You may have thought that physical smartphone keyboards were dead aside from BlackBerry's dogged releases like the KeyOne , but an upcoming Nokia device might also be bucking the touchscreen trend, at least according to a source who spoke with Nokia Power User .

The rumors follow the recent US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval of a new phone called the ' TA-1047' . Details are scant, but the documentation refers to a smallish phone that's only 133 x 68mm (5.23 x 2.67 inches), and, well, that's about the only information we know.

Image credit: FCC (Image credit: FCC)

When the news dropped, most speculation assumed it would be another Android-powered phone with thinner bezels in line with the usual trends.

But according to "an educated guess by a well-known source that has been behind many Nokia leaks," the phone may actually end up being a device with a 3.3-inch, 480 x 480 resolution screen and (shocker) a physical QWERTY keyboard.

The source also claims the TA-1047 will possibly be powered by a weak Qualcomm 205 processor and host a operating system known as 'Kai OS'.



Kai could be a highly customized version of Android or a redesign of the Series 30+ OS seen in the Nokia 3310 , but the documentation provides no clue. We've heard about the Firefox OS-based 'Kai OS' in news about the JioPhone , but it's not clear if "well-known source" is referring to the same thing.

A lack of tact

A new (and likely inexpensive) smartphone with a tactile keyboard sounds interesting, but there's a chance many of us will never see it anyway.

Even though the product was cleared by the FCC, GizChina spotted a passage in the cover letter to the FCC that explicitly states the device will not be available in the US market.

Again, this is all speculation, and from a nebulous source at that. But if the TA-1047 does turn out to have a tactile keyboard, it proves that someone other than BlackBerry is willing to carry the torch for whatever reason. Whether it's worth it remains to be seen.

Via Digital Trends