There's one Nokia product decision that has really, really puzzled me in the last few years - and that's the retirement of the SU-8W after only a couple of years on sale. First made in 2005, I reviewed it here and, amazingly, it still works perfectly - six years later, as demonstrated below with my N8. What is the SU-8W, why did Nokia stop making it and where can you still get it, all questions I try to answer below. And - I know Nokia reads All About Symbian - isn't it about time to kick off another production run? Pretty please?

Bluetooth keyboards, in case you've been living under a rock for the last six years, are proper qwerty keyboards that talk via Bluetooth to your keyboard-less smartphone and enable much faster text input when needed. 'Pairing' such a keyboard is trivial and only has to be done once - thereafter, power on the keyboard and you're connected a second or so later. Really easy.

The SU-8W was the official Nokia Bluetooth keyboard solution, beautifully made in aluminium and plastic. In folded form, it's relatively compact, with grip ridges on top and bottom faces (to help with desk grip when unfolded) - the designers of the E7 might have learnt a trick here.

The slide-off top cover hides bays for two AAA batteries - in normal use, using the keyboard for a couple of hours during a week, I get several months from a pair of cells: 

Of course, the keyboard is designed to lie flat. What's needed is a way to prop up your smartphone so that you can see what you're typing. Many Bluetooth keyboards overlook this basic need, sadly, but the SU-8W has an ingenious slide-out arrangement that's something out of Thunderbirds in its design. It's almost possible to imagine the music as you pull the stand out, fold up the flap and watch the supports clip neatly into place. 

The N8 in particular rests acceptably on the stand, with its camera island nestling off to the side of the main support. The phone is not quite flush with the stand, but it's close:

Most importantly, the phone is then at the perfect angle for working with. All Symbian applications work perfectly in landscape mode (try that with an iPhone or many Android apps), so you're well set for getting things done. Even more so as the SU-8W includes dedicated Symbian left and right 'option/function' keys, plus a 'Home/Menu' button, meaning that a surprising amount of what you do in normal phone navigation can be achieved without having to reach over and touch the screen.

For example, press and hold the Menu key and you've got the multitasking carousel - use the left and right arrows to browse running apps and then 'Enter' selects the app to switch to. In fact, the arrows work almost everywhere in Symbian OS to move highlights or (in the case of Web) a virtual cursor. Even keyboard shortcuts (e.g. 'r' in Email to reply, a shortcut I use a lot on the E7's keyboard) work fine here, it really is like having a smartphone with a 30cm keyboard.

The N8 sitting on the SU-8W - on top of a laptop. Mobile meets old school?!

There are some quirks, of course. The envelope (icon) key switches straight to Messaging. Not email. And, talking of Email, this is just about the only application that manages the UI totally by itself and thus pops up the virtual QWERTY keyboard when entering text, even though the SU-8W is connected. Go figure.

Plus, when the keylock comes in after a timeout period, there's no way to unlock the phone using just the keyboard. You can press the Home/Menu key to bring up the 'Unlock' button, but you then need to reach over and tap this.

Overall though, the SU-8W is utterly useable and still by far the best Bluetooth solution for Symbian smartphones. Making it all the more baffling why Nokia decided to stop making it.

My theory is that there was a lot of competition at the time (2006/2007/2008) in the accessory market and that few people were going for Nokia's higher priced (£75) accessory, preferring to slum it with something not as good but only half the price. Since then, many other Bluetooth keyboard makers have gone to the wall, ironically, and Nokia would be selling the SU-8W in substantial numbers if only it decided to market it again. 

So where to buy the SU-8W in 2011? eBay is probably your best bet, I noticed that some dealers in Hong Kong (e.g. here) still have the accessory. Though, as ever, it's tough to vouch for authenticity for such a remote item. If you do buy one, please comment on whether the SU-8W is genuine or not, or if you know of other sources, perhaps in Europe.

And no, you can't buy my personal SU-8W. At any price. Sorry. 

I've tried several alternatives from the open market and have been disappointed each time. Either some keystrokes simply don't work or the accessory is really ugly or impractical or doesn't have a stand... the SU-8W simply knocked the ball out of the park and I contend that there's a big hole in the market now.

Nokia and touchscreen evangelists will doubtless say that a Bluetooth keyboard isn't needed in 2011 - after all, there's wonderful virtual qwerty with text auto-correction. Which does work, most of us have tried it now. But it still doesn't beat a real keyboard, especially one that's near full-size like this one, with proper key travel and with both hands free to roam the keys without having to worry about holding the phone too.

So, Nokia, please start up the appropriate factory line again. Owners of the N8, X7, 701 and other current smartphones will all thank you. Profusely.

Steve Litchfield, All About Symbian, 21 September 2011