Clicks is a $139 iPhone case for people who hate touchscreen typing
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WinternetHexplorer
Smack-Fu Master, in training
I personally like this idea. I am discouraged from texting nowadays because it is really difficult for me to consistently hit the right keys when I am typing. On longer messages, there is always a mistake somewhere. Also, trying to move the cursor to the point where the error is not consistent for me (or perhaps I am just terrible at it).
If at all possible, I use the physical keyboard along with a computer connection to type out text messages because errors are far too frequent on a touchscreen keyboard.
If at all possible, I use the physical keyboard along with a computer connection to type out text messages because errors are far too frequent on a touchscreen keyboard.
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I'm not horrified by the idea, but the resulting form factor looks awkward to me. If you're holding the phone so that you can type with two thumbs, the entire weight of the phone is sticking out. In a pocket, how much stress is it putting on the connector if the keyboard part flexes or twists?
I'd try it if someone gave me one, but I can't see it becoming a regular part of iphone.
I'd try it if someone gave me one, but I can't see it becoming a regular part of iphone.
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I definitely miss my Blackberry Bold. And my experience with swipe on iPhone is not stellar. It’s not horrible, but just weird enough to be frustrating sometimes.
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Similarly, I miss my Palm Pre with the slide out keyboard. Toich sxreen typung is so error prone.
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I've had this for my S8 and loved it! You could remove the keyboard and attach it to the back of the phone to regain your full screen, it would shrink the UI otherwise. Kind of a missed opportunity to not use the OLED screen underneath for a backlight. Sadly, Samsung removed the feature in the S9 line.
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I miss mine too! Loved the slider, would get another one if they existed and were good.
If this were a slide out accessory, I'd be all over it.
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Now that was a solid phone, you could bludgeon a moose to death with it in a pinch. Also, I think it had a neutronium frame, it was so satisfyingly heavy. I think mine is still rotting in a box in a closet somewhere.
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Given how much Apple usually charges for keyboard accessories, it's not too outlandish. But compared to pre-existing bluetooth foldable keyboards, that's a hefty price, especially considering the added bulk.
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What is this, a keyboard for ants???
/s
You use your thumbs, like a T-rex on a blackberry.
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Just thinking about where this would put the center of gravity is giving me a hand cramp.
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I was really hoping to see something Pre-like with a slide out keyboard when I clicked on a link elsewhere today. This thing just looks ridiculous.
Oh well. I don't have to buy it.
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I've settled on a swiping/sliding keyboard, I can't find a WPM test that works with it, but I can type fast enough that very long messages, comments and such are entirely comfortable, all one handed and with the ability to look away from the keyboard while typing. Only problem is spelling has to be perfect otherwise you'll fail. It also works surprisingly well in VR. Some people can type faster than me with two thumbs, but not by much.
You'll never find me using anything else for handheld text input. I'm really glad that there is a wide variety of options available.
You'll never find me using anything else for handheld text input. I'm really glad that there is a wide variety of options available.
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I love the idea of this but I wonder how passwords managers and things like 2fa codes from sms or email will work with this? My assumption is they wouldn't so it could make logging into services more difficult.
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I honestly disable swipe typing on my phones. I find thumb-tapping to be faster and more accurate, IME.
I'm sure part of that is my muscle memory is geared around that.
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Write texts of messages ? THe very idea. If I try that I ger a hodege pode of something even I, the writer, cqaubarly=understands that you are a few
Full diswcloser: I w3rote the above
an dit came out as it did. I did not try to make it lokk worse than it is.
Edit: The above was written using a full size keyboard that has illuminated keys.
Full diswcloser: I w3rote the above
an dit came out as it did. I did not try to make it lokk worse than it is.
Edit: The above was written using a full size keyboard that has illuminated keys.
Last edited:
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Same. I had a T-Mobile g2 slider phone and it was great. Screen typing is fine for shorter stuff and simple conversations but autocomplete struggles greatly on technical terms or anything that isn't in it's dictionary. It often times will end up fighting with you trying to autocorrect it to something wrong when it's already correct but just not in the dictionary.
I'm not sure how you could make this attachment and not consider it to be a protective case for the phone. You aren't going to be able to put something else over it. I mean get that it isn't going to be an otterbox rugged case but it should still be something.
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I type in at least 2 languages daily - and sometimes mixed in the same sentence -, and another 2 occasionally. Autocomplete / autocorrect do not work. Swipe and any other "smart" things either.
I currently use a keyboard where I manually select the language I want autocorrect for, it kind of works but whenever I have to write something a bit long I use a computer - QWERTY keyboard with US international layout does the trick.
If I had to write long texts on my phone more often I would definitely be looking for a physical keyboard for it.
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I swipe out of habit, but errors are annoying. You can definitely thumb tap faster.
But you can swipe holding the phone with one hand and I can sort of touch-swipe without looking at the keyboard because as long as the shape is kinda right and you start and end in vaguely the right position, you'll usually get the right word.
But you can swipe holding the phone with one hand and I can sort of touch-swipe without looking at the keyboard because as long as the shape is kinda right and you start and end in vaguely the right position, you'll usually get the right word.
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Ironically, something like this would be best on an iPhone Mini, a category that Apple is abandoning. The overall size including the keyboard case would be much more manageable.
Still, I wish them well with this endeavor. Nobody can say that Mr. Mobile and CrackBerry Kevin are not deeply committed to the hardware keyboard form factor, lol.
Still, I wish them well with this endeavor. Nobody can say that Mr. Mobile and CrackBerry Kevin are not deeply committed to the hardware keyboard form factor, lol.
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Remember the texting app, that integrate all other texting apps into one. What a time to be alive! That was the future.
Now I get sad every time I see WEBos on my LG OLED tv, how far we've come for "improvements" We still can't even work out an app that apple and google use together.
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Lately, I find autocorrect has been struggling with pretty much any words. It increasingly seems to replace even words I type correctly with similar words that don't make sense in context, or sometimes even introduces typos where there were none before.
I thought this was a Swiftkey thing, until I spent some time with Gboard and had similar issues there too. Didn't have these issues with Openboard, though I had other problems with that which sent me back to Swiftkey. Just can't seem to quit Swiftkey for whatever reason...
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I pre-ordered one for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. I don't love how much longer it makes the phone, and I'm curious how it will affect the balance, even if they supposedly put weights in the bottom to help counterbalance.
My use case is a bit of an odd one - I use Blink Shell for remote administration of servers, and having a physical keyboard to free up the entire screen for the terminal has been a dream for a while. The Tab key especially is very helpful (though Blink does put one in the function row above the traditional keyboard).
I would really have loved a sideways slider like the Fxtec Pro, but this is at least an interesting start.
My use case is a bit of an odd one - I use Blink Shell for remote administration of servers, and having a physical keyboard to free up the entire screen for the terminal has been a dream for a while. The Tab key especially is very helpful (though Blink does put one in the function row above the traditional keyboard).
I would really have loved a sideways slider like the Fxtec Pro, but this is at least an interesting start.
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Honestly, I'd kill to have a single texting app that integrates all the various messaging services. I still remember how awesome Trillian was back in the day.
But sadly, it's not in any company's best interest to just give you solid functionality and let you use the front-end of your choice to interact with it. It's in their best interest to get you using their app, where they can capture the maximum amount of data from you.
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I imagine a lot of phone users are like my wife and do what I like to call "YOLO voice text", which is where you use the voice transcription function and don't proofread a single thing, leaving it as an exercise to the reader to determine that "Itasca Darrow" is supposed to be "Atascadero".
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Just because it’s close to Apple’s pricing doesn’t mean it’s not ridiculous in price. Apple’s accessories are stupidly overpriced.
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I think most people can forego a dedicated 'blackberry keyboard' with the use of swipe or dictating. Only scenarios where you have to spell irregular words makes me curse my fat fingers or lack of elocution
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Ah, he’s the founder of CrackBerry. That’s why the keyboard looks like a BlackBerry.
This product is about ten years too late. I’ve taught myself how to touch type on the on screen keyboard.
Without haptics.
This product is about ten years too late. I’ve taught myself how to touch type on the on screen keyboard.
Without haptics.
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I'm of two minds on this.
On the one hand, I loved the physical keyboard on my old Palm Pre. Loved it. It was so much easier and more pleasant to type on than any virtual keyboard has ever been, even with things like predictive text and swipe-typing layered on top.
On the other hand, modern iPhones are already pretty awkward to carry, and the form factor of this thing looks like it takes a bad situation and makes it worse. With the extra length of the keyboard underneath that giant screen, you have one seriously long device. I wonder where the point is where a device officially won't fit into most pockets anymore.
(The Pre solved this problem by making the keyboard slide out of the body of the phone, so it was hidden away when you didn't need it. A better solution than turning the phone into a boogie board, IMO.)
On the one hand, I loved the physical keyboard on my old Palm Pre. Loved it. It was so much easier and more pleasant to type on than any virtual keyboard has ever been, even with things like predictive text and swipe-typing layered on top.
On the other hand, modern iPhones are already pretty awkward to carry, and the form factor of this thing looks like it takes a bad situation and makes it worse. With the extra length of the keyboard underneath that giant screen, you have one seriously long device. I wonder where the point is where a device officially won't fit into most pockets anymore.
(The Pre solved this problem by making the keyboard slide out of the body of the phone, so it was hidden away when you didn't need it. A better solution than turning the phone into a boogie board, IMO.)
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As someone who adopted Swipe typing on Android as soon as it was invented (RIP Swype), I can comfortably say that, while I still use it, due to muscle memory, the quality has gone severely downhill.
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Pro tip for iPhone users, holding down the space bar for a half a second will turn the whole keyboard into a 'trackpad' type situation where you can manipulate where the cursor is located in a body of text.
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It makes the phone too long to fit in a pocket. When are they coming out with a FlipClick?
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