There aren’t many Android phones with physical keyboards anymore. But there are still some die-hard keyboard fans who prefer physical buttons to on-screen keys.

So what options do you have? You can pick up a BlackBerry Priv. Or you can wait a little while and buy a Moto Mod that lets you add a slide-out keyboard to a Moto Z.

The developers of a “Physical Keyboard Slider Mod” plan to launch an Indiegogo campaign for their keyboard soon.

Like all Moto Mods, the keyboard is designed to connect to the back of Moto Z smartphones via strong magnets and Motorola’s proprietary docking mechanism.

In addition to the keyboard, the module will include an extended battery to add some extra run time to the smartphone.

In a reddit thread pre-announcing the project, the developer says the plan is to ship the finished product to backers of the campaign in June. There’s also some interesting discussion in that thread about potential ways to redesign the module so that it doesn’t block the camera when the keyboard is slid behind the phone.

via Motorola Fans

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16 replies on “Moto Mod brings a slider keyboard to Moto Z smartphones (crowdfunding)”

  1. If it’s done right, I’ll get one. The hope of a tilting landscape qwerty is why I got a Z in the first place. I hope they follow through and pair it with good predictive text too.

    But it is tough to get the hardware right. Most landscape qwertys made by major phone makers back in the day were awful to middling. Nokia was pretty good. Motorola’s droid 4 wasn’t bad, though I wouldn’t have wanted to try the earlier ones. HTC perfected the landscape QWERTY with the Touch Pro 2.

  2. Okay, I’m out of the loop, there seems to be a lot of addons for the Moto Z. Is it a standardised design they’ll stick with in future models, or is it just a popular model, or what’s the deal here?

    I’m not sure it’s even for sale where I live, so I’ve missed the boat completely here.

    1. They guaranteed to support compatibility of the mods with future models for 3 more years

  3. why would anyone buy this.companies like blackberry went bankrupt selling phone with keyboards. want a physial keyboard so you can get REAL work done? just buy a chromebook!

      1. lol yeah those crippled chromebooks that do everything i need them to do all day long…..if only you had the uptime with your windows machine that i have with my chromebook. lets all cross out fingers and hope you get that with your edgebook

        1. Your needs are awfully modest, then, juan.
          My Windows machines run circles around your crippled Chromebook.

        2. Chromebooks do suck. It’s a fact.

          Unless you install regular Linux on them, they are just for casual use. Get a tablet if that’s all you need. You can even get a keyboard for most of them.

    1. To answer your question. There’s a massive difference between making an entire line of phones with physical keyboards and making an optional add-on physical keyboard. The startup costs for this keyboard are minuscule compared to designing a range of phones, and they should be profitable even if they sell only a few hundred units (especially if they are crowdfunded).

      There are almost certainly a good number of former-Blackberry users who would love to get their hands of good quality physical keyboard again.

      In any case, Blackberry’s demise was much more about failing to compete with the Android ecosystem than it was its physical designs.

  4. I’ve had one these slider keyboards for an iphone for ages.

    Unfortunately the keys are really too small to type any quicker than using an on screen keyboard. It’s not uncommon to hit two keys at once

  5. There is also the BB Mercury coming out Saturday.

    I want a portrait slider moto mod!

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