RIM seeks patent for angled BlackBerry keyboard

Just when you've gotten to the point where you can type on your BlackBerry upside down in the dark, they're thinking about changing the keyboard.

Would you want to type on an angled Blackberry keyboard?

(Credit: PTO [via ZDnet])

A patent application filed on behalf of Research in Motion was recently revealed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and it describes an "angular keyboard" where the keys are set at a 45-degree angle to the base of the unit.

Anybody who has spent hours dashing off e-mails on a BlackBerry would have to learn a whole method of text input, but the payoff might be felt in the lack of hand and wrist pain. It looks to me like the keyboard would be using a predictive text-style entry system, where one key represents two or more letters in the alphabet.

But, of course, patent applications aren't necessarily product blueprints. And RIM's not exactly having trouble selling the BlackBerry as it stands; last week the company said it was starting to gain traction with consumers, not just the executive types famous for their attachment to the CrackBerry.

[sismoc]

Incremental Change, Should NOT Be Patentable!

Again, a company making an incremental change is asking for patent "protection". This will allow them to sue everyone and anyone for patent infringement.<br /><br />The keyboard was invented years ago. NOTHING about their "slanted" keys is novel and non-obvious. It is just prior art at an angle.<br /><br />This sounds like the mob to me. They also have a portion of their business based on "protection".

[maverick_nick]

I couldn't agree more.

I understand that intellectual property should be protected and perhaps even a ground breaking invention. However things this minor is absolutely ridiculous.<br /><br />Then again, if you look at it from another angle, you could see it as a good thing. If a company patents a design, then other companies are sort of forced to create a different design. I guess it does drive innovation to a point. However, I think that obvious things like this shouldn't be patented. Imagine if the QWERTY layout was patented!

[Penguinisto]

Yes and No.

While it seems silly at first...<br /><br />* it's not a software patent, but a design patent. On hardware.<br /><br />* design patents have been filed by automakers for nearly a century now, IIRC... and over things most of us would consider as stupid (e.g. the Jeep's seven-slot grille, which is incidentally a no-kidding design patent).<br /><br />Now the part I agree with you on is the obviousness - it doesn't exactly take a leap of knowledge to design a keyboard that has a given angle. IIRC, Crackberries already have a certain angle to their keys anyway.<br /><br />/P

[hedred]

predictive?

I count over 30 buttons on the image, so why do you think it uses a predictive feature?<br /><br />Seems like they took a Qwerty kb and angled it. Not exactly the most innovative thing i have seen, but whatever.

[maverick_nick]

RE: Predictive?

Yes you can have predictive text, even with a QWERTY keyboard. My Motorola Q9 for example has a QWERTY keyboard with predictive text input. If you're a programmer -- it's like intellisense. It basically predicts the current word that you're editing and even the next word based on heuristics. It's a damn nice feature and Motorola does it the best.

[hutchike]

Amazon's Kindle has this already?

Take a look at Amazon's Kindle. It has angled keys already. Surely this is not beyond what "one skilled in the art" could develop, and hence isn't sufficiently inventive to be granted a patent?

[Ushiikun]

"One skilled in the art"

I think that sums it up nicely. I wonder if a lot of the "obvious" patents that have been granted are because their aren't enough people in the patent office that understand anything about computers. You know, the guys that have been working there for 30-40 years, and when computer patents originally rolled in there was no "prior art" so they continue with the habit of just approving everything computer related.

[GarCorp]

lest we forget

Or, some may have never known (no real loss). There have been <br />several qwerty keyboards for computers over the years that <br />"swivel", i.e. it splits down the middle and the user can rotate it <br />as much as they like.<br /><br />One, and not the only one, that comes to mind was a Mac <br />keyboard years ago (the Scully era I think) - I used it for about a <br />month and didn't like it at all. It was discontinued quickly.<br /><br />On RIM's idea, it's probably to allow the user to get to keys <br />easier lessening the chance of index fingers clashing into each <br />other - and maybe allows for slightly bigger keys in the same <br />footprint. But regardless, highly doubtful that's patentable.

[RompStar_420]

BlackBerry

BlackBerry is the first phone that I can remember that works for me, is light weight, small and does almost everything for me and I don't care if it runs Excel or Word.<br /><br />I fell in love with it really quick, and even picked it over the iPhone (I was even scratching my head on that one), I love how the keys feel and it was very natural for me from the first time I picked it up.<br /><br />If you change the keys to that, I am no longer going to buy it, if I was cross-eyed, maybe. The keys are just fine!!! improve on something else, leave the damn key alone.