Mobile World: No more keyboard calamities

Today’s smartphones are handy little additions to your communications arsenal. They offer most features a standard PC would offer and in addition to this can be carried around in your pocket. However, not is all rosy when it comes to these devices ‚ especially when it comes to keyboards. The buttons are often too small to push and the touch screen variants, which work on heat and pressure, leave you pushing more keys than you want to. However, a new keyboard called the NewCon has been announced and is said to make typing on your smartphone a lot less cumbersome.

In 1995 Hans Constin filed a patent for the Smartphone design of the well known Communicators. He still holds the worldwide patents today. Now in the era of touch smartphones à la iPhone, he is raising the bar.

His latest patent application “NewCon”” (New Convertible) describes the Smartphone design which is like the iPhone with a large touch screen. By flipping open and turning the compact Smartphone you instantly have, as it were, a mini laptop with a full PC keyboard. A special feature includes all keys which can be found on larger keyboards. No keys are missing, and all are to be found in the same places that one is familiar with on larger keyboards.

“”Devices of this type are fully fledged mini PCs and are just as easy to use,”” says Hans Constin. “”Users of smartphones who need to enter text, often complain about the functionality and ergonomics of input options. Devices that are manufactured according to the new NewCon patent offer the largest keyboard, the thinnest profile and a touch display similar to the iPhone””.

Devices with this type of design enable users to always have a PC’s keyboard on hand and eliminate the need to fiddle around with a touch keyboard. “”Similar devices such as the HTC Touch Pro 2 do have a keyboard, but the sliding mechanism which moves the screen, only permits half of the possible keyboard surface to be used,‚ says Constin. Many users who are frustrated with touch keyboards would be delighted to use their Smartphones as PCs. Whether the mobile phone industry responds to these new ideas remains to be seen.

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