Backside connector (was: Fairphone with hardware-keyboard (QWERTY possible)?)

Hello people,

I hope this wasn’t discussed in a previous topic (made just a simple search): Would it be possible to produce a fairphone with a hardware-keyboard?

Thought about ordering a second fairphone for me after we bought the first one for my girlfriend but in the end I went for an used Motorola Droid 4 (XT 894) to exchange my outdated SE Mini Pro because it’s horrible for me to type on a screen.

I know so many friends who left behind Android-Phones and switched to Blackberry because Blackberry offers the only modern Smartphones with Keyboards although they love fairphone’s idea.

So I thought: There would be a chance to produce a fairphone with a real qwerty-keyboard?

Best regards
sj7

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Nothing is impossible, but, that I know of, a model with physical keyboard is not in the short nor long term plans for Fairphone.

Sorry. :wink:

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With the present Fairphones something you can do is pair a bluetooth keyboard.
And there are some that are very small, I have seen ones encased within a phone protective case, for instance, that’d just deploy like a flap.
While there may not be “the exact case for fairphone size”, searching along these lines may be an immediate solution, in case of need.

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Thank you for your replies and advices. In my opinion the fairphone is related to it’s price more an “upper class device” (especially because there are no possibilities to get it cheaper with a contract - a lot of people who really would love to use a fairphone can not for financial reasons).

So especially for governments and companies who are financial able to buy the fairphone could express social responsibility but need a keyboard for professional use. So a fairphone with a hardware keyboard would be an impressive competition to companies like Blackberry.

@saljut7 - it does depend what country you’re in. There are a couple of countries (including the UK) which Fairphone have established deals with mobile operators. In the UK you can buy your Fairphone outright through the Phone Co-op or you can take it out on contract without the upfront cost.

It is an expensive device when you consider outright cost of buying, however I don’t think it’s an upper class device. I think it’s a mid-range device.

I’m not sure the governments or companies are the direct market that Fairphone are looking to sell to at this point (might change in future I guess), however there is the problem on the FP1 that because the device is rooted some corporate networks won’t allow it to connect to their networks and services. So not much use for a company if they have security systems in place like this.

I think it’s a useful suggestion, although I should point out as this is a community led forum you won’t necessarily get a response directly from Fairphone. I think the keyboard does however limit the markets as most people are moving away from blackberries these days. My view is that a small bluetooth keyboard would be the better option as it doesn’t limit in the same way.

Anyway that’s my view :smile:

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Hey Chris_R,

thanks for your answer (especially for the information how you can buy a FP in UK), took me a while to answer here.

Well, got a new idea about enhancing fairphone with keyboards (I would deny your statement people running away from blackberries - I recognize the opposite, two of my friends switched to blackberry recently):

How would be a backside universal connector providing the possibility to attach a keyboard like for the Jolla Fone?

1st advantage: People don’t need to buy a phone with keyboard if they don’t want but could.
2nd advantage: There could be so much more possibilities for other attachments:

  • e-ink display

  • solar charger

  • emergency battery

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You could add this to the FP2 wishlist. :slight_smile:

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/done :blush:

(Edit: some more characters)

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Now that the specifications of Fairphone 2 have been announced, it looks like something along the line might be possible. There are connectors that could be used for stuff like NFC, wireless charging, and possibly also for a keyboard. Somewhere I’ve read the connectors speak USB, which sounds like anything should be possible :smile:

Edit: Giving sources is always a good idea:

Blog post on fairphone.com: The architecture of the Fairphone 2

First, we included an expansion port in the back of the transceiver. This expansion port gives us the option to build alternative back covers with integrated additional functionality – for example, adding NFC for payments. The port is designed to connect to additional circuitry in the specially designed outer case through a set of spring-loaded connector (pogo) pins. The port provides power sourcing and charging and also data connectivity through standard USB signaling.

Emphasis is mine.

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Fantastic news, thank you for sharing! :smile:

A post was merged into an existing topic: FP2 modules wishlist