What sort of keyboard should P2 have?

What sort of keyboard should P2 have?

  • Same as P1, i.e. Chiclet with rounded keys

    Votes: 24 27.0%
  • Chiclet, flat keys with spaces between keys

    Votes: 31 34.8%
  • Traditional laptop, small space between keys

    Votes: 18 20.2%
  • Desktop style

    Votes: 5 5.6%
  • Touchscreen (on second screen as per DS)

    Votes: 3 3.4%
  • Other (please post what)

    Votes: 7 7.9%
  • None, game controls only would be fine

    Votes: 1 1.1%

  • Total voters
    89

Would something like this achieveable?  I know this thread is about keyboard but I came up with yet another stupid idea/concept.  The two screens slide together and then fold down to form the clamshell.  The keyboard is partially from Sony.  The two nubs are from 3DS.  The Dpad and gaming buttons are from Pandora.  The top screen is like S4.  The bottom screen, I don't know but the thickness is like the S4.  The S4 is pretty slim so even if you stack two of them up they are still pretty thin.  The two-stack-up screens on top of the base is still thin and probably similar to the side of the current Pandora  :D

dWncomd.png


f0v1c1I.png


Edit 1:  And if P2 is modular then the top 2 screens can function like the PSPgo and could be detached from the base.  This can be use for Android gaming where virtual controls works better. The virtual controls can be on the small screen without overlaping with the game.  Also when detached, it can be used like a phone (just slide the top screen down) if phone capability is to be considered.  For applications that need only one screen, the top can be used as the main screen and can be slided down like the Xperia Play and used normaly like P1 now.  For simplicity, I didn't show the shoulder butttons and the hinge.

Edit 2:  Now if both screens have separate SoCs, say like 2 S4´s SoCs, we may even be able to emulate PS3 :huh: :D Yes? No?
 
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I appreciate your dreaming efforts, Shenmue, but please don't derail unrelated threads with them. What you're proposing seems highly unlikely.

As for the original topic:

I like the P1's keyboard. Yes, the keys take some effort to press, but that's also a feature: it helps to avoid accidental key presses.

I don't think we need a lot of extra keys. Besides a dedicated TAB and DEL key, the P1 keyboard already has all I need. More keys means bigger overall size or smaller individual keys, neither of which sound like a good idea to me.
 
...

Would something like this achieveable?  I know this thread is about keyboard but I came up with yet another stupid idea/concept.

...
As per _wb_ : So why not make a new thread? No offence taken here, but let's try and keep this one about what type of keyboard we should be aiming for with P2. :)
 
@_wb_

I know I'm a little off and may be drailing the topic...but then maybe I'm not since I'm providing a keyboard idea in those pictures as well.  This is a thread asking for ideas about P2 keyboard, but you sound like the P2 keyboard is final and set in stone because YOU like it.  So delete this thread then as it is useless now and disregard everyone else's idea and just LIKE the P1 key board because YOU LIKE the P1 keyoard and don't need extra keys, etc.

You know, I'm disappointed at YOU because you just want shut people up and go with the way you like.  Then just go and build your P2 the way YOU like and don't care about other's suggestions.  I thought OpenPandora is open but now I realize Openpandora IS NOT OPEN after all.

I'm outa here!
 
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@_wb_

I know I'm a little off and may be drailing the topic...but then maybe I'm not since I'm providing a keyboard idea in those pictures as well.  This is a thread asking for ideas about P2 keyboard, but you sound like the P2 keyboard is final and set in stone because YOU like it.  So delete this thread then as it is useless now and disregard everyone else's idea and just LIKE the P1 key board because YOU LIKE the P1 keyoard and don't need extra keys, etc.

You know, I'm disappointed at YOU because you just want shut people up and go with the way you like.  Then just go and build your P2 the way YOU like and don't care about other's suggestions.  I thought OpenPandora is open but now I realize Openpandora IS NOT OPEN after all.

I'm outa here!
@ Shenmue, that looks like a chiclet keyboard with rounded keys & 1 row of function keys + 5 other rows of keys. What _wb_ is saying is entirely relevant to the thread as it is what he would like to see for a P2 keyboard along with reasons why this is so. There is no 'right answer' here, just a chance for people to say what they would like to see. If that is more or less the same as what we've got then that's just as valid as a radical new concept.

We don't really have enough responses yet to show anything with 'statistical significance' but from the answers given so far there seems to be a trend for people to be willing to spend a bit more to get a better quality keyboard. My hope is that if we get plenty of responses here then this sort of data will be of major use when considering design concepts for P2. 
 
I still own a G1 phone (I am not using it anymore) that has a very nice backlit keyboard and has a lot smaller keys than the Pandora. Easier and faster to type on than the Pandora and has more keys than the Pandora in a much smaller space. So I am sure that the keyboard can be improved.

The P1 keyboard is not great, but it works fine. There are some things that could be improved.  The visibility of the alt and shift characters is bad, so you need very good light to see the characters. Of course after a while you start to remember the keys and then that is not such a big issue anymore.

My biggest complaint is probably the position of the shift, ctrl and fn keys. I would also prefer separate lock keys for all of them. 
 
@_wb_

I know I'm a little off and may be drailing the topic...but then maybe I'm not since I'm providing a keyboard idea in those pictures as well.  This is a thread asking for ideas about P2 keyboard, but you sound like the P2 keyboard is final and set in stone because YOU like it.  So delete this thread then as it is useless now and disregard everyone else's idea and just LIKE the P1 key board because YOU LIKE the P1 keyoard and don't need extra keys, etc.

You know, I'm disappointed at YOU because you just want shut people up and go with the way you like.  Then just go and build your P2 the way YOU like and don't care about other's suggestions.  I thought OpenPandora is open but now I realize Openpandora IS NOT OPEN after all.

I'm outa here!
Relax! :)

I didn't even notice the keyboard proposal in your post, sorry about that. You have to admit it was a bit obfuscated by surrounding it with talk and pictures about a radical new dual screen modular S4-based design.

Anyway, the keyboard design you propose is interesting, but I don't think having that many keys (6 rows!) would work without reducing the keys to a size that requires a toothpick to use them. I also prefer a staggered key layout instead of a grid.
 
@_wb_

I know I'm a little off and may be drailing the topic...but then maybe I'm not since I'm providing a keyboard idea in those pictures as well.  This is a thread asking for ideas about P2 keyboard, but you sound like the P2 keyboard is final and set in stone because YOU like it.  So delete this thread then as it is useless now and disregard everyone else's idea and just LIKE the P1 key board because YOU LIKE the P1 keyoard and don't need extra keys, etc.

You know, I'm disappointed at YOU because you just want shut people up and go with the way you like.  Then just go and build your P2 the way YOU like and don't care about other's suggestions.  I thought OpenPandora is open but now I realize Openpandora IS NOT OPEN after all.

I'm outa here!
Relax! :)

I didn't even notice the keyboard proposal in your post, sorry about that. You have to admit it was a bit obfuscated by surrounding it with talk and pictures about a radical new dual screen modular S4-based design.

Anyway, the keyboard design you propose is interesting, but I don't think having that many keys (6 rows!) would work without reducing the keys to a size that requires a toothpick to use them. I also prefer a staggered key layout instead of a grid.
OK.  I'm relax now after not signed for 30 minutes  :D .
 
I actually really like the double layered screens. make a thread so we can talk about it.


as for the keyboard, I still like the idea of user-customizable layouts
 
The P1 keyboard is not great, but it works fine. There are some things that could be improved.
could not agree more.

My biggest complaint is probably the position of the shift, ctrl and fn keys.
did you know that shift and ctrl are also mapped to the shoulder buttons?

@shenmue:

no one caused you any harm, mate.

i like the basic idea of your design, but sure you do understand, that it means a MAJOR overhaul to the current pandora design (on which a p2 will probably be based on) as well as MAJOR development cost explosion.

so _wb_ had it right in the first place: your proposal is highly unlikely.

he didn't mean to offend you.

i once had a sidekick II:

-t-mobile-sidekick.jpg


the keyboard was nice. im not(!) talking about the layout. the buttons were small (yet big enough) and flat and had a very nice pressure point.

maybe the mechanics of the sidekick keyboard could be of interest?
 
@_wb_

I know I'm a little off and may be drailing the topic...but then maybe I'm not since I'm providing a keyboard idea in those pictures as well.  This is a thread asking for ideas about P2 keyboard, but you sound like the P2 keyboard is final and set in stone because YOU like it.  So delete this thread then as it is useless now and disregard everyone else's idea and just LIKE the P1 key board because YOU LIKE the P1 keyoard and don't need extra keys, etc.

You know, I'm disappointed at YOU because you just want shut people up and go with the way you like.  Then just go and build your P2 the way YOU like and don't care about other's suggestions.  I thought OpenPandora is open but now I realize Openpandora IS NOT OPEN after all.

I'm outa here!
Relax! :)

I didn't even notice the keyboard proposal in your post, sorry about that. You have to admit it was a bit obfuscated by surrounding it with talk and pictures about a radical new dual screen modular S4-based design.

Anyway, the keyboard design you propose is interesting, but I don't think having that many keys (6 rows!) would work without reducing the keys to a size that requires a toothpick to use them. I also prefer a staggered key layout instead of a grid.
OK.  I'm relax now after not signed for 30 minutes  :D .
....and for the sake of debating, the color row (top row) can be rid of, so we'll have 5 rows left - only 1 row more than the current pandora's.  If all P2 keys are the size of the number keys (note: number keys are about half the size of letter keys) now on P1, I don't think you have problem fitting 5 rows (or even 6 rows) and gaming controls.
 
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did you know that shift and ctrl are also mapped to the shoulder buttons?
No, I didn't! Not sure if it will help a lot. When I am in 'keyboard mode' I am usually not thumb typing, but certainly good to know. 

That sidekick keyboard looks nice. I really think the keys can be a lot smaller and still work better than the keys on P1. 
 
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