How Apple Is Making Us (At Least Me) Rethink Portable Computing Keyboards

I had an epiphany recently that altered my heretofore almost entirely negative opinion of on-screen virtual keyboards. It was not an original thought, but catalyzed by a CultofMac blog Mike Elgan posted entitled “How Apple Has Launched A New Wave Of Overdue Keyboard Evolution.”

Like me, Elgan was among the legions of tech commentators expressing skepticism about Apple’s decision to go with a virtual keyboard on the iPhone, but says he now thinks Apple deliberately used the iPhone’s popularity to force the world to learn to appreciate on-screen keyboards, so that by the time the iPad was introduced, the software keyboard concept had already been accepted by a critical mass of users, although despite this widespread acceptance, opinions remained divided as to whether on-screen keyboards are good or bad, and Elgan acknowledges that most users still prefer a physical keyboard, given the choice. I certainly do.

Personally, I think one key operative issues here is that iPad and iPhone are intended for and ideally suited for different sorts of use than are full-featured personal computers, and that for the sort of stuff most users will mostly do with their iPhones and iPads, on-screen keyboards are a tolerable compromise between functionality, lack of mechanical complexity, ruggedness, and portability. Had they incorporated physical keyboards, the simplicity of their user interface, which is one of their marquee features and basic elements of their character and charm, would have been altered by the added complexity and greater bulk of a slide-out or add-on keyboard.

However, for long form composition, you really do still need a physical keyboard, and while we’re at it, external pointing device support would be welcome as well, but that’s not the main point I’m getting at here today.

Mike Elgan observes that aside from some evolution in things like form factor and key-travel, keyboards haven’t evolved a whole lot over in the past quarter-century compared with other aspects of personal computing. Virtually very other part of the PC has improved by several orders of magnitude, but your average keyboard shipping with both desktop and laptop systems has typically declined in quality. Consequently Elgan contends that with systems using on-screen, software-based keyboards, evolution has been rebooted ands enhanced by a whole new spectrum of software-driven functionality, flexibility, and versatility opening up, and that the real power of on-screen keyboards is yet to be realized, noting that this transformation would not have begun when it did without Apple’s visionary strategy of forcing the world to accept on-screen keyboards with the iPhone in 2007.

I hadn’t thought about it that way.

Possibly the most important quality of on-screen, software driven keyboards will turn out to be the facility to adapt and customize them to address specific needs and applications — the mostly as yet in-the-future potential for integrating the keyboard function with point, scroll, and click functions using screen gestures, haptics (which could for example provide the typing feedback that’s currently missing from on-screen keyboards), and perhaps even in-air gestures and voice input. As a longtime user of dictation software, I find that latter concept particularly intrigueing. Mike Elgan predicts that probably sooner than most of us imagine, the typing experience afforded by software keyboards’ expanding feature set will begin to make conventional keyboards seem and feel mighty limited. It’s hard to disagree.

So does that mean I’ve been converted to a touchscreen keyboard enthusiast. Not yet by a long shot. I still much prefer a good mechanical keyboard whenever practical, and I’m exceedinlgy picky about keyboard dynamics, preferring a light touch, smooth short key travel, a soft landing, and quiet action. Relatively few keyboards satisfy that combination of criteria — notable examples being the Kensington Slimtype and clones of the same design like the iRocks Illuminated Keyboard as well as many laptop keyboards like the ones in my old Pismo PowerBooks that remain my benchmarks for input excellence

However, I’m planning to buy an iPad as soon as the supply backlog clears (and preferably some iPad 2 models hit Apple’s Certified Refurbished channel), so I’ll be getting up close and personal with an on-screen keyboard in real world use. I’m pretty certain that I will want some sort of auxiliary mechanical keyboard for my iPad, but I’m willing to keep an open mind.

Meanwhile, I’m already convinced of, and comfortable with, the advantages of bringing point/scroll/click functions into closer integration with keyboarding dynamics thanks to a wonderful device from Contour Design called a RollerMouse Free2. It’s mechanical — not digital — but it allows you to perform all mousing functions without your hands moving far from the keyboard, and mostly without leaving it at all, providing a taste of what should be possible with on-screen keyboards.

Something I can envision in future is an Apple laptop computer with a touchscreen occupying its horizontal plane instead of the current electro-mechanical keypad and trackpad, integrating keyboard and pointing/clicking/scrolling functions on a single, integrated, gesture-supporting surface. I have a vague recollection of hearing about an Apple prototype clamshell form factor device with two TFT screens instead of the customary screen and keyboard/trackpad configuration being spotted. I paid only passing attention to the rumor at the time, but it occurs that Apple may already have a mechanical keyboard-less machine under development.

We know that Sony plans have something like this available for sale come fall with its new Android 3.0-based S2 tablet that will have two 5.5-inch displays that can be folded clamshell-wise for easy portability. In contrast to existing tablets, its dual screen presentation allows its displays to be combined and used as a large screen or segregated to perform distinct functions such as playing video on one screen while showing control buttons on the other or checking email on one screen and using the other as a soft keyboard. Apple has some catching up to do.

Meanwhile, I’ve been convinced to start considering keyboard innovation with a more open mind, and if keyboard evolution proceeds the way Mike Elgan thinks it will, there’ll be plenty to like about it, even if it means I’ll have to come to terms with on-screen keyboarding.