fragile, poor usability for calls, the keys being tiny and not even using all the available space...

[BronzeBeard]

the hinges are on the side so unless you have got a head thats flat and round i dont see it as a problem. youre not going to try holding it in landscape for phone calls

Grip would be my bigger concern. Are you supposed to wedge your thumb between the gap between the phone and keyboard? Hence my comments about how far the hinges allow the screen to flip. If you can do a full 180 degrees, then it's no big deal. Otherwise, the keyboard is going to need a mic and a speaker on the backside if you plan on reasonably holding the device to your ear.