Back to Tactile Typing with the Clicks Power Keyboard and Communicator

Clicks is one of the companies making serious waves pre-CES with its determinedly retro physical keyboard for mobile.

January means gadgets thanks to the huge distortion field that is CES, and one of the new releases gaining the most traction ahead of the show's official opening tomorrow is a nifty-looking physical keyboard that slides out from the back of many modern smartphones thanks to its combination of MagSafe mount and Bluetooth connectivity.

It's a neat idea, and the company has doubled down on it by also incorporating the same technology into the Communicator, a dedicated device aimed solely at communication. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, basically they've reinvented the Blackberry.

The Return of Tactile

We've seen this retro appeal become increasingly successful in many tech fields, especially cameras. Even without going all the way to the determinedly analog aesthetic of devices like those from Lomography or a new wave of instant film, the resurgence of physical dials and controls has been a real theme in recent camera development.

Fujifilm’s X-series or Nikon’s Zf deliberately echo the analogue era, albeit grafting the tactile controls onto sophisticated digital tools. And, when used in conjunction with touchscreens for surfing through menus etc, arguably they give you the fastest means of precise control. Certainly the most satisfying.

Typing Tools

There are two very different experiences on offer here.

The Power Keyboard is not only for anyone who finds typing on glass ultimately unsatisfactory, it also gives you a full if thumb-sized QWERTY keyboard that slides out as with mobile handsets of yore and will link via Bluetooth to up to three devices. The MagSafe mounting means it works equally as well with iPhones and premium Android devices, and it also features a hefty 2150 mAh battery allowing it to double as a powerbank with 5W Qi wireless charging.

Clicks positions it as one keyboard for all your smart screens: phone, tablet, smart TV,  and even AR/VR. At 180 g (6.35 oz) it's going to add appreciable weight to a device when not used as a standalone, but Clicks is betting that offering what it terms a 'premium typing experience' and a combination of nostalgia and improved functionality will mitigate against that. 

Turn up the Signal, Wipe out the Noise

The Clicks Communicator takes this concept and runs with it. It looks like the company saw the Power Keyboard doing so well in pre-release it thought 'why not build a 5G phone around it that's just dedicated to communication'. And that's just what it's done.

Communicator is a fully standalone smartphone that runs Android 16, with all the apps, 5G connectivity and WiFi. Despite the tagline 'Designed for doing, not doomscrolling', it still features 50MP rear and 24MP front cameras, a 3.5mm jack,  and voice to text, so it's not a completely neo-Luddite device, but at its heart is the keyboard, a 4.03in touchscreen display, and the Message hub.

This is a Launcher basically that collates all your messages and emails from diverse apps into one screen and is really what the Communicator is all about. It can be used as a standalone phone, but judging from the way Clicks is pitching it, the company sees it being used as a companion device to another device (which can be iOS or Android). One neat addition is a signal light that flashes a different customisable color and even pattern depending on the incoming message.

It's 130.5 × 78.63 × 12 mm (5.14 × 3.10 × 0.47 in) and weighs 170 g (6 oz), so comes in at actually less than the standalone keyboard.

Pricing and Availability 

The Power Keyboard is open for pre-orders for $79. Ship date is scheduled for 'spring', which is as exact as it gets.

The Communicator will ship later this year for $499. Reservations are currently open for $199 that lock in a $399 early bird price.