{"id":452539,"date":"2026-02-04T04:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T04:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/452539\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T04:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T04:08:14","slug":"should-smartphones-have-a-physical-keyboard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/452539\/","title":{"rendered":"Should smartphones have a physical keyboard?"},"content":{"rendered":"

CTV\u2019s Spencer Turcotte speaks with some former Blackberry employees who are trying to bring back a phone feature from the past. <\/p>\n

Do you ever miss sending texts on your BlackBerry? <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been quite some time since people were walking around with them, but some former BlackBerry employees are bringing back the idea of a physical smartphone keyboard, and they\u2019ve dubbed the new phone the Communicator.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s created by a company called Clicks and it\u2019s not the first time they\u2019ve tested out the keyboard. In fact, they\u2019re known for smartphone keyboard attachments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started in 2024 with the Clicks keyboard case,\u201d explained Clicks co-founder Jeff Gadway, who is also the former head of marketing at BlackBerry.<\/p>\n

He says there is a current gap in the smartphone market.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmartphones have become really good at a lot of things,\u201d said Gadway. \u201cBut when you\u2019re good at everything, you\u2019re not great at anything in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Clicks Jeff Gadway blackberry communicator power keyboard Jeff Gadway, the co-founder of Clicks, holds the “Communicator” (left) and “Power Keyboard” (right) on Feb. 3, 2026. (Spencer Turcotte\/CTV News) <\/p>\n

Gadway has insisted on being great at one thing and that\u2019s physical phone keyboards.<\/p>\n

One version that was recently unveiled is called the Power Keyboard. It is a slide-out keyboard that attaches to your existing phone and includes wireless charging.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has a power bank that goes on the back of your phone,\u201d Gadway said as he showed how the keyboard works. \u201cWhether it\u2019s the auditory feedback or the actual feeling of the buttons underneath your thumbs, you can type with more confidence, more precision and just do more on your phone on the go and not have to wait to get back to your desk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gadway\u2019s team has taken it a step further, though, with the Communicator. It\u2019s their new standalone phone that has a built-in physical keyboard. They hope to simultaneously take everyone back in time while pushing their ideas forward.<\/p>\n

It has an emphasis on messaging and productivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe keys are ergonomically contoured,\u201d said Gadway. \u201cWhat we found is that there\u2019s a group of people today that really want to be better at communicating, taking action, avoiding distraction, doing, versus doomscrolling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Clicks Jeff Gadway blackberry communicator power keyboard Jeff Gadway, the co-founder of Clicks, holds the “Communicator” (left) and “Power Keyboard” (right) on Feb. 3, 2026. (Spencer Turcotte\/CTV News) <\/p>\n

Aside from the keyboard it has a rear camera, 3.5 mm audio jack, operates on Android 16 and is equipped with the Google Play Store.<\/p>\n

But its messaging and productivity apps are what\u2019s in focus. The Communicator is meant to be a second phone, or work phone, with typical smartphones geared towards content and in turn, more distractions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve done is built a signal light into the prompt key here on the side so when somebody like a VIP, or maybe an app that\u2019s important to you is looking to get your attention, this will light up,\u201d said Gadway.<\/p>\n

That signal light can be customized with different colours, making it easier to categorize who you do or don\u2019t want to respond to in the moment. <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t think it\u2019s just an older demographic that\u2019s interested in the physical keyboard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the option of having it there is always great,\u201d one person told CTV News on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just fun to play with as a kid, I think it\u2019s pretty nostalgic as well,\u201d said another person.<\/p>\n

Other people spoke about how touchscreen keyboards sometimes don\u2019t pop up when they\u2019re supposed to or they can lag. <\/p>\n

Gadway believes younger people may be looking to reshape their relationship with technology. <\/p>\n

\u201cForty-five per cent of our customers have never typed on buttons before,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n

As for when people can get their hands on the Communicator, it can be pre-ordered for $399 USD and will be shipped to customers later this year. <\/p>\n

Gadway is optimistic that the smartphone keyboard resurgence sticks, or rather \u201cclicks\u201d with consumers. <\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CTV\u2019s Spencer Turcotte speaks with some former Blackberry employees who are trying to bring back a phone feature…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,48,61],"class_list":["post-452539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}