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Any hope for a QWERTY keyboard on new iPhone?
- Thread starter JD76
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Not having a physical keyboard is one of the primary elements of the iPhone... the point is that you only have the keyboard shown when you need it, and when you don't need it you can take advantage of the full 3.5 in screen.
I mean, I guess you could add something like a slide-out physical keyboard, but it would add thickness to the iPhone and be slightly pointless as a touch screen. I mean, if we take away the touch keyboard, that's like saying "do we really need the touch screen for anything? we could just control it with the keyboard." So then we would just have a phone with a decent music player.
What's so wrong with the keyboard anyway? Do you have trouble typing with it?
I mean, I guess you could add something like a slide-out physical keyboard, but it would add thickness to the iPhone and be slightly pointless as a touch screen. I mean, if we take away the touch keyboard, that's like saying "do we really need the touch screen for anything? we could just control it with the keyboard." So then we would just have a phone with a decent music player.
What's so wrong with the keyboard anyway? Do you have trouble typing with it?
i would say extremely doubtful... i think that the 3rd gen iphone will resolve this issue that some have with the keyboard by implementing haptic feedback
agreed.
if the iPhone had a physical keyboard, (like a TREO for example, )or even MORE buttons in general, I wouldn't own one.
I love the onscreen typing.
Keyboards are soooooo last century....
I couldn't have said it better myself! The best thing about the iPhone is the size of the screen and how thin it is because of the current design. Maybe they will make an entirely different model for the keyboard hold-outs someday! The keyboard is great once you get used to it, however!
I agree. But this is Apple. Apple places a relatively high emphasis on form alongside function. They very, very rarely produce products that anyone calls ugly. In contrast, the Palm/Treo line very rarely produces products anyone would call attractive.
(No offense, I don't think my BB is particularly cute either... and I do think the latest entry from them ... Centro? ... is kind of cute). In other words, the fact that many people can type more quickly and more accurately using a physical keyboard is not all that likely to influence Apple in the near term. Look how long they resisted adding mouse buttons!
I'm slowly getting faster on the touch keyboard. It's not as fast as my BB. It's not like touch typing on a computer, either.
But it's passable. Perhaps someone needs to make a typing training program for the iPhone, so that we can pump it up to the next level.
How long have you spent typing on an iPhone? I came from a Treo also and can type faster on the iPhone. The key is to not look at what you are typing and it does an amazing job correcting your typos. You can then go back and fix the (probably few) errors when you are done. It does take a week or two to trust it and for it to possibly learn from your typing.
Have you watched this video? http://www.apple.com/iphone/gettingstarted/keyboard_large.html
Towards the end, it talks about how it enlarges the area around a vowel when it expects one...one example of how it makes typing so amazing!
Once I started typing on my iPhone, "they had me at SEND!" I've tried out the BBC and the Tilt, but nothing says "I love this thing" like the iPhone touchscreen keyboard for me. These fingers will never touch a BB anything ever again.
Out of curiosity, how well do you type generally, for instance on a proper desktop keyboard? Are you in the 30-50WPM with errors range or the 70-100WPM with high fidelity range, ...?
Letting the iPhone do corrections certainly helps, but I think it's important to ask if you were making mistakes on other keyboards (e.g. on the Treo) to begin with. My error rate on the BB keyboard was pretty low, for instance. Similarly, I type about 75-80WPM on a desktop keyboard with a 95% correct rate, so I'm moderately fast, but not professional typist fast. So auto-correction really is making up for a problem that didn't exist until the touch screen was introduced. So I don't think it can easily get me to being *faster* than on a physical keyboard -- it can really only correct the deficit and bring me at best back to my original speed.
If I made lots of errors on the physical keyboard, though, where there was no mechanism to correct for this, it's a different story entirely.
Does that make sense?
Well, I'm from the old school when it comes to typing. My mom taught me to type using the home keys, so it seems I always had a step-up on those people that would hunt & peck for letters & numbers. I'm probably between 95-105 wpm, with about 95% CR, and that's while looking at the manuscript or handwritten documents and not the screen or keyboard. It's nice to know where the keys are and that you really just have to be in the area of the letter(s) that you want to type. Apple has just made it easier for everyone, but I'm sure there will be those exceptions.
Exactly.
The downside being, an onscreen keyboard takes up most of the screen.
That's why, after many years of onscreen keyboards, other makers have been moving to physical keyboards. This is especially useful in business apps where it's nice to be able to see other entries in a form.
While the iPhone has demonstrated that onscreen keyboards can be quite usable, it still can't get around the screen obscure problem.
Im a multi tasker and while this is not encouraged or even legal in some states, I could write text messages on my Treo while driving and dont ever have to look at the screen... or at a red light, pump out a quick fast reply but it takes longer on an iPhone... and I wouldnt even try it while driving.
Sort of makes sense...
I am a touch typist on a regular keyboard and type over 90-100WPM with over 95% accuracy, rarely ever looking at the keyboard. On the Treo, although I was pretty good with the keyboard I felt it much more necessary to watch what I was typing closely and to correct my mistakes as I made them because there was virtually no auto-correcting. With the iPhone, I feel free to let my fingers fly on the keyboard and go back and correct the few (if any) errors that remain after the auto-correction has done it's thing.
A small device will never have the speed of a regular keyboard that has a "home" for every finger with every finger knowing (if you are a touch typist) it's job and having plenty of room to do it.
Everyone has different skills, likes, and dislikes with every device (whether it be how much they practice or how big their fingers are). That's the reason there won't ever be just one phone available on the market!
Well, in answer to your original question, no there will be no keyboard on the iPhone EVER.
it's part of what makes the iPhone the iPhone
and it is possible to type fast on it, you just need some practice
it's part of what makes the iPhone the iPhone
and it is possible to type fast on it, you just need some practice
Keyboards are soooooo last century....
Heck, so are touchscreens
The next versions of several manufacturers' UIs, will be watching you for gestures via the onboad camera.
qwerty?
Just because no one else has said it yet ...
The iPhone actually has a QWERTY keyboard.
In fact it has possibly the most advanced QWERTY keyboard in existence.
Think about it.
Just because no one else has said it yet ...
The iPhone actually has a QWERTY keyboard.
In fact it has possibly the most advanced QWERTY keyboard in existence.
Think about it.
Define "real".
The beauty of the software-based keyboard is that it can be changed based on the apps / needs. Hardware keyboards are not so flexible.
And if the iPhone's keyboard prevents you from texting while you're driving, I'm all for it!
Did you watch the keynote part about the iPhone?
I hate aubergines. I'd be one of the first in line if they tasted nice.
It bears repeating:
From a fellow called Steve Jobs:
Yes, it's wonderful that he came up with the exact same solution that mall touchscreen kiosks have used for years
He also totally ignored the fact that PDAs have had onscreen keyboards for over a decade... and only recently moved to physical ones in order to free up the screen for data, and because of consumer demand.
I also gotta say, I really miss hardware cursor keys when browsing forums like this one under mobile Safari. I keep accidentally hitting links while scrolling. And don't even get me started on how painful it is to use fingers to scroll to the bottom sometimes.