Clicks Technology, a U.K.-based hardware company whose team includes former BlackBerry staffers, is betting that physical keyboards still have a place in mobile phones. The company is releasing two devices this year: the Clicks Power Keyboard, which is now shipping, and the Clicks Communicator, expected to launch in December.
"Something was thrown out with the bathwater when we moved to modern smartphones," said Jeff Gadway, Clicks co-founder and former marketing director at BlackBerry. He said the company aims to bring that feature back to a market that could use fresh ideas. The company's first keyboard case for iPhone launched in 2024 and was later expanded to select Android phones. Gadway said it was "like catching lightning in a bottle that first year," with interest coming from both nostalgic executives and younger users who have only used touch- or voice-controlled phones.
The Power Keyboard is designed to fix the biggest drawback of the original case: the need for a model-specific fit. It is magnetic, attaching vertically or horizontally to any MagSafe-enabled phone or case, and doubles as a power bank with a slide-out keyboard. It can also work as a handheld keyboard for a tablet or as a Bluetooth mini keyboard for a smart TV. Gadway said use cases range from students taking notes in class to CEOs, writers, and musicians working on the go.
The Clicks Communicator goes further, resembling a BlackBerry Bold with a small screen and a miniature QWERTY keyboard. Gadway argues that modern smartphones are built for content consumption and creation, with bigger screens, cameras, processors, and batteries. "What if you could build a phone that was really optimized for communication?" he asked.
The Communicator can be used as a secondary phone with its own plan or tethered to a primary device, according to the company.
Source: Android Central · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing