Fraser Speirs is back in the iPhone app game which is good but the most poignant writing comes from Brian Hayashi on page 2 of the comments.
Brian writes:
the iPad’s manufacturing process has completely re-engineered 20 key notebook computer sub-assemblies, such as the keyboard, that have resisted further savings from economies of scale so long as we were stuck in the tired old notebook/netbook paradigm.
The keyboard has always been an intricate piece of subassembly (learning from nearly a decade of running an Apple Service Provider and being in IT for nearly a decade before that). It collects the detritus and filth of the human condition, be that skin flakes, hairs, food crumbs, the grime from your fingers. It is a portal to the delicate, moisture-sensitive insides of the computer as evidenced by dozens of hapless but repentant computer owners who have spilled their hot, sticky beverages on the keys and are seeking forgiveness (and repairs). It’s a bed of strange little plastic pebbles that a child or pet can manage to remove irrevocably and leave the owner again repentant but also strangely angry at the repairer
So, frankly, I’m glad to see it disappearing.
Looking at the average PC laptop – there are a myriad of little catches and switches, ports and holes which are just totally redundant for the vast majority of the home computing market.
I’m really glad to see the keyboard going.