That said, when it comes to making a lilliputian computer/microcomputer, there are physical limitations to design if we want to keep typing with our 8 fingers as the keyboard gods intended, so I understand the resurgence of the Blackberry-esque keyboard for pocket devices. I just can't call it a comfortable way to compute.
If we could get an updated phone in that exact form factor with vanilla Android support it would be very popular. Physical keyboard, removable battery, mSD card slot and headphone jack. All the things consumers "don't want" anymore. /s
The F(x)tec Pro¹ and the Unihertz Titan just don't take off enough to warrant big investments. There's a group of Android users who prefer physical keyboards (that I too belong to as well), but it's small.
Even when physical keyboard died, people sold QWERTY keyboard covers and cases for some smartphones (I think the S6 Edge was the last one with an official keyboard?) but even those have died out because of lack of interest.
In theory, all you need to add a sliding keyboard to a modern Android phone is a corner USB-C connector and a sufficiently sized case. Someone skilled with 3D printing and circuit board design may just be able to build one for their phones if they can get their hands on the keyboards themselves...
I haven’t used the pine phone and its keyboard but I’d love it if such an option was available for iPhones and run of the mill android phones.
I purchased one on impulse after this HN post, and some notes so far:
* Keyboard is a hell of a lot smaller than expected. I have small fingers and even this is a bit of a challenge for me. I very much doubt anybody will be coding on this thing. I am thinking mostly to use it as a way of making brief notes and reading RSS feeds.
* The screen is fine, it's something you can live with.
* I installed tulipcc on it (micropython), definitely the right choice to getting started on it quickly.
* I tried to print a case [2] but my printer is not good enough, I think I will send them off to China to be printed on an SLA printer.