The Moto Z's keyboard mod feels like an imperfect blast from the past
Motorola's first great Android phone had a physical keyboard, and when I stuck Livermorium's keyboard Moto Mod onto a Moto Z2 Play, waves of nostalgia started washing over me. After I started using the keyboard, though, I suddenly remembered why the smartphone world had moved on from these designs. You'll be able to pick up one of these Mods for $99 before the winter ends, but it's going to be a hard sell for anyone who didn't grow up pounding out texts on actual buttons. To be clear, the version Livermorium and Lenovo showed off in Vegas isn't the final version that customers will be able to buy. That's a very good thing, too. The sliding mechanism in the model I played with didn't feel all that smooth, and because the combined package is top-heavy, you're liable to push the phone right off the weak magnets connecting it to the keyboard. And while the buttons are nice and clicky, they don't offer a particularly satisfying level of key trave...