I used to like handphone with candy-bar format since long time ago. Candy bar phone is simple, sleek, durable, quick, easy to use, and best of all, can be operated without hassle: you need to do something, you can immediately do it because the phone's screen and keyboard is right there open, to be operated.
But with the emergence of touch technology, and the need to see web pages on smartphones without the hassle of scrolling, I start to think that my favouritism for candy-bar smartphones might need to transform to other form factor that is more suitable for modern needs. 'Slidephone' come to my attention.
Compared to 'candy-bar' phone, slidephone has several advantages:
- It provides bigger screen-viewing area, which makes it more comfortable to browse internet pages, without having to zoom-in zoom-out nor scroll right and left, repeatedly.
- Such form factor also makes it easier to navigate the phone's menu system with touch interface, without being disturbed by physical keyboard whatsoever.
- Yet at the same time, when extensive typing is required, slidephone can provide physical keyboard that is comfortable to type in, with typing comfort, reliability and accuracy that is much better than what soft-keyboard today can provide.
In that retrospect, I think I will start looking into 'slidephone' model into the future. Not only such seems to provide better capability to optimize the attractiveness of touch interface with the strength, proven-ness and durability of physical-keyboard, at the same time it also allow us to operate the system in the best form factor and in ways that is most suitable to the type of work or activities that needs to be conducted. Hence:
- Touch interface can be used in browsing mode.
- Physical keyboard interface can be used in extensive typing mode.
Looking into the future, as screen technology getting thinner, battery getting thinner, components and keyboard getting thinner, we might eventually have 'slidephone' that is as thin as an iPod today. When that happen, we would then have the best of all systems in our hand. Our phone would then become super thin to carry around, comfortable to use as a touch ready browsing device, at the same time also can provide the best tactile keyboard interface ever.
This might be the best and most optimum interface and form factor into the future. We shall see how things evolve. Probably as soft keyboard technology getting mature, we will the physical keyboard eventually disappear. But as of now, an attachment of a super accurate (and super reliable) physical tactile keyboard in addition to the powerful touch interface, is probably the best (and most optimum) form factor, for now.
In all, 'slidephone' probably provide the best interface, for now.
I plan to get one when I discover one that 'perfectly' fits my working chore. (Honesty, the G1 -- or the Nokia N97 -- is really now the 'one' that stays in my mind) :-P
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