iPhone 2.0: Part One, A Physical Keyboard

Apple's next iteration of the iPhone is eagerly awaited by everyone. And after using it for almost a year I have some wishes and observations. Some are mundane, some are controversial.

My guess is Part One of this will raise the ire of some out there. So be it.

But I can say, without a doubt that the most important thing for me in the next iteration of the iPhone will be a physical keyboard. I say this realizing that a lot of the physical allure of the current iPhone is made possible by the lack of a physical keyboard. I say this realizing that Steve Jobs has proudly shown off the lack of physical keyboard over-and-over again.

Most importantly, though, I say this as a user. It could be because I've used Blackberrys for years, but I have found myself writing less emails on an iPhone than I would on a Blackberry. A lot less. In fact, the feeling I get when I have to type anything of anything length on my iPhone is one of dread. I can actually type faster on my iPhone than on a Blackberry but not as comfortably. And that feeling of comfort means I generally avoid using my iPhone to type.

This, in-and-of-itself is not an iPhone killer over the long-term. Because, as we know, the iPhone is much more than an email device. (In fact, it may be a case where the sum is better than the parts. Power phone users [which will be a topic for another day...] note that the phone is lacking). But I doubt that what enabled the Blackberry to be termed the Crackberry by first-time users will be applied to the iPhone.

So how should Apple address this? Not by giving up on the touch-screen keyboard altogether but rather, like they have done with the iPod line, creating another version of the iPhone that has a physical keyboard. Steve Jobs has back-peddled many times, most notably on having video on an iPod, so the precedent is there.

What do you think, is the lack of a physical keyboard on the iPhone a huge deal to you?