BlackBerry with slide-out keyboard described in new Patent app

A new BlackBerry Patent app just published Thursday describes technology for a BlackBerry device with a slide-out keyboard. The Patent app is entitled,  Hybrid Portrait-Landscape Handheld Device With Trackball Navigation and Qwerty Hideaway Keyboard. The Patent abstract, and the accompanying illustration, pretty much tells us what we need to know. Here’s the Abstract: A device is disclosed for use in two different orientations. In one orientation, the keyboard is exposed to the user. This orientation is named the landscape orientation because the device will be positioned such that its width is larger than its height. The user would opt for the landscape orientation for tasks that require the keyboard, such as inputting data, drafting emails, sending emails, and other…

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