By Brandon Miniman | March 17, 2010 6:44 PM
So it turns out that there are actually eight versions of the on-screen keyboard in Windows Phone 7 Series, as seen in the grid above. Like the iPhone, the keyboard will change depending on the application you’re using. For example, when in an email address field, you’ll get the @ key and .com, and when entering an SMS address, you’ll have easy access to the phone number layout.
Also, Microsoft stipulates how an OEM can integrate a hardware keyboard. Here are some details:
- All keyboards must have an emoticon shortcut key
- 12/20 key layouts are NOT supported (sorry SureType and T9)
- The hardware keyboard CANNOT be used to control the UI, meaning no D-Pads or arrows that move screen elements. That said, OEMs can use arrow keys to move the cursor
- Hardware keyboards CANNOT contain the following: ok/home, send/end, insert, control, alt, caps lock, tab, escape, or delete
