The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has released RIM’s (Research in Motion, makers of BlackBerry) latest patent which details their idea for a new keyboard. It features it’s keys at a 45° angle with a split directly down the middle. I know personally when typing up e-mails and SMS texts on the current keyboard design gives the user particularly sore thumbs and wrists.

The new design is ergonomic and fits the hand quite well. You won’t have to reach across the device or twist your thumbs/wrists to get to the next letter. It doesn’t appear that the key assignments will be much different, although there possibly will be 2 letters per key on most such as the BlackBerry Pearl. Which brings up another point, other then that small triangle in the middle, there doesn’t seem to be much room for the beloved trackball that we ‘CrackBerry’ owners have come to love.

[…] Original post by Alex […]