Koumpounophobia

A little known fact about Steve Jobs is that he suffered from koumpounophobia ... a fear of buttons. That's why he always wore black turtlenecks, and it's also the driving force behind the onscreen touch keypad on Apple devices. When the onscreen keyboard was unveiled, it was revolutionary and other devices raced copied it.

That did not thrill me. At all.

Personally, I prefer a real keyboard. I like the separation of keys. Being able to feel the buttons allows me to know where my hands are without looking at them, allowing me to type faster and more accurately. So, while the world praised the innovation of keyboardless Apple products, I mourned the loss of keyboards on devices across the board.

Texting on an onscreen keyboard is more cumbersome, and when I receive an email, I might read it on my phone or iPad, but if I want to reply more than a word or two, I reach for a real devices ... with a real keyboard. I doubt phones with real keyboards will ever make a comeback, but if they do, I'll be the first in line!