VietNamNet Bridge - Mobile phones with QWERTY keyboards have gradually disappeared from the Vietnamese market as manufacturers have stopped making the products and customers are no longer interested in them.

These products have left the market quietly, in contrast to the noise they caused upon their appearance. Blackberry and Motorola, the manufacturers which pioneered  QWERTY keyboards, have stopped making the products. HTC has also given up. In Vietnam, the largest distribution networks have also stopped distributing QWERTY keyboard phones to focus on smartphones.

Analysts say the number of people using hard keyboard phones in Vietnam is now so low that it can be ‘counted on one’s fingers’.

In fact, Vietnamese phone distributors began reducing the distribution of QWERTY phones three years ago when they noted a decrease in the sales of the products as people preferred large screens and liked texting messages on virtual screens instead of hard ones.

QWERTY phones’ heyday came when the messaging movement broke out. At that time, QWERTY phones were favored when they were designed specifically for typing, and those who owned a QWERTY phone would be considered fashionable like those who own an iPhone now. 

Mobile phones with QWERTY keyboards have gradually disappeared from the Vietnamese market as manufacturers have stopped making the products and customers are no longer interested in them.

However, the QWERTY keyboard has fallen into oblivion. As large screens, messages, and tools which convert voice into text and other communication methods have appeared, people have forgotten about QWERTY.

The consumers’ ‘change of heart’

People nowadays prefer thin products with large screen, while QWERTY phones are thick and unsuitable.

When Motorola launched Droid 4 into the market in January 2013, its configuration was old and the screen was not as good as other devices. Since the day Samsung marketed Epic 4G in August 2010, it seems that no good smartphone uses QWERTY keyboard any longer.

However, analysts commented that the most important reason behind the death of QWERTY keyboards is the change in consumer behaviors and taste. 

Vice president of Motorola Rick Osterloh commented that people want to see more information while they don’t need to enter data very regularly.

So, it is the changes in consumers’ habits which have pushed QWERTY keyboard into a dead end.

The people who still use QWERTY phones in Vietnam are mostly ones born in the 1980s, who were believed to be ‘loyal’ customers and have memories of the design. Meanwhile, most people have shifted to use touch screen phones which have become cheaper and affordable.


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