When the first iPhone launched in 2007, it heralded a new age for all-screen smartphones with digital keyboards. But some folks continue to miss the full physical keyboards that made handsets from BlackBerry and others reign supreme. For those tactile texters, a new accessory is launching ahead of CES 2024 that brings those glory days back — and prominent phone industry YouTubers contributed to the design.
New company Clicks Technology is debuting its eponymous Clicks keyboard as its first product for $139, which will be compatible with iPhones to start. Available with either Lightning (for iPhone 14) or USB-C (for iPhone 15) connectors, the keyboard is actually integrated into a wraparound case. Just slide your iPhone into the device and start typing. The keys are backlit for night typing, and it runs off the phone’s battery, so no charging required.
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“We use keyboards on our desktops, laptops and tablets every day — so it’s kind of odd that we abandoned physical buttons on the smartphone,” Michael Fisher, known as Mr. Mobile on YouTube and co-founder of Clicks Technology, said in a press release. Fisher’s channel includes contemporary reviews and throwback profiles of phones from yesteryear, when screens where smaller and designs were weirder in the days where manufacturers gave phones bold and bizarre looks to entice buyers.
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