Dreaming of an iPhone Keyboard as Good as a BlackBerry’s

By Laura M. Holson

(6:45 P.M. UPDATE: Research in Motion apparently thinks Apple is on to a good thing. The company plans to introduce a BlackBerry with a touch-screen keyboard in the third quarter, according to the blog Boy Genius Report.)

This summer will be an exciting time for AT&T’s cellphone customers as both Apple and Research in Motion are expected to introduce new 3G smart phones which, while stylistically different, will compete ear-to-ear.

AT&T is the sole U.S. distributor of the Apple iPhone, which is popular with mainstream consumers but hasn’t been widely adopted by business customers in part because many e-mail junkies find its on-screen virtual keyboard hard to use. RIM’s BlackBerry models, on the other hand, are famed for their easy-to-use keyboards, and as soon as this summer, AT&T will offer the new BlackBerry Bold, which adds GPS, Wi-Fi and multimedia features to the more spartan traditional ‘Berries.

Which keyboard style is likely to prevail? Ralph de la Vega, the chief executive of AT&T Mobility, told me he just wants to offer customers as many models as possible and let them decide. He predicts a future where mobile devices are sophisticated enough to offer both a virtual and hardware keyboard for consumers who like both. “And that’s not just for top-end phones but low-end phones, too,” he said.

Mr. de la Vega said he doesn’t expect Apple to add a hardware keyboard to the iPhone anytime soon. “I don’t think that is part of the current mentality,” he said.

But he concedes that typing on an iPhone takes some training. “We have a lot of folks who love it, but not everyone feels good about it,” he said. “I have mixed emotions about it. I would prefer they have a better way of typing on the keyboard.”

Of course, AT&T has its bases covered no matter what consumers want. And there is a lot of anticipation about the release of the BlackBerry Bold, which has several enhanced multimedia (read iPhone-like) capabilities, including the ability to play movies in a full-screen mode and more easily download customers’ iTunes music collections.

Ultimately, Mr. de la Vega would prefer to see voice-recognition phones that eliminate the need for a keyboard at all. As he put it, “Why do you need to type in the word ‘pizza,’ and not just say, ‘pizza’?”

Comments are no longer being accepted.

Steve Degarmo May 15, 2008 · 3:42 pm

Virtually every keyboard review I’ve ever seen on this subject contains something akin to “typing on an iPhone takes some training.” I used a BB for years. On day 1 of my iPhone, yes, I struggled. By the end of week 1, however, I was typing far faster than I ever did on the BB.

Just like the device as a whole, “it’s the software, …” The iPhone type correction is far better than any phone I’ve ever used, and you really only need to get close to the right keys. I couldn’t even use my wife’s BB last week.

This isn’t to say that the email experience is the same now, b/c it isn’t. But when iPhone 2.0 comes out…

JimF May 15, 2008 · 4:10 pm

Why the obsession with putting RIM and the iPhone in the same market? They are NOT — at least not now.

It’s like comparing station wagons and sports cars. They’re optimized for different people. Enterprises are not going to buy $400 phones because they have iTunes. Period. Consumers don’t care about double-DES security and real-time push from Exchange servers. Get over it.

Will RIM offer more phones targeting consumers? Undoubtedly.

Will Apple actually create any product aimed at enterprises? More questionable.

It’s a lot easier for RIM to add a touch-screen and media connections, than it is for Apple to add a real keyboard — not physically but culturally.

If you think the difference between the RIM and the iPhone is JUST the keyboard (as if that were a just), then try this simple exercise. On each phone keep track of the time and keystrokes to do this: Delete 20 emails, half on the server and phone, half on the phone only, open five other emails, create and send a reply. If you still think the iPhone is for heavy email users, you’re truly wearing seven-colored eyeglasses to match the old Apple logo.

steve May 15, 2008 · 4:11 pm

The problem with voice as the only input is that there are times when silent entry is necessary. Have you ever been in a meeting with crackberry, treo, etc. users?

Mike May 15, 2008 · 5:14 pm

I own a blackberry and an iPhone. If you are new to both the iPhone is much easier to learn. The word completion on the iphone is much better compared to the blackberry’s.
However if you started on a blackberry and learned it well and then went to an iPhone it would seem difficult.

** I think the ease of use issue is more prospective in the case of these two handhelds. They both work exceptionally well once you get use to them.

evw May 15, 2008 · 5:35 pm

Enterprises are not going to buy $400 phones because they have iTunes. Period.

Saying that doesn’t make it so. It’s reported that a third of all Fortune 500 companies have expressed an interest in the iPhone SDK. They’re obviously not put off by iTunes.

“If you think the difference between the RIM and the iPhone is JUST the keyboard (as if that were a just), then try this simple exercise. On each phone keep track of the time and keystrokes to do this: Delete 20 emails, half on the server and phone, half on the phone only, open five other emails, create and send a reply.”

Jim, have you tried that exercise? The number of “keystrokes” required to delete an email is zero!

The only task on your list that’s time consuming, by far, is composing an email reply. That’s not because the iPhone lacks a Blackberry-style chicklet keyboard but because you have to decide what to say — unless the reply is just typing, “Dde u r0k!”

Anthony May 15, 2008 · 5:35 pm

You have to ask yourself…”Why do I need to order pizza in the middle of a board meeting”. Silent entry is important, equally so with voice dialing.

md May 15, 2008 · 6:04 pm

At work, they introduced me to BlackBerrys. As the Macintosh admin, I quickly learned to become a two phone user. Starting off on the iPhone and moving to the Blackberry is much more tedious than the other way around. Once you grow accustomed to touching the interface, a scroll device just doesn’t cut it.

The most interesting part is the keyboard. Those coming from the BlackBerry side initially completely dislike the keyboard. But if they give it a couple of days, they usually come around. But that first starts with trusting the auto-correction of the software. But once you do, and you realize you don’t have to be precise with the keystrokes, just close, then typing on the iPhone is an amazing experience.

Personally, I type with two thumbs on my iPhone, and have realized that as long as the first letter or two are correct – or it’s a word used often – you don’t really have to be accurate with the other touches. It’s hard to explain but easy to grow accustomed to. So easy that…

Last week my supervisor’s iPhone became disabled. When we returned it to Apple, who replaced it with no questions – even during this iPhone shortage! – my supervisor looked relieved. He says, “After you get used to the iPhone keyboard, typing on the BlackBerry is terrible.” Mostly because, unlike the iPhone, you have to be EXACT with the button presses when you have physical buttons.

For someone who hated the iPhone so much initially, he sure came around.

Daewoo May 15, 2008 · 7:22 pm

WOW, so the next generation blackberry and Iphone will ALMOST do everything that HTCs PPC6700 would do 3 years ago when it was new, but not quite what the PPC6800 will do today (or what the 6700 will do today with software upgrades).

Frankly both BB and Iphone users are WAY behind the curve if they are looking for the most functionality or easiest to use interfaces.

Sorry, folks, but the Iphone is mostly hype, and the BB is old news. There are FAR better options out there for just about any market segment.

Frank Fontani May 15, 2008 · 7:22 pm

I am waiting for the iPhone 2.0 but feel like it may impossible to write a long email by touch screen. That is what I really want — to be able to write a document or a long text message on the iphone… There are many people who are NOT business users, but live their personal lives in a very professional way — they need to keep things organized and be able to a note or draft a letter.

Right now I have T9 on Verizon, and can write a text message with the phone behind my back. While it is convenient, obviously you cannot write an essay with T9 predictive text.

With the I phone, I feel like i have be looking down so much more… not so easy to order chinese food, etc., during a meeting. And I am wondering about it’s ability to write a note. Whereas with the blackberry, clearly it is common to write long emails, etc.

Frank

t.macman May 15, 2008 · 7:29 pm

i have an ipod touch and i have to agree with the majority of the people commenting on this article, the iphone keyboard is much easier then the BB. the thing i hate about the BlackBerry tactile keyboard is the fact that it takes away 40% of your potential screen space. even the BB Bold has a significantly smaller screen just to compensate for the keyboard. so even if you believe that a BlackBerry might be easier, the disadvantages are to just to great to be worth it.

Darryl365 May 15, 2008 · 7:41 pm

The iPhone\Blackberry comparison is going to continue because, as high end go, these two sit at the top. What I don’t understand though is the need of many tech writers to assume that 1 will win and 1 will lose.
Surely one or the other will lead the market. The market being lead by 1 does not necessarily equate failure by the other.
The author ask “which will prevail?” This question comes up constantly yet I feel the neither has to.
Certainly there is going to be crossover (customers) in target markets however, the type of keyboard viewed to be the best is a totally subjective position.

Robert May 15, 2008 · 7:42 pm

Why can’t they make a model without a camera so I can bring it with me where ever I go?

ex-blackerry user May 15, 2008 · 7:48 pm

oranges and apples people….

Peter May 15, 2008 · 7:53 pm

“Why do I need to order pizza in the middle of a board meeting”.

Because I’m hungry? Let’s face it, those board meetings can go on forever…

Christopher Scott Knell May 15, 2008 · 8:16 pm

During the iPhone SDK event on March 6th, Apple announced that they would be including support for frequently requested iPhone enterprise features.

The new features include:

– Push email
– Push calendar
– Push contacts
– Global address list
– Cisco IPsec VPN
– Certificates and Identities
– WPA2 / 802.1x
– Enforced security policies
– Device configuration
– Remote wipe
– Active Sync and Microsoft Exchange support

These features (for both iPod Touch and iPhone) will come in the 2.0 Firmware release that will be released in June. All iPhone owners will get this update for free, but iPod Touch owners will be charged a small fee for accounting purposes.

Leif Maginnis May 15, 2008 · 8:29 pm

I would like to know why the iPhone’s keyboard can’t simply be turned sideways so the user can type the long way, seems like a no-brainer to me…

Steve May 15, 2008 · 8:42 pm

The key issue here is text entry orientation. Once landscape (horizontal) entry becomes an option in iPhone 2.0, it’s game, set, and match!

-responded via my iPhone in landscape mode. ;)

Jen May 15, 2008 · 10:20 pm

I just want cut and paste. Why can’t the iPhone have cut and paste?

David Owens May 16, 2008 · 12:53 am

Regarding the Bold: iTunes and movies? That’s not for suits. That’s for us.
And so we use the iPhone. We like syncing. We love the internet. We hate Blackberry.

Neil May 16, 2008 · 1:46 am

as if gadget-bound people aren’t annoying enough. now you want them talking to their gadgets in addition to the people on the other end of the connection. somebody’s going to end up with a black eye.

John May 16, 2008 · 2:34 am

I have both the BB and an iPhone. The BB sits in my computer bag and I check it for voice messages once a day. The iPhone I live with. The browser, the map feature, the map search feature, the ability to clip out of web pages are all things I love on this phone. I never really learned to type on the BB so it has always been a struggle for me. I have to use two hands and stare hard at the keyboard. I still haven’t figured out how to get all the punctuation. Beyond that the iPhone is integrated with the rest of my Macs. If I use the BB it is an isolated island.

One good thing about BB is that it leads to short emails. Many of the BB email replies are just one or two words.

Jim May 16, 2008 · 2:45 am

I just don’t understand why everyone finds it so hard to type on an iPhone. I have the touch and i can type 20 times faster than a regular phone (never tried a blackberry) and I still don’t always use text correction. My only problem with the iPhone was the monthly cost (hence the touch), but it is by far the most user friendly and by far the only full scale mobile internet browser I have seen yet.

Dickson May 16, 2008 · 3:51 am

I think Americans are too obsessed with the iPhone.

The day when we can get open source ANDROID handsets as powerful as the current dual core chipsets on computers along with expandable memory options, is the day when we truly have mobile computing.

Maybe somewhere in deepest darkest China, some knock off manufacturer already has something like this up his sleeve….

Podesta May 16, 2008 · 7:15 am

Considering all the new features coming to the iPhone, I expect cut and paste to be among them. Also, DataViz will likely bring Documents to Go to the iPhone, since that is where the market it is losing from Windows Mobile and Palm devices is going.

Typed on my iPhone fairly easily.

EJ Drouillard May 16, 2008 · 7:28 am

Another vote of “huh?” at all of the implications that a physical keyboard is superior to the iPhone’s in any way. Users of phones with physical keyboards have often expressed amazement at how quick I can fly on my iPhone – I can practically just let my thumbs fly, and as long as I hit the basic shape of the word on the keyboard, the iPhone recognizes it.

I think that RIM has a lot more to fear from Apple’s addition of strong enterprise features than Apple has to fear from RIM’s attempts to catch up in the UI/look and feel department.