2 new led indicators on the keyboard

[b00mb00mchuck]

My wife noticed this when borrowing my D3...

On the far left of the keyboard next to the shift key and the alt key there are led indicators letting you know if you're in CAPS lock, or ALT lock... the caps lock indicator is white and the alt lock is yellow/orange... hit the shift key twice to see the caps lock... hit the ALT key twice to see the alt lock indicator....

Just thought this was a nice touch as I use these all the time .... now I can see if they're "on" at a glance when I return to typing after explaining to the wife why her iPhone can't do none of this stuff...

 

[evulhotdog]

The sad part is, is that its really not needed because there is an indicator on screen for the same thing, and your hand doesnt cover up the screen when typing ;P

 

[b00mb00mchuck]

Exactly what I like about it...

The whole physical keyboard is "not needed"...
on screen touch works fine...
The led is just a nice visual...

Imagine if all our phone choices were based on what's "not needed"

We would all be walking around with iPhones

 

[militant]

The sad part is, is that its really not needed because there is an indicator on screen for the same thing, and your hand doesnt cover up the screen when typing ;P

Sometimes, on accident, I'll double or triple click the alt/shift button when trying to use those functions. I like having the light because I can check if it's back on "one and done" or actually on LOCK after the accidental key presses.

 

[Venom51]

Exactly what I like about it...

The whole physical keyboard is "not needed"...
on screen touch works fine...
The led is just a nice visual...

Imagine if all our phone choices were based on what's "not needed"

We would all be walking around with iPhones

For some of us a lack of a physical keyboard is a non seller. Even with a 10 inch screen type on the xoom is painful and annoying.

 

[b00mb00mchuck]

Oh I totally agree... I always use the keyboard... I hate my wifes touchscreen only... but if I was stuck with it I could get things done.. maybe a lot slower.

 

[bonesjones]

I do IT work and I use rdp connections all the time, 3+ times daily. For that with me a physical keyboard is a must. The d3 rocks cause of the dedicated numbers, no more constant use of alt when typing ip addresses.

 

[evulhotdog]

Lol I wasnt saying that I wouldnt want it...I do like them, but I only saw them once, and that was because i hit the alt or caps button twice and them moved my hand. I NEVER actually use it for its purpose and its unfortunate. My hand is in the way so its useless to me.

 

[BenLand150]

Wow, I did not notice that.. lol. Definitely nice new feature now that I'm not overlooking it.

Physical Keyboards for the win!

I used to think that I could be without one because in 2009 when I bought my iPod touch I thought it was the coolest thing ever. But now, typing on em(android or iPhone/iTouch) is just.. meh. You can't go nearly as fast, and while swype is nice, still doesn't compete.

 

[endobrian]

neat stuff

 

[b00mb00mchuck]

So then I spent an hour looking over this damn thing with a magnifying glass to see if there was somethin else I didn't know about..... :-/

 

[sarreq]

I don't think those are LEDs, they look more like LCD shutters. take a look at them in the light ( while the backlight is off) and tilt them around, you'll see shadows around them. you'd only see light if they where LED.

 

[b00mb00mchuck]

I just looked at that real close... did the opposite... looked at it in the dark when the backlight is lit... when you hit the shift button twice you can see the led light up and light leaks around the boarder of the keypad frame...

LCD shutters use power to keep them in the "off" mode so I don't think that would be the answer to a device that's trying to squeeze every drop of power out of the battery...

Just my 2 cents

 

[Fr33dom]

I just looked at that real close... did the opposite... looked at it in the dark when the backlight is lit... when you hit the shift button twice you can see the led light up and light leaks around the boarder of the keypad frame...

LCD shutters use power to keep them in the "off" mode so I don't think that would be the answer to a device that's trying to squeeze every drop of power out of the battery...

Just my 2 cents

Don't know if this helps but Step 12 at the link below includes an image of the keyboard removed from its circuit board.

Motorola Droid 3 Teardown - Page 2 - iFixit

 

[b00mb00mchuck]

Yup... that helped... the two led's are visible in that photo