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BlackBerry-Like 'Clicks' Keyboard Shipping for More iPhone Models Soon
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At last! Now all my “iPhone will never be a success without a physical keyboard” friends might finally shut up and upgrade their Blackberries and Nokia 9500s.
Oh, I miss those days! Have we lost a bit of that comedy these days?
Steve Jobs will wake up to kick their asses.
The company behind the new "Clicks" physical keyboard accessory for the iPhone says it will soon start shipping for a few more models.
In an email shared by Parker Ortolani on Threads this week, the company said the iPhone 15 Pro version of the keyboard will begin shipping to customers worldwide by April 15. And on the Clicks website, the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max versions of the keyboard are estimated to ship by April 30 and in May, respectively.
Clicks started shipping the iPhone 14 Pro version of the keyboard in February, and this is the only model that has arrived to customers so far. The keyboard was first announced in early January, ahead of the annual CES tech conference.
Inspired by the once-popular BlackBerry smartphone, Clicks is both a physical keyboard and a case for the iPhone. The keyboard connects to the iPhone's USB-C or Lightning port, and it features dedicated keys for emoji and dictation, backlit keys, and a pass-through charging port. Wireless charging is still supported through the case.
One advantage of using a physical keyboard with an iPhone is a full-screen experience, as the on-screen keyboard does not appear. There are also keyboard shortcuts, such as CMD-H to return to the Home Screen and CMD-Space to open Spotlight.
The obvious downsides of the keyboard are the added size and weight, but there is a niche market of physical keyboard fans who are willing to put up with these compromises to have an old-school BlackBerry-like typing experience.
Clicks was co-founded by well-known tech personalities "MrMobile" and "CrackBerry Kevin." The keyboard starts at $139 in the U.S., and it is offered in London Sky and BumbleBee color options. It has silicone on the front, and vegan leather on the back. The keyboard is currently sold out, with the company accepting reservations for future availability.
Article Link: BlackBerry-Like 'Clicks' Keyboard Shipping for More iPhone Models Soon
Seeing a MR story promoting a pre-order status iPhone keyboard is causing me some nasty flashbacks. I think MR should put trigger warnings on articles about "Clicks".
;-)
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;-)
Any news on the Textblade?
I asked for my money back after 18 months of waiting. That was about 5 years ago. I can't find any info that is recent and I'm wondering if the whole thing was just some sort of in joke, in the time they've been tweaking the keyboard, Musk has built a rocket and flown it to the space station. A...
forums.macrumors.com
WayTools' TextBlade Keyboard to Start Shipping to Test Group Users Next Week
In January of 2015, WayTools announced the TextBlade, a compact, collapsible keyboard that sparked a lot of interest with its unique multilayered layout that replaces a full keyboard with eight large smart keys. Refinements, production issues, and other hiccups have long delayed the release...
forums.macrumors.com
Someday your phone won’t even come with a OLED virtual keyboard, that will be so 2020 
It's a bad design choice, but still not as bad as the notch and Dynamic Notchland.
Things just don't change that much anymore.
Think about it, when the iPhone 5 came out in 2012, all iPhones had been exactly the same size for five years. That little bump in vertical size was actually a BIG DEAL, and people went ******* about it.
So it was made fun of, to hilarious results.
Why can't somebody design a flip-over keyboard case that has 3 positions?
- Open flat with the keyboard under a flap that covers the screen.
- Flipped down and folded just below the keyboard with the folded flap magnetically attached to the back.
- Open flat and flipped to cover the back for normal usage.
Probably didn't describe it well, but there has to be a way to integrate a keyboard into a cover without adding length, and keeping the added thickness minimal.
- Open flat with the keyboard under a flap that covers the screen.
- Flipped down and folded just below the keyboard with the folded flap magnetically attached to the back.
- Open flat and flipped to cover the back for normal usage.
Probably didn't describe it well, but there has to be a way to integrate a keyboard into a cover without adding length, and keeping the added thickness minimal.
Genuine question: are tiny keys really any better than a touch screen? I know they have tactile feedback but they’re so small I feel like I’d press like three of them at once.
I remember buying a small keyboard for my iPad and I had to return it because it was so small I was inaccurate and my hands were cramping up
I must be missing something because this thing has enough demand to exist
I remember buying a small keyboard for my iPad and I had to return it because it was so small I was inaccurate and my hands were cramping up
I must be missing something because this thing has enough demand to exist
This is the kind of spontaneous publicity click.tech needs. Their name and product in print. That really makes somebody. Things are going to start happening for them now.
Apparently there’s a weight in the keyboard so it balances well in your hand. Would have been nice to have a battery instead of a dead weight there though.
Personally I got my pro max to maximize the screen real estate and this effectively gives back the third of the keyboard that you loose while you’re typing. I would probably give this a second look if/when it becomes available for my model.
I don’t know why everyone is dunking on this product. I’m glad third parties make accessories that YOU may not use, but others may. I wouldn’t have this case on ALL the time, but for around the house, or even the workspace, it seems fine. Especially if you‘re wearing non capacitive gloves of some sort. And handy.
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Wasn’t Palm the first, at least in the mass market, to realize the benefits of adding mobile telephony to their PDA… giving birth to the smart phone?
I never lived with a WhackBerry. But I have absolutely dealt with them, and I celebrated the day they stopped making those horrible things and I never had to touch one ever again.
I hated the keyboard, and I really, really, really hated the stupid trackball. It's not like touchscreens didn't exist, the Palm had them before the stupid WhackBerry was even invented.
I hate typing on phones. But at least I can do it on a touchscreen keyboard. I can't on a WhackBerry. And because of the key shape, I couldn't even use a stylus on the stupid things.
While obviously this works best for the smaller iphones, it also gives you more display without covering it with the virtual keyboard. This helps with folks that require larger fonts for readability. Also, my wife would love this and keeps her phone in her purse, so I suspect keeping the phone in your pocket is not a problem for everyone.
This makes my finger tips almost hurt just looking at those tiny ass buttons. Am I too young for this? I always hated typing on my Nokia and the touch screen was a gods gift. I can actually type without looking at the virtual keyboard too. Also isn’t it super awkward to hold / type on? Like doesnt the weight of the phone on top of the keyboard drag it down
With that tattooed sleeve this photo is giving off that "Credit Card Skimmer" vibe.
Hardware like this is just screaming key logger.
just the thought of it makes my hands cramp up all over again. It was always such a pain in the ass for me to type on these tiny keys with the hard surface ( yes my thumb even hurts from pressing A and B on my Switch, I am this fragile)