Various sources today are reporting that Apple is currently circulating near finished prototypes of QWERTY keyboard equipped iPhones (as in actual functioning units, not just mock-ups) among high ranking mobile carrier executives in order to gauge demand for such an addition.
The design is said to be a slider with the keyboard hidden underneath the screen. This would presumably mean that all of Apple’s patented touchscreen goodness would remain intact on such a handset, with the QWERTY merely there as an alternative to using the iPhone’s oft-criticized touchscreen keyboard.
Though it does seem unlikely, given Steve Jobs’ very open and frank comments about why he dislikes physical keys, there is no getting away from the fact that companies like Nokia, Sony Ericsson and RIM have made some serious bucks peddling handsets with physical keys and QWERTY keyboards. Indeed, the corporate crowd, which has a habit for buying handsets en mass, is particularly fond of physical keys, so it is hardly surprising that Apple is weighing its options in this area.
As far as we see it, it would seem that an iPhone with physical keys would dilute Apple’s strong mobile ethos somewhat with its focus on clean and precise input. But then, there are no guarantees that just because a device has got to the prototyping stage that it will actually make it to market, especially where Apple is concerned. Looks like, this one is a ‘wait and see’.
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