Sony Ericsson is at it with the Symbian-powered Vivaz Pro and X10 Mini Pro. Toshiba’s K01 also brings a QWERTY to the manufacturer’s high-end Windows Mobile line.

Expect to see more handsets featuring physical QWERTY keyboards as manufacturers respond to demand for high volumes of messaging and data creation on the move.

The current wave will likely be relatively simple implementations, but looking ahead I would expect to see keyboard design – from the colour scheme of the keys to the tactile response – becoming a differentiator of the customer experience.

Also look for smart integration between hardware keypads and virtual on-screen implementations, use of digital layouts beneath the keys with E-Ink key labels and a continued move towards QWERTY in the low-end portfolios.

Great news for application developers, who can expect to see an uplift in user participation in data creation activities on the move.