Protoype iPhone 5 Has Slide-Out Keyboard
Apple has supposedly built three iPhone 5 prototypes, one of which sports a slide-out keyboard.
With June just over three months away, the latest iPhone 5 rumor suggests that Apple has built three hardware prototypes, one of which consists of a rather surprising feature: an actual slide-out keyboard.
The news arrives by way of Taiwanese website Apple.pro and a source who claims to have fondled all three prototypes. As previously mentioned, one prototype sports a physical, slide-out keyboard. Little else was revealed about this particular build, but such a model is not entirely out of the question, as apparently there's consumer demand for something other than a touchscreen keyboard. One example is BoxWave Corporation's $69.95 add-on Keyboard Buddy iPhone 4 case which snaps on like any other protective case and connects the built-in keyboard to the iPhone by way of a Bluetooth connection (seen right).
As for the second prototype, this model is said to be similar to the current iPhone 4 but with an improved battery life, a superior 8MP camera and improved hardware throughout. The slight upgrade would be similar to what was seen with the iPhone 3GS replacing the original iPhone 3G back in 2009. Strangely enough, there was no mention of the third prototype. Instead, Taiwanese website Apple.pro backed up previous rumors about the upcoming iPad 2 tablet including the thinner chassis and a built-in camera.
Could Apple add a physical slide-out keyboard to the iPhone 5, or at least offer a separate model sporting this unique feature? As Macrumors points out, the whole keyboard aspect seems incongruous with Apple's devotion to multi-touch functionality with on-screen virtual keyboards. Then again, Apple could be finally complying with consumer demand for something more "physical."
For all we know, the rumored slide-out keyboard could actually offer gaming buttons to better compete with Sony Ericsson's PlayStation-certified Xperia Play smartphone (which features a slide-out game pad). This would be an ideal addition because, let's face it, game pads are much more accurate than on-screen touch-based controls.
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I'd be much moe excited for a slide out gamepad than a keyboard. I like the iDevices as gaming platforms, but touch screen sometimes doesn't cut it.
I doubt either are likely to see the light though. Apple would have to admit they were wrong.
... i doubt it...
hmm slide out keyboard. I wanna call this a step backwards, but using a hardware based keyboard would leave more room on screen.
i wouldn't say it's a step backward, but it def isn't APPLE's style...
... as much as i hate them, their designs are amazing, and they are leading the tablet and phone race. when they reveal something, it's always at the top, the rest of the industry plays catchup for the rest of the year
Slide out 2nd touchscreen maybe (customisable like the Acer Iconia), but not a real one - it's just not Apple.
i wouldn't say it's a step backward, but it def isn't APPLE's style...... as much as i hate them, their designs are amazing, and they are leading the tablet and phone race. when they reveal something, it's always at the top, the rest of the industry plays catchup for the rest of the year
not necessarily true, they just reveal stuff with great PR and they do it before anyone else.
BUT, if Apple want to break into the business market with the iPhone (again) they'll have to go all Crackberry and give people a real keyboard.
please no. I don't want a fatter device with tiny, hard to click buttons.
I bet Apple spreads half the rumors about the iPhone 5 themselves to prevent actually leaked information from being identified as such.
An iPhone with a physical keyboard seems extremely unlikely.
not necessarily true, they just reveal stuff with great PR and they do it before anyone else.
i would only agree with half of that. yes they have great PR that is what they really excell at and what makes them do so well. but as for doing it before anyone else i cant think of anything they have done that is frist to market, sure they have succeded where no one before them have which gives the impression they are first
lets just hope someone leaves it in a bar after getting hammeed like last time!
Yay? Do I care this much about a phone?
not necessarily true, they just reveal stuff with great PR and they do it before anyone else.
Really Cupcake?
I love how people like to rewrite history to make themselves feel better...
Let's see... Years ago when Android was still a great idea at Google, not even in the womb, and Blackberries ruled the world alongside Palms - you know - you've seen them in the museums: Apple introduced the iPhone. The closest comparable phone in the US was the Nokia N95 that could be used in place of a brick, and lasted approximately 12 minutes when you powered it up. Apple had a touch screen interface that was like the Starship Enterprise compared to Palm's "Atari Pong" interface. The Blackberry's "interface" wasn’t even touch screen... About a year later Apple added an app store, Palm had tried and miserably failed to do the same earlier - Guess what? Apple's app store was such a great idea for users and developers that Google made one of their own! If Apple hadn't entered this market, made the benchmark for a smart phone, Google may not have entered, and the phone you and I use would still look like Atari's Pong and last approx. 12 minutes between charges… The only advantage was women could use it in self-defense by throwing it at their attacker…
I love capitalism… May the best one win!
If iPhone 5 will have a bigger 4" screen, why not add the 'superior camera' to that phone' to enjoy the newly improved pictures on its newly enlarged 4' screen?
Who knows, maybe Apple will offer various version of the next iPhone - one with touchscreen only, and another with slide-out keyboard. That doesn't seem to be in Apple tradition, however. They're not about usability first - they're about looks first.
maybe a good choice for certain types of games!!
considering the debacle surrounding the iPhone 4 reveal i think apple throwing around multiple prototypes is mostly just smoke and mirrors, in reality apple products are work in progress, the next version will always be an incremental update to the previous version, once they have a winning formula that rarely ever deviate form it.... that's what apple calls innovation
Really Cupcake?I love how people like to rewrite history to make themselves feel better...Let's see... Years ago when Android was still a great idea at Google, not even in the womb, and Blackberries ruled the world alongside Palms - you know - you've seen them in the museums: Apple introduced the iPhone. The closest comparable phone in the US was the Nokia N95 that could be used in place of a brick, and lasted approximately 12 minutes when you powered it up. Apple had a touch screen interface that was like the Starship Enterprise compared to Palm's "Atari Pong" interface. The Blackberry's "interface" wasn’t even touch screen... About a year later Apple added an app store, Palm had tried and miserably failed to do the same earlier - Guess what? Apple's app store was such a great idea for users and developers that Google made one of their own! If Apple hadn't entered this market, made the benchmark for a smart phone, Google may not have entered, and the phone you and I use would still look like Atari's Pong and last approx. 12 minutes between charges… The only advantage was women could use it in self-defense by throwing it at their attacker…I love capitalism… May the best one win!
Actually that very same year AT&T released the Tilt WM6 phone. That's not catch up, but a first as well. The Tilt had GPS, WiFi, tethering, cut&paste, touch screen, pull out keyboard, tilt screen, a touch pad just to name a few. Well ahead of the iPhone!
The first touchscreen phone was the IBM Simon, launched in 1992. During this decade the popular iPaq (not made by Apple by the way) was launched with touchscreens and optional phone attachments. HTC, the leader in touchscreen phones up until the iPhone and makers of phones like the Nexus One launched their first touchscreen phone, the HTC Wallaby aka XDA in 2002.
But I agree what really put the iPhone on the map was the app store, a fantastic PR gimmick that took off. And that is where the iPhone legacy lies, not in its hardware, but it's apps.
It would be great if it could run Flash and have an microSD slot, until then my next device will need to be something else (Android maybe)
That's good!
I'd rather have a real keyboard than one of those touch screen ones.
i wouldn't say it's a step backward, but it def isn't APPLE's style...... as much as i hate them, their designs are amazing, and they are leading the tablet and phone race. when they reveal something, it's always at the top, the rest of the industry plays catchup for the rest of the year
What do you expect when you get 230 BILLION dollars worth of marketing experts and graphic designers to work on ONE handset? I have to give Steve credit, he has played on the market's lack of elegant hardware by leading with hardware, and then dragging the software along kicking and screaming. You know, there is a reason a lot of people still don't take Apple products seriously (even after trying them.)
Apple creates many physical prototypes to see how practical they are. This helps create some buzz and lessens the chance of the real finished product being exposed before its time. I do highly doubt iPhone will have a slide out KB but I do believe an edge-to-edge screen is in the works!
Slide out keyboard? Unlikely. Steve Jobs abhors hinges ;-)
sliding crap is still crap. but the day ot comes out, ALL the manufacturer will have a model of their own.
I like the virtual keyboards a lot better, they usually have better software that fix errors. And Swype is amazing!!! Let's see a slide out compete with that!!!!!