One more interesting tidbit coming out of the Seattle Frequencies conference at HTC headquarters as the company says to expect less QWERTY devices in the future. HTC creative director Claude Zellweger says that HTC will be “moving away from the QWERTY keyboard in general.” Zellweger explained that the extra effort placed on refining physical keyboard design takes away from other areas of the device and that time will be better spent improving HTC’s software input methods.

We’ve seen less and less on the physical keyboard front as fewer handsets sport the QWERTY form factor. The last stronghold of QWERTY design persists in the hands of Blackberry manufacturer RIM who has arguably manufactured some of the best QWERTY phones ever made. As companies move to manufacturer larger larger screens on thinner hardware, design emphasis on physical keyboard input is likely to be a casualty.

How do you feel about this? Are QWERTY keyboards a part of the mobile industry that has seen their day and should now be retired?

Androidandme