Looks like there’ll be a Blackberry with a touchscreen interface soon. Maybe they’re just trying to cash in on the popularity of the iPhone, with its touchscreen interface (meaning that you type on a touch-screen rather than on a real keyboard), but I think there’s something more somatically fundamental in the appeal of touchscreen typing. The tiny Blackberry keyboards, which are like toys as I see it, still keep you one-level-removed from what you’re typing – there is this clunky bunch of electro-mechanical keys between you and your words. The touchscreen, on the other hand (“hand”, LOL!) means “your hand is a component of the keyboard.” You aren’t just poking at little mechanical devices, your fleshy round finger becomes a part of the “keyboard” on the touchscreen. And the way Apple has implemented the keyboard, if you touch and then roll the tip of your finger around, you can actually roll from one key to another until you get the one you intended to press, then lift your finger and your choice is made. Think about that, your hand IS the keyboard on a touchscreen!
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