Look Ma, No Keyboard

I knew and predicted that this conversation was going to happen and it appears to have started in earnest. With the imminent arrival of the iPhone, some of speculation on how folks are going to take to the most hyped device in the universe is beginning to revolve around the fact that (GASP!) it doesn’t have a mechanical keyboard! Will folks take to touch as a data input method? Will the iPhone fail when customers throw up their hands in frustration?

Loren Heiny points to a New York Times article on the subject (and offers some interesting commentary himself) as well as a ZDNet article that includes a poll of users on the subject.

I have to admit I already find this very entertaining, and think it is just going to become more so, as I fondly remember the hand-wringing and general condemnation of the first generation of Ultra-Mobile PCs because (GASP!) they didn’t have a keyboard. The hope here is that this will increase an acceptance of touch as one method data input. From where I sit, I’m guessing that whether the boo-birds come out or not, we are at least going to see some clever marketing that highlights what touch can offer. That can only be a step in the right direction.