14 DAY TRIAL // There are a lot of people who cannot coop up well with the touchscreen displays and the stylus that's attached to most of these phones. That's not how users expect it should be. Even if the touchscreen is very "trendy", it will never reach the same usability and tactile feedback as any physical keypads.
Also, there are people who find it easy to use a QWERTY keypad. But, most of them find it easier than anything else to use the numeric keypad.
For this entire situation, Samsung has come up with a brand new idea: a double keypad. Not too long ago, we had the Nokia keypad patent that would put in one phone the QWERTY and the numeric keypads, through a slider method.
Even the rumored Sony Ericsson model P5i (codename "Bella") will feature a keypad, with a two way slider. Samsung seems to like the idea and came to patent an alternative method for these keypad issues that seem to rule the mobile industry.
The mechanism is simple and requires only changing your keypad, instead of your phone. The handset will feature a battery pack that has a keypad engraved on its outer surface. In case the user wants the keypad, he can simply change the battery and start typing an e-mail. If you want a text message, you repeat the procedure, but with another keypad.
Still, the fact that one will have to go around carrying around the two keypads, like little calculators, doesn't seem the best thing. Sure the idea remains interesting, but this might not be as practical at it seems at first glance.
But, there's not much we can say. For now, one thing is sure: the patent is made and, sooner or later, this idea will be put into practice. We'll see then if we like it or not.