You could say that for any piece of old and irrelevant technology. I’m sure people thought rotary dial telephones were amazing too before something better came along.
Phones with on-screen keyboards existed at the same time. People stopped buying Blackberries because they stopped being available, not because phones with on-screen keyboard were better or more technologically advanced.
My original point is that I don’t think a phone with a physical keyboard appeals to only a niche group, based on its wild popularity when it was last available for purchase.
Wild popularity? BlackBerry had the entire physical keyboard mobile market to itself and still failed catastrophically. Its only successful period was prior to the existence of the iPhone. As soon as that was on the market, with its touchscreen keyboard, BlackBerry sank like a brick. What does that say about the popularity of the physical keyboard? Its last release was nearly 8 years ago at this point - it’s a dead, irrelevant brand and its major selling point, the physical keyboard, is an extreme niche in today’s market.
I mentioned the brand as an example of the feature’s popularity. People stopped buying them because they stopped being made, not the other way around. Like other physical controls on cellphones disappearing, I suspect it’s a reflection of the cost to produce rather than any technical benefit or a statement of what people want. That’s why so many people still use their decades-old phones today.
I mean, when Blackberry existed, it seemed like everyone had one, and the physical keyboard was what people loved about it.
You could say that for any piece of old and irrelevant technology. I’m sure people thought rotary dial telephones were amazing too before something better came along.
Phones with on-screen keyboards existed at the same time. People stopped buying Blackberries because they stopped being available, not because phones with on-screen keyboard were better or more technologically advanced.
Yes, and landline handsets with buttons existed at the same time as rotary dials…what’s your point?
My original point is that I don’t think a phone with a physical keyboard appeals to only a niche group, based on its wild popularity when it was last available for purchase.
Wild popularity? BlackBerry had the entire physical keyboard mobile market to itself and still failed catastrophically. Its only successful period was prior to the existence of the iPhone. As soon as that was on the market, with its touchscreen keyboard, BlackBerry sank like a brick. What does that say about the popularity of the physical keyboard? Its last release was nearly 8 years ago at this point - it’s a dead, irrelevant brand and its major selling point, the physical keyboard, is an extreme niche in today’s market.
I mentioned the brand as an example of the feature’s popularity. People stopped buying them because they stopped being made, not the other way around. Like other physical controls on cellphones disappearing, I suspect it’s a reflection of the cost to produce rather than any technical benefit or a statement of what people want. That’s why so many people still use their decades-old phones today.