Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

The 3-row keyboard on the N900 isn't all that great. For starters, the position of the space bar is quite odd. It can be used naturally with right hand only. Next, the arrow keys are just normal buttons and placed on the wrong side for gaming purposes. Users with localized keyboards don't even have all the arrows.

The most obvious solution to this is to make the keyboard of the next Maemo device 4-row and equip it with a proper d-pad placed on the left side of the keyboard.

I made a draft that shows what the keyboard would be like if I designed it. It is a scandinavian variant of the keyboard because that is what I would be using.

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/200...eyboard.th.gif

It's made rather quickly so there might be some oversights and errors. That just means that feedback and suggestions are very welcome!

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

I had an N97 for several months which has the spacebar on the right side too, and actually had no problems at all with its positioning. I know it looks odd on photos but when you actually use it it works fine, or at least it did for me. This isn't a PC keyboard so the usual rules about positioning don't apply.

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

That's amazing!!! I want this on my next phone!!!

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

Another suggestion for a better keyboard:

Design a nice "blank" keyboard with OLED-lit keys which load the keymap from firmware upon boot, and which could of course be switched to another layout as desired, on-the-fly.

While such an OLED-lit keyboard might be slightly more expensive to build initially (although Nokia would definitely benefit from their economy of scale), there would also be significant "value-added" savings post-manufacturing, e.g. in terms of maintaining local stocks of said keyboards. Also, as a very large global company Nokia has to currently deal with a large number of different layouts and they still can't cater to many markets (including some very large languages/scripts).

Of course, the new standard OLED keyboard would also be naturally back-lit... :p

Open-source OS will also enable anyone to create keymaps (and translate the OS) without the "articificial" restriction of needing approved/manufactured fixed-key keyboard.

Wouldn't this kind of flexibility be a great Unique Selling Point?

On-screen virtual keyboards already provide the input flexibility, but at the cost of using most of the screen real estate in order to be useful. A customizable physical keyboard on the other hand...

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

Sounds good Peet, the OLED keys could even act as an extra screen :)

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

Screw OLED keys, how about a standard, easy-to-use config file (or program) to remap the keys. As well as for remapping the on-screen keyboards. Yes such things exist, but they are painful to use and very much non-standard/logical.

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

i would go with e-ink rather then oled, as it would save battery...

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

Just shows how out of touch I am about existing display technologies, let alone those just around the corner... :o

In this case even greyscale would probably be unnecessary (keyboard keys with hinting...?) and we'd only need cost and power efficient B&W modules with reasonably high contrast ratio.

Serious modders could always build themselves steampunk versions modelled after those old flight status panels at airports. :D

Or if we were to follow Duffer's line of thought (keyboard as an extra screen), how about a plain thin pull-out touch screen as a virtual keyboard yet without stealing valuable main screen estate? So there'd be no tactile feedback, but it'd still be flexible to configure, slimmer than a physical keyboard and possibly cheaper too.

The steampunk version of this could incorporate a crank of the side with which to roll out a flexible touch screen mat... :p

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

Actually they're both existing...eink has already been used in a phone keyboard (look through your googles for the Samsung Alias 2) and oled for a desktop keyboard (the somewhat ambitiously named Optimus Maximus, no, I'm not joking, goolge!). I'm with you on the eink, and to be honest if the issues with tactile feed back could be addressed, I'd prefer an eink touch screen rather than individual buttons, again, if the haptics were sophisticated enough.

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

I guess somebody with sufficient will power could actually make something like this happen pretty soon.

I guess the unfortunate question of how much this would cost to create, how much space it would take from inside the device and how much more consumers would be willing to pay for their Maemo device because of this keyboard are rather unclear. The about 500 euro price point for the N900 is already such that... Well, I'm sure many people would not mind the device being a bit cheaper. :)

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

Conisidering the push towards more touch-enabled interfaces, a sliding OLED or eInk screen that has haptics for keyboard functionality would essentially answer a lot of issues. The harder part is the issue of multi-touch for things such as alternate character selection. But as a whole, this is something that should be done for Maemo devices as a differentator.

Yes, there's an issue of power and physics also that needs to be overcome, and that oh-so nice research about folks not liking keyboards that change with their context. But hey, take a chance and you might find a maket with open arms.

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

I don't really know how much OLED adds, Samsung has a bunch of phones out that use OLED screen already. As for the eink, the phone it's used in, the Alias, is actually a low end phone, $49 I think.

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

WOW the Alias 2 with e-ink keyboard looks like a pretty awsome idea... :-D
No more problems with qwerty,qwertz, azerty, missing direction arrows, all the different accents, umlauts, doubble s signs, Å, Æ Ø or Ø Æ problems. It would all be a thing of the past :-D

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

only thing to note is that it appears to use one large sheet of eink, with raised edges to seperate the "buttons".

while more expensive, i would love to see individual screens on a keyboard much like whats today on n810 or n900.

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

Frankly, the ultimate pocketable keyboard has already been designed and produced in quantity and the intellectual property is currently available for sale.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:t...o_keyboard.jpg

It's the OQO 02/e2 (and, basically, 2+) keyboard. It would add at least a millimeter to the depth of the unit because the keys are raised and have a noticeable travel. Instead of a d-pad it uses a trackstick which is much more usable for browsing or running many advanced apps while a d-pad doesn't add significantly to the capabilities you get from touch. You also get two "mouse" buttons as opposed to the single "click" button on the d-pad but if you are really tied to a d-pad, there are arrow keys. Rather than a additional row, there is a dedicated numeric keyboard and sticky Function, Shift, Ctrl, and Alt keys (with LEDs to indicate they are active.

Plus, it would require making the N1000 a bit larger which means I might be able to read the screen. :D

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

I think this is code for: Nokia's next Maemo device will not have a physical keyboard and it will cost half the price. Thanks for the info; I'm very excited.

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

LMAO, wishful thinking. Honestly, I'm with you on that on. Though that may be because all of the tablet's I've got (the 770 and the n800) are keyboard-less, so I never experienced the added value. I went on a trip recently, only took my e51, n800 and an Apple bluetooth keyboard. I wish there was a keyboardless version of the n900, I'd be all over it.

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

It's funny how people believe that they design a better keyboard in five hobby minutes when a team of paid engineers with education and experience spends months on the same taks :-)

Disclaimer: I like the N900 keyboard very much and think it fits nicely with the overall phone. Of course, more keys would have been nice.

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

Undaunted by the general putdown by a believer in Nokia's paid engineers with education and experience I'm going to throw this into the idea blender.

From Slashdot:

"Researchers at Carnegie Mellon demonstrate 'popping out' touch screen buttons to become physical buttons using pneumatics. The idea is to combine the dynamic reconfigurability of touch screen buttons with the tactile feedback of real buttons. The technology could be applied where tactile feedback is currently lacking, such as in car navigation systems, ATMs, or cell phones."

Re: Idea for a better keyboard for the next Maemo device
 

That's some seriously small and mechanical pneumatics.
Using pizeo-like elements though could make this happen, but then again we are talking about Nokia's Hapktios technology and we know where that conversation will go.