Most people aren't willing to sacrifice half their screen real estate 100% of the time, or deal with a significantly thicker phone, just to get a physical keyboard. The market for that is very small.

The market is small, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a significant overlap between those who want a keyboard and the target audience of the Jolla phone.

Don't forget that SailfishOS is ultimately Linux (and not like Android) - it even comes with the zypper package manager that lets you install apps and update the OS using the terminal. Part of the fun of using SailfishOS is doing familiar Linux systems managements and general operations the terminal, which any Linux nerd would love. And Linux nerds make up a huge userbase of this OS.

I mean, look at the link OP pasted, they're straight up calling it a "Linux phone", it's clear who their audience is. And don't tell me majority of Linux users would NOT prefer to have a keyboard.

They're probably not interested in the Linux power user. They're interested in making their phone viable for everyone else, since that's a much bigger market, and for that customer base, a keyboard is very much going to be a negative and not a positive. The Linux part of their Linux phone also has the same problem, but they apparently have faith in that part.

If they're not interested in that market, they're not doing a good job in showing it. They mentioned "Linux" *five* times on that page, but don't explain what it is. Normal folks don't even know what Linux is, let alone know what the difference between a Linux-based OS like SailfishOS and Android, that would entice them to buy this phone.

It's clear that "Linux" is a big selling factor for this given that they mentioned it so many times, but they do little to elaborate on it.

It's clear who their audience is.

But destroyed the interest of many others ;)

Keyboard phones are a great thing, but not as the sole option for a company. As a second current model, sure.

eh, I was a Smartphone ‘it's gotta have a keyboard!’ hold-out too, but I've long-since embraced the Swype or whatever it's called, style of input. It's fine enough for 90% of my engagement with the internet via a phone. Anything more in depth I'm on a computer with a physical keyboard anyway.

But yes, the N900 was pre-slidey-smartphone peak brilliance.

Likewise; I had an N900, and I loved the idea of a physical keyboard, but now I figure I can pocket a folding keyboard for that.

What I would like is apps to pervasively support a keyboard. For instance, in most Android messaging apps, you can't even press "enter" to send a message, so if you want to use a physical keyboard, you have to type the message and then poke the screen to send.

Just turn on the option in signal and convert all the people you chat with signal. Simple.

(Simple != easy ;))