RIM Patents Rotating Keyboard Keys – Possibly for Previous Rotating Keyboard Patent?

 

I am not sure what to make of this RIM patent Lucas @N4BB spotted for rotating keyboards. This comes after RIM’s patent in August of last year for a rotating keyboard. At first it would make sense for software keyboards but the whole patent seems to be focused on physical buttons that suddenly rotate perpendicularly based on you running a different application. It could be RIM had to say it is a hardware function to get a patent since software patents are harder to win but who knows. Or maybe there is some project management exec at RIM mandating that everything rotate… Here is the abstract RIM provided:

A customizable keyboard for a handheld electronic device is provided. The keys of the keyboard are rotatable, either individually or in groups, either under manual control of a user of the device or by means of one or more micro-motors or solenoids controlled by a microprocessor running software on the device. The keyboard may be integrated in the device or may be detachable therefrom.

A customizable keyboard for a handheld electronic device is provided. The keys of the keyboard are rotatable, either individually or in groups, either under manual control of a user of the device or by means of one or more micro-motors or solenoids controlled by a microprocessor running software on the device. The keyboard may be integrated in the device or may be detachable therefrom.

If you are in for some head games check out the full patent verbiage at the USPTO

More on BerryReview

BlackBerry virtual keyboard - best in the business

The virtual keyboard on the BlackBerry Torch 9800 is the best virtual keyboard in the smartphone market. There I said it; though I also said in on our last CrackBerry Podcast, too. I'm a firm believer in the fact that I can use the virtual keyboard better and faster than the physical one on my Torch. Yet whenever I mention that fact to others, I get such a look of incredulity that I feel I need to back away very, very slowly. Even polls here on CrackBerry.com show that I'm in the minority.

Now when I first got my BlackBerry Torch, I admit that it was not an easy thing to learn to type on the screen. My fingers were constantly typing the letter slightly to the left (or the right) of the one I wanted. I was constantly pressing the backspace key in an effort to correct my typing on that horrible keyboard.

Then I started doing an odd thing; I began to trust the keyboard. Instead of backspacing and fixing every mistake as it happened, I just kept typing. Over time, either the keyboard began to understand me or I became to understand it. Nowadays, I sometimes think the keyboard knows what I'm trying to type better than I do.

Perhaps some of this animosity and ill-will towards the virtual keyboard comes from using those on other platforms, like iOS and Android. In this author's humble opinion, the BlackBerry keyboard is nothing like them. Added to whatever magic makes the keyboard understand what my fat fingers type is the standard CrackBerry keyboard goodness. Autocorrect and word substitution are not limited to just the physical keyboard, after all.

There are no websites devoted to mocking the poor word substitutions of the BlackBerry keyboard. And that's for a reason. BlackBerry smartphones are designed to be first and foremost tools of communication. At the heart of that communication is the BlackBerry keyboard. Your name doesn't become synonymous with communication and your devices won't be used by millions in government, business, and law enforcement if you have a crappy keyboard. And be it physical or virtual, that keyboard is still the best in the business.

BlackBerry Torch 9810 & 9860 Virtual Keyboard Caught on Video

We have see quite a bit of these unreleased devices in the past few months. Still it is nice to see somebody has dedicated some time to the changes RIM has made the the virtual on screen keyboard in BlackBerry 7. From what I am seeing in these videos by Dungmr1 we are in for a nice update. I am still hoping that RIM simply buys a company like Swype to revamp the keyboard and offer third party options but that is still a dream. Check it out and let us know what you think! Kudos to the CrackBerry team for spotting these.

Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

More on BerryReview

Screenshots of PlayBook Android Player Web Browser, Keyboard, & More!

With the leaked Android Player for the BlackBerry PlayBook came a few goodies in the form of the basic preloaded Android apps including the email app we mentioned previously. These are the apps that come with a plain vanilla Android device that does not include Google preloaded apps. One of these apps is the Android browser that actually works quite well on the PlayBook. This will be the third browser for the PlayBook including the default PlayBook and Bridge browsers. It works quite well and actually reports an interesting user agent as you can see below. Also of interest is the Android keyboard that is used instead of the larger more “fat finger friendly” PlayBook keyboard. Let us know what else you want to see!

More on BerryReview