Comments on: It’s Time For a Netbook With a Butterfly Keyboard

By: eipxen

eipxen — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:30:26 +0000

My thoughts exactly!

By: Jason C.

Jason C. — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:55:27 +0000

Does anyone remember the treo 600 oem keyboard? in terms of foldability, its even better than the butterfly keyboard. this is literally the perfect size for a netbook. it could fit in the footprint of the viliv s5 and has a full keyboard. I have one here and I so wish i could figure out how to get it working for something other than the treo.

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:11:51 +0000

strange that the use of it is so different. I reached 20WPM just after less than a week of trainig, and type now EVERYTHING. But you have to learn and use it, else you won’t be able to type with it, like you can with a QWERTY keyboard.
Maybe there are better alternatives out there. I just don’t know them, and, in my opinion, the FrogPad is a much better input device than a QWERTY keyboard at the moment. I just haven’t found anything better that simple yet (in my opinion it’s simple to use :p)
I’m open to any new invention, it’s just sad to see how those huge QWERTY keyboards are still get used, even in tiny little devices, with no room for such a huge keyboard.

By: Al

Al — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:36:16 +0000

What should be created is a jacket size netbook/umpc that is about 7″ to 7.5″ long by about 4″ to 4.3″ wide that uses that butterfly keyboard. That way the millions of business users whom value mobility could have a laptop in their pocket that when opened up provided a great touch type keyboard experience.

Netbooks already have an adequate keyboard what is missing is a modern handheld using UMPC technology so that it has full Windows and a great keyboard like the butterfly design.

By: Harry

Harry — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:15:49 +0000

Yes, once you make the connection it is obviously a great idea. Too bad it has patent issues. And don’t bet that Lenovo owns the patent. It wasn’t in use at the time the of the sale by IBM, and they could well still own it. If they do, they could well sell licences to it to every netbook maker that asks nicely :-)

Another good improvement would be to have a similar foldable screen. Then we could have a wide screen as well (and a high width resolution) and still have a small package when the netbook is closed. The only technology I know of that could do that is epaper, that is still a few years in the future.

These improvements could well be very useful for netbook manufacturers. The added convenience would justify an increased price, something manufacturesrs have been trying to do ever since the netbook explosion but with very limited success.

By: gorkon

gorkon — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:18:30 +0000

We had alot of these where I work and I agree with James! It’s time to figure this thing out again! The 701 was the best laptop I used back in that time period.

By: AL

AL — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:03:34 +0000

It was geek heaven, typing on the butterfly. But today I am typing on a Samsung N120 netbook with what they call a full-size keyboard, and it works just fine. The case is just slightly wider than the smaller keyboard models, but it weighs just the same and the slight extra width allows for really good speakers on either side of the screen.

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:28:37 +0000

I think the perfect form factor for me for a netbook tablet is as follows (my XT is the workhorse for the foreseeable future, but I have a tc1100 as the secondary more portable one. The form factor I describe would be to replace the tc1100.)

A 9″ slate tablet in the same form factor as the tc1100 would be preferred. If the detachable keyboard was a ‘butterfly’ type like this, that’d be even better, because my Mini 9’s keyboard is atrocious. It’d of course have to have an active digitizer as well. (I realize Wacom doesn’t make 9″ active digitizers but still).

As for specs, I’d want the lower cost 1.6GHz Atom, (aka running on the GMA950), 2GB RAM, and a 16-32GB SSD. Something a little higher resolution than 1024×600 would be preferred as well, and a fingerprint reader for logging into Windows (I know it’s possible to use the onscreen keyboard, but that’s a pain). I know I’d definitely pay $500-600 or so for that.

By: Kal

Kal — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:21:14 +0000

Great minds, James. I was just talking about these wonderful keyboards with someone a few days ago. The only thing I’ve ever seen come close is the Stowaway fold-up.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:18:09 +0000

I’ve had a frogpad for about 3-4 years already and I still haven’t achieved anywhere near 70wpm. Honestly I’ve only gotten around 20wpm LOL. It’s not ergonomic at all IMO. Whenever I try to hit backspace or some other 2 key combination, it spits out a letter rather than the syntax I want.

I think its a good concept, but I think it needs work.