HTC is done with keyboards

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I've been laboring away with the amazing XDAndroid devs have put together while waiting for HTC to release a true successor to the TP2 (pro 7 doesn't count, sorry). That will, apparently, never happen.

htc abadons keyboards

Claude Zellweger, this company's creative director, said at a press event "As a company, the QWERTY keyboard we're moving away from in general. We feel that putting too much effort into that would take away from our devices."

Instead, HTC is going to work to improve the haptic feedback that is included with the on-screen keyboards it will use in future handsets.

No one ever made a better landscape slider, and perhaps now, no one ever will.

Say it ain't so!

I was still hoping for a TP2 replacement as well... Ugh. I guess w/o a kb, the phones are a lot cheaper to build, and there's a lot less crap to break.

Still sucks...

Maybe once their billion dollar exclusive is up Nokia will get rid of the trojan Elop MS planted behind their walls, they can support multiple OSs and innovate again. They used to have some really impressive form factors, including two tilting sliders.

Why HTC? Why?

One of the main things keeping me from upgrading is this amazing and very useful keyboard.

Anyway lets hope they change their minds.

even if something like swype or slideit isn't a satisfactory replacement for a hardware keyboard, imo they definitely improve the usability of a software keyboard. by no means am I against a hardware keyboard (i really like my tp2) but eliminating it from a phone does allow for a much more compact device.

Oh no...

I am really a fan of physical keyboard too, and it must be those with a separate row with number-keys, just like our TP2. Without keyboard I will be sure go for a phone with 4.7" screen. But still, it's just not the same good feeling on a keyboard.

but however thanks for posting this "news", at least I know from now I shall not wait from HTC. Maybe Nokia one day??

I actually use a flip phone now, my TP2 is more of a PDA. I'm considering never buying another serious smartphone and just having a dumbish phone and a tablet.

5 lines, offset with comfortable spacing and good feedback was what finally got me to converge. I didn't care about the tilt until I used it, now I don't want to be without that either. If I can't have it, well, maybe I'll deconverge. Better bang for the buck in tablets anyway.