28th December - If you’re tired of mistyping words on your BlackBerry or getting the dreaded “BlackBerry Thumb,” then the folks at Research In Motion (RIM) may have a solution for you. RIM, the maker of BlackBerry handhelds, has submitted a patent application for a new style of keyboard, which would have buttons that are at an angle.

RIM is attempting to take advantage of the natural tendency for people to use their thumbs when they type on a BlackBerry handheld. A person’s thumbs would be able to type more naturally if the buttons were angled. This means fewer typing errors and less of a tendency for someone to develop soreness in their thumbs from excessive typing.

There’s no guarantee that this idea will make it into a BlackBerry handheld. After all, there are many patent applications that only still exist on paper. That’s not to say no further changes to the BlackBerry keyboard should be expected. RIM has shown its willingness to make drastic design changes to the BlackBerry as demonstrated by models such as the BlackBerry Pearl.