As a result, "thumboards" — miniature keyboards that are designed for thumb-directed text entry — are becoming more popular.
2003 — Alan Cooper & Robert Reimann, About Face 2.0: The Essentials of Interaction Design, Wiley (2003), →ISBN, page 494:
In contrast, the Handspring Treo makes use of a touch screen and a thumboard.
2004 — Hazimin Sulaiman, "Palm OS-based device gets wireless capability", New Straits Times, 19 April 2004:
Personally, I think thumboards are cumbersome to write large documents, so the Dana's approach is well-received.
2006 — Rael Dornfest, Paul Bausch, & Tara Calishain, Google Hacks: Tips & Tools for Finding and Using the World's Information, O'Reilly Media (2006), →ISBN, page 253:
While the thumboard of choice for executives tends to be the Blackberry mobile email device […] for the rest of the world (and for many of the kids in your neighborhood), it's the cell phone and SMS.
MiLeaptop Y Series also has navigational pad that offers multiple features such as touch screen, thumboard, stylus, keyboard, mouse and one-touch buttons.