A new company promises a 5G keyboarded BlackBerry in 2021 • Hacker News Board

Re: A new company promises a 5G keyboarded BlackBerry in 2021

#21

Post by derrick_jensen » Wed, Aug 19, 2020, 4:51 PM UTC

OlderWhiskey wrote: post #9

mothsonasloth wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if there is a such a term or concept but I would put these companies or products in the same category: Motorola, IBM Thinkpad, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Fujitsu computers

Lenovo has done a decent job with ThinkPad. I'm running an X1 Carbon and love it.

I have had nothing but bad experiences with Lenovo ThinkPads, and refuse to buy anything else of theirs (especially in the wake of Superfish).

I had a T60 that had the both hinges snap in the case in normal operation, x230 screen broke and it refuses to start without reinserting the battery. I had similar screen issues with an x100e but at least that didn't have a quality persona around it, so I can't say I'm surprised.

I gave up a while ago and just use an iPad for everything (currently a student so I use the pencil heavily). If something warrants me using a keyboard then I just do at home with a tiny NUC I bought for cheap (HP EliteDesk 705 G2 Mini).

Re: A new company promises a 5G keyboarded BlackBerry in 2021

#22

Post by gburdell3 » Wed, Aug 19, 2020, 4:51 PM UTC

as1mov wrote: post #14

OlderWhiskey wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lenovo has done a decent job with ThinkPad. I'm running an X1 Carbon and love it.

Eh, they've butchered the T and X series. Aping the Macbooks will be their downfall.

What did they do to butcher them in your opinion? I just recently picked up a new X390 and it's a great machine for the price, with better specs in just about every area than a Macbook for half the price. Only thing I would improve is the screen, 1080p doesn't cut it these days.

Re: A new company promises a 5G keyboarded BlackBerry in 2021

#23

Post by 908B64B197 » Wed, Aug 19, 2020, 4:57 PM UTC

I remember a few years ago Samsung selling a keyboard case for one of it's phones [0]. If I recall the phone would detect it and scale the UI so that the keyboard wouldn't cover any important part of the screen.

Sounds like the ideal tradeoff. I've never seen one in real life however, so that tells me how big the demand for a physical keyboard is.

[0] https://www.zdnet.com/article/samsung-keyboard-cover-for-gal...

Re: A new company promises a 5G keyboarded BlackBerry in 2021

#24

Post by beerandt » Wed, Aug 19, 2020, 5:05 PM UTC

honkycat wrote: post #12

I would be super into a phone with a physical keyboard, but I am on Google Fi and I am hesitant to switch. I've given up on swipe typing. I have been using it for almost a decade and I still cannot type effectively with it. I am ready to go back to physical keys.

I'm amazed no company seems to be interested in filling the market niche for physical keyboards.

I swear swype typing seems to have gotten progressively worse since it's early days, I suspect as machine learning from public data is relied on more than personal mechanics.

And also as the pool of users became more diverse, especially older (fat finger users like my parents) and less tech knowledgeable (ie don't use shortcuts or "hidden" features like swiping the spacebar, etc).

I used to be able to rely on muscle memory to swipe, but now that just seems to beg for the wrong result.

I know I'd pay a premium for a blackberry or htc tilt-2 style physical keyboard.

At this point, I'd almost go back to pocket typing with a physical dialpad and T3, circa 2000 style.

Re: A new company promises a 5G keyboarded BlackBerry in 2021

#25

Post by taylorwc » Wed, Aug 19, 2020, 5:06 PM UTC

xt00 wrote: post #4

Is there a name for the formula that blackberry and others follow? 1) successful consumer business 2) lose in the market so pivot to b2b 3) slow long decline 4) sell brand / assets to somebody else 5) new money results in a “hey we are going back to our roots” and launch products they originally were known for 6) finally go out of business for real, or sell remaining IP to a troll

It's not 1:1 with the narrative you lay out, but there are tons of parallels with Clay Christensen's Disruption Theory[0] ... basically that a successful business misses a new technology that cannibalizes them from the bottom up and they go into a slow death spiral because of their inability and unwillingness to adapt along the innovative axis.

[0] https://www.christenseninstitute.org/disruptive-innovations/

Re: A new company promises a 5G keyboarded BlackBerry in 2021

#26

Post by derekp7 » Wed, Aug 19, 2020, 5:08 PM UTC

908B64B197 wrote: post #23

I remember a few years ago Samsung selling a keyboard case for one of it's phones [0]. If I recall the phone would detect it and scale the UI so that the keyboard wouldn't cover any important part of the screen. Sounds like the ideal tradeoff. I've never seen one in real life however, so that tells me how big the demand for a physical keyboard is. [0] https://www.zdnet.com/article/samsung-keyboard-cover-for-gal...

I've actually been planning on getting one of those mini Bluetooth keyboards, take it out of the case, and design a custom cell phone case where the top hinges up similar to how a tackle box opens up. Still working out the details and measurements though.

Re: A new company promises a 5G keyboarded BlackBerry in 2021

#27

Post by Normille » Wed, Aug 19, 2020, 5:16 PM UTC

wffurr wrote: post #2

No actual device announced, just a licensing agreement for the Blackberry brand to a Foxconn subsidiary "to deliver a new 5G BlackBerry Android smartphone with physical keyboard, in the first half of 2021 in North America and Europe". Bad title, the original is "OnwardMobility Announces Agreements with BlackBerry and Foxconn Subsidiary FIH Mobile to Bring BlackBerry 5G Smartphones to Market" which I might summarize a…

Yes. I think that entire long 'article' could have been summarised in about two, very uninformative sentences.

Re: A new company promises a 5G keyboarded BlackBerry in 2021

#28

Post by walterbell » Wed, Aug 19, 2020, 5:17 PM UTC

honkycat wrote: post #12

I would be super into a phone with a physical keyboard, but I am on Google Fi and I am hesitant to switch. I've given up on swipe typing. I have been using it for almost a decade and I still cannot type effectively with it. I am ready to go back to physical keys.

Google Fi should work with most devices, including iPhone, laptops, tablets and mobile hotspots.

Re: A new company promises a 5G keyboarded BlackBerry in 2021

#29

Post by arch-ninja » Wed, Aug 19, 2020, 5:17 PM UTC

God I wish BB10 was open sourced. Today the biggest problem with phones is their bloated runtimes, android being the largest offender. I want something with the form factor of the q10 running a QNX-based os I can ssh to and use rsync to copy music, contacts, and a calendar to.

Re: A new company promises a 5G keyboarded BlackBerry in 2021

#30

Post by pqb » Wed, Aug 19, 2020, 5:17 PM UTC

zevv wrote: post #16

philips wrote: post #5

Relatedly I find it amazing that Planet Computers has found a niche and developed multiple cell phones with tiny qwerty keyboards. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/astro-slide-5g-transforme... https://store.planetcom.co.uk/

I just "finished" my first Gemini after using the hell out of it for two years straight until it finally gave up on me - it had missing keycaps, the obligatory cracked screen, dents & scratches for the last few months of its life, but still would not give up on me - until it finally went out few weeks ago. I tried to do without a keyboard for two days, but I just can't do it, and got myself a new unit from Planet. I…

After two years I would expect issues like you have mentioned. It does not sound too good in my humble opinion. I guess you were doing more than just occasional work? :)

I have noticed they put MediaTek CPUs into their devices. Personally, I had bad experience with MT chips in various devices and they are putting me off to try out any of Planet PDAs. What is the Gemini performance in your opinion?