Apple Testing Three iPhone 5 Prototypes, One With Slide-Out Keyboard?

[Andeavor]

My my, what a bad photoshop. They took an iPhone 4 in a back cover case and slapped a mini-keyboard on the back of an iPhone 3G.

Very professional.

 

[drumrobot]

I seriously doubt there will ever be a slider from Apple. They are on a mission for thinness, sure people would buy a slider but I don't think it fits with Apples mission.

...and in addition, Apple is obviously moving towards touchscreens and away from hardware keyboards. When the original iPhone was released, Jobs said that one of the main problems with 'current' smartphones was the physical keyboards. I can't see them going against that so quickly.

 

[gnasher729]

Sounds like Apple is busy trying to flush out a leak.

I think it is a real leak. Apple prepared some really good April fool jokes and they got leaked too early.

 

[macUser2007]

The iPhone really needs to get a 4" or slightly larger screen, to remain competitive with the new Android offerings.

 

[Thunderhawks]

They forgot to mention it only comes in white!

 

[snakelda]

Not buying it if it has the keyboardz.

 

[pubwvj]

Slide out keyboard? Yuk. If I wanted a keyboard I would want a real keyboard for real work. Bluetooth it. The rest of the time the onscreen keyboard is great.

 

[Marzzz]

What's next - a slide out keyboard for the iPad? LOL

That, and a stylus for both....!

 

[dazzer21]

What if...

...the slide out part wasn't actually a physical keyboard, but a second multi-touch screen? That way it can be a virtual keyboard at full size while still having the original screen free - or it could serve as an extension to the first screen, allowing 'super-apps' to be created to make use of the extra screen real-estate! I'm off to the patents office...

 

[ghostlyorb]

I might actually buy an iPhone with a slide out keyboard. Sometimes the keyboard issues really p1ss me off. (when you hit one letter and it types another)

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

My my, what a bad photoshop. They took an iPhone 4 in a back cover case and slapped a mini-keyboard on the back of an iPhone 3G.

Very professional.

That is the Keyboard Buddy case pictured. Its even labeled telling you such.

 

[dethmaShine]

This is Taiwan we're talking about anyway...a fake rumor from a fake country.

Slide-out keyboard? Not a chance. Pure BS is an understatement.

Yup. I agree. A slide out keyboard or any form of physical keyboard is a punishment to iOS. You can have configurable keyboards in different iOS applications which makes a lot of sense.

+

This adds to:

- A Heavy phone - not what apple wants
- A more complex design structure - not what apple wants
- A problem with moving parts - not what apple wants
- A problem with more parts adding to the cost - not what apple wants
- Optimisation with respect to iOS - clearly not possible and not what any developer would desire

Apple is moving towards gestures and other important stuff and leaving the redundant things alongside. I would never believe a rumour like this.

Apple will never have a physical keyboard according to my understanding.

-deth

 

[karsten]

yes, but will it have a ⌘ key?

 

[Sabenth]

too some degree i could see an iphone with a keyboard but not while jobs is still around. I would not mind the touch control of Swype though

 

[bilbo--baggins]

Slide out keyboard, how ridiculous. Surely Apple didn't think people would believe 'decoys' like that?

 

[OllyW]

My my, what a bad photoshop. They took an iPhone 4 in a back cover case and slapped a mini-keyboard on the back of an iPhone 3G.

Very professional.

Why don't you buy one yourself and take a better photo.

 

[MattG]

I can't see that ever happening, not while Steve's there. He's been so vocal about not wanting a keyboard on the iPhone.

 

[dethmaShine]

too some degree i could see an iphone with a keyboard but not while jobs is still around. I would not mind the touch control of Swype though

Do you think everything Apple makes is because of Steve Jobs or is he holding people to execute their ideas?

 

[mj1108]

As long as Steve is alive this will never happen.

Sounds like Apple is trying to figure out who's leaking.

Do you think everything Apple makes is because of Steve Jobs or is he holding people to execute their ideas?

Considering Steve has the final say on everything, if he doesn't want it you can be sure it won't be in it.

 

[lowonthe456]

Methinks between this and the iphone nano rumors resurfacing, the false information brigade may be hard at work at Apple to identify leak sources.

this

 

[cutmoney]

Never Happen

A physical keyboard will NEVER happen. That is about as likely as Apple including a stylus with the next iPhone, or an Intel sticker on the next MacBook...not going to happen!

 

[Gotta Hankerin]

I didn't know Apple wanted to tap the Michael Scott market segment. That's what she said.

 

[Keebler]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148a Safari/6533.18.5)

Could be successful for them. I know quite a few ppl who prefer a physical keyboard. Yes, they are less coordinated . But they would buy one in a heartbeat

 

[Gotta Hankerin]

It's like methadone for crack-berry addicts.

 

[Sabenth]

Do you think everything Apple makes is because of Steve Jobs or is he holding people to execute their ideas?

last time i checked he was still in charge of there major key product which of late is the iphone might be on sick leave but i cant see him allowing slide out keyboards running wild on iphones. Not saying it is just him but he appears to be the most vocal member of apple about things. Then again who knows things could change people said that they would never go from PowerPC to Intel and look how that turned out