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Obsession with a real keyboard?

Anuba said:
Talk about missing the point. :rolleyes:

I KNOW that people who text while driving are idiots, but this thread isn't about traffic safety, it's about exploring why some people insist on having a phone with a physical keyboard. The OP asked why people are "obsessed" with a physical keyboard, and my answer is that at least some of them, about 1/4 to be specific, write SMS messages while driving. Yes, it's a f***ed up habit but that's another discussion -- the fact remains that they are doing it, and ergo, the iPhone or anything else with a virtual keyboard isn't their cup of tea.
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I just think it's not fair to say a virtual keyboard is a disadvantage because "it's more dangerous to text on a virtual keyboard when driving than on a real keyboard" when it's not how it's supposed to be used anyway.
 
anjinhamarota said:
I just think it's not fair to say a virtual keyboard is a disadvantage because "it's more dangerous to text on a virtual keyboard when driving than on a real keyboard" when it's not how it's supposed to be used anyway.
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It's not just texting, but basic cell phone use.

With my old Nokia and Treo, I could answer calls without even looking at the thing. I could make calls to certain people with only a quick glance before hitting the dial button to verify my blind contact scrolling. I could launch several apps on my Treo without looking.

Each of those blind tactile operations leaves my eyes on the road for at least a fraction of a second or more longer.

With my iPhone, it takes me longer just to determine whether I'm holding the thing right side up or not (I tried blind swipes to answer a call once and missed a call because I grabbed the phone upsidedown).
 
little advice to people who are complaining about not being able to use the keyboard while driving. DONT USE YOUR DAMN PHONE WHILE DRIVING!

as much as people say, "im a good driver" there are hundreds of people who die every year because they caused an accident/got into an accident because they do other things than drive while driving.
 
seriously.... I mean the auto-correct can get annoying when I am quickly typing a text and I forget to doubecheck before I send. and you gotta love the screen size. I don't see why the new android has a fold out keyboard when the future of smartphones is obviously with touchscreen typing.
 
firewood said:
It's not just texting, but basic cell phone use.

With my old Nokia and Treo, I could answer calls without even looking at the thing. I could make calls to certain people with only a quick glance before hitting the dial button to verify my blind contact scrolling. I could launch several apps on my Treo without looking.

Each of those blind tactile operations leaves my eyes on the road for at least a fraction of a second or more longer.

With my iPhone, it takes me longer just to determine whether I'm holding the thing right side up or not (I tried blind swipes to answer a call once and missed a call because I grabbed the phone upsidedown).
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Using a cell phone while driving is not dangerous because you don't look at the road, it's dangerous because you're distracted. I read a study that explained how using a cell phone while driving could be as dangerous or even more than driving drunk. And a quick glance at the cell phone is enough for someone to crash.
 
pedroistheman said:
I don't see why the new android has a fold out keyboard when the future of smartphones is obviously with touchscreen typing.
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Note that a touchscreen device with a sliding keyboard, can use either input method.

I think it's largely dependent on the size of the phone's screen. If it's a small screen, a virtual keyboard is too tiny.

Jobs talks about wasting space with a keyboard. Fine, but the iPhone has tons of wasted space next to the sensors and home button. A couple of programmable buttons would go a long way towards making it easier to use one-handed or in a pocket.

The need for more iPhone buttons has already been proven, by Apple taking the afterthought path of overloading the home button with multiple double-click meanings (and I think triple-click on the headphone button). But with only single buttons, they had no other way to make the thing usable without pulling it out and looking at it.

Just try quickly explaining to someone what all the double and triple click meanings are, depending on what the person is doing (phone or ipod). :rolleyes:
 
kdarling said:
The need for more iPhone buttons has already been proven, by Apple taking the incredibly sloppy UI path of overloading the home button with multiple double-click meanings (and I think triple-click on the headphones). But with only single buttons, they had no other choice to make the thing usable without pulling it out and looking at it.
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WTF are you talking about? the double click on the home button is a freakin ingenious decision. I have mine set for ipod use and its one of its greatest features.


Your opinions (or mine) =/= proof of anything.
 
kdarling said:
So WM phones, with almost all buttons programmable for clicks, holds, double clicks and double holds, etc, must be brilliant beyond compare :)
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I happen to like simplicity, and HATE menu navigation, so i wont go within a mile of WinMo
 
I tried using hard keyboards on other phones and it's almost impossible to not hit 2 keys at once with those tiny little keys. They're difficult for me to use. On the other hand, with the iPhone's software keyboard, I fly on that! I can type so fast, but one thing that bothers me is when I try to type the letter "I" sometimes, it will hit "U" instead and it will KEEP IT! Since when does typing JUST the letter "U" do anything for anyone? Also, "love" comes out as "lobe" for some reason... I think love should be a little more important than "lobe", but whatever. Most of the time, I trust what I type.

As for the word "U" instead of "I", I think Apple figures people hate typing "you" and would rather type just "U", but that's totally unlike Apple to do something like that. I always type in long hand and I have a feeling that a lot of Apple users also like to spell everything out too.

Oh, and if Apple DID intend "U" to be "you" why can't you type the word "Yo"? That seems like a slang word that's used by a lot of kids. Anyways, whatever... I like the soft keyboard 90% of the time.
 
anjinhamarota said:
Using a cell phone while driving is not dangerous because you don't look at the road, it's dangerous because you're distracted. I read a study that explained how using a cell phone while driving could be as dangerous or even more than driving drunk. And a quick glance at the cell phone is enough for someone to crash.
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Absolutely. So is a quick glance down at the speedometer, gas gauge, side view mirrors, radio, or even just talking about something to a passenger. Driving itself can be dangerous. People crash and die even when not talking on the phone, to a passenger, or listening to the radio. But the latter are legal, so most people will. What tools will we give these people?
 
firewood said:
Absolutely. So is a quick glance down at the speedometer, gas gauge, side view mirrors, radio, or even just talking about something to a passenger. Driving itself can be dangerous. People crash and die even when not talking on the phone, to a passenger, or listening to the radio. But the latter are legal, so most people will. What tools will we give these people?
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Are you seriously defending using a cell phone and driving? What about drinking and driving, is that ok too?

First, a quick glance at the speedometer, gas gauge, side view mirrors is a necessity when driving and it takes much less attention than a cell phone.

Second: "Motorists who use cellphones while driving are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves, according to a study of drivers in Perth, Australia, conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety."

"Many studies have shown that using hand-held cellphones while driving can constitute a hazardous distraction. However, the theory that hands-free sets are safer has been challenged by the findings of several studies. A study from researchers at the University of Utah, published in the summer 2006 issue of Human Factors, the quarterly journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, concludes that talking on a cellphone while driving is as dangerous as driving drunk, even if the phone is a hands-free model. An earlier study by researchers at the university found that motorists who talked on hands-free cellphones were 18 percent slower in braking and took 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked."

"A study released in April 2006 found that almost 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds of the event."
 
anjinhamarota said:
Are you seriously defending using a cell phone and driving? What about drinking and driving, is that ok too?
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The former is still perfectly legal as well as accepted practice in most jurisdictions*. The latter is neither**.

(* over 18 and when using a headset or handsfree in CA).
(** at or above 0.08% BAC in CA).
 
firewood said:
The former is still perfectly legal as well as accepted practice in most jurisdictions*. The latter is neither**.

(* over 18 and when using a headset or handsfree in CA).
(** at or above 0.08% BAC in CA).
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So the only reason you don't drink and drive is not because it's dangerous but because it's illegal?

Using a cell phone while driving is or will be prohibited or restricted in more and more countries.

"As many as 40 countries may restrict or prohibit the use of cellphones while driving. Countries reported to have laws related to cellphone use include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Botswana, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe. Most countries prohibit the use of hand-held phones while driving."
 
anjinhamarota said:
Are you seriously defending using a cell phone and driving?
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Your argument on the topic of this thread sounds similar to saying that since riding a bicycle, even though legal on many roadways, is far more dangerous than taking the train, bicycle manufacturers should not include any features which can improve bicycle safety.
 
firewood said:
Your argument on the topic of this thread sounds similar to saying that since riding a bicycle, even though legal on many roadways, is far more dangerous than taking the train, bicycle manufacturers should not include any features which can improve bicycle safety.
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Your analogie doesn't make sense at all.

And that's not what I'm saying at all. I just mean that it doesn't make sense to say that physical keyboards are better because they're better for people texting while driving when that is still very dangerous and it's not what they're meant to do anyway.
 
anjinhamarota said:
I just think it's not fair to say a virtual keyboard is a disadvantage because "it's more dangerous to text on a virtual keyboard when driving than on a real keyboard" when it's not how it's supposed to be used anyway.
Click to expand...
We can talk in hypothetical terms all we want, but in REALITY, a virtual keyboard is a very REAL disadvantage to the 25+% of drivers who 'text and drive'. Whether you like it or not, one of four potential iPhone buyers will decline to buy one because of this. And until you have convinced each and every one of these millions of drivers around the planet to stop texting and driving, they will keep buying phones with real keyboards.

If this thread was called "Obsession with toxic glue", and the OP wondered why some people refuse to buy toxic free glue, the answer would be that toxic glue contains toluene and is therefore ideal for sniffing. You would probably then argue "but it's wrong to sniff glue". Why, yes it is -- duhh -- but that wasn't the question. The question was why some people are obsessed with toxic glue.

I repeat: This thread isn't about what people should or shouldn't do, what's legal or illegal, what's smart or dumb, what's safe or risky. The purpose of the thread is to find out why some people are obsessed with a real keyboard. And so far, we have the following answers: 1) Some people are conservative old geezers, and 2) Some people text-and-drive.
 
Anuba said:
We can talk in hypothetical terms all we want, but in REALITY, a virtual keyboard is a very REAL disadvantage to the 25+% of drivers who 'text and drive'. Whether you like it or not, one of four potential iPhone buyers will decline to buy one because of this. And until you have convinced each and every one of these millions of drivers around the planet to stop texting and driving, they will keep buying phones with real keyboards.

If this thread was called "Obsession with toxic glue", and the OP wondered why some people refuse to buy toxic free glue, the answer would be that toxic glue contains toluene and is therefore ideal for sniffing. You would probably then argue "but it's wrong to sniff glue". Why, yes it is -- duhh -- but that wasn't the question. The question was why some people are obsessed with toxic glue.

I repeat: This thread isn't about what people should or shouldn't do, what's legal or illegal, what's smart or dumb, what's safe or risky. The purpose of the thread is to find out why some people are obsessed with a real keyboard. And so far, we have the following answers: 1) Some people are conservative old geezers, and 2) Some people text-and-drive.
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How is typing on an iPhone different than typing on a real keyboard? I've never used a QWERTY hard keyboard with one hand before but, I can do it on the iPhone. My brother has a Smartphone with a slide out keyboard and he texts and drives, but he has to use 2 hands to do it because it's awkward to hold it and type with one hand.
 
Anuba said:
We can talk in hypothetical terms all we want, but in REALITY, a virtual keyboard is a very REAL disadvantage to the 25+% of drivers who 'text and drive'. Whether you like it or not, one of four potential iPhone buyers will decline to buy one because of this. And until you have convinced each and every one of these millions of drivers around the planet to stop texting and driving, they will keep buying phones with real keyboards.
Click to expand...

I feel so sorry for the people who want to text and drive and can't do it on the iPhone... NOT.
 
i have no problem with the virtual keyboard. i like it better actually. i had a bb pearl, and it was ok. but i like the iphones keyboard ever. the only thing i wish it would do is rotate when you turn the phone in all the apps that use the keyboard.
 
anjinhamarota said:
I feel so sorry for the people who want to text and drive and can't do it on the iPhone... NOT.
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I don't feel sorry for them either, I'm just explaining why they avoid the iPhone.

"As many as 40 countries may restrict or prohibit the use of cellphones while driving. Countries reported to have laws related to cellphone use include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Botswana, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe. Most countries prohibit the use of hand-held phones while driving."
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I can't speak for the other 39, but to suggest that Sweden has laws that restrict or prohibit the use of cellphones while driving is entirely false. There are no regulations whatsoever, you can duct tape 30 phones to your head and talk and text on all of them simultaneously if that's your thing. And in most other areas, Sweden has more and weirder regulations than Canada...

Does this make Sweden a dangerous place to drive? Well, we have 450-500 traffic fatalities per year in a population of 9 million. In the US there were 37,248 fatalities in 2007, in a population of 300 million. This means that your chances of being killed in traffic are nearly 3 times higher in the US than in Sweden. Note also that the fatality numbers have remained pretty much constant in both countries since long before people had cellphones, and given that populations were smaller back then, traffic deaths per capita have been decreasing throughout the cellphone boom. I would worry more about DUI's and less about phones.

TheSpaz said:
How is typing on an iPhone different than typing on a real keyboard? I've never used a QWERTY hard keyboard with one hand before but, I can do it on the iPhone. My brother has a Smartphone with a slide out keyboard and he texts and drives, but he has to use 2 hands to do it because it's awkward to hold it and type with one hand.
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I have a friend who insists on texting while driving, no matter how much I bash him, but he doesn't use a bona fide smartphone, it's a classic numpad cellphone where you enter text by pressing a numerical key X number of times. He's lightning quick and never looks at the display until right before he hits send, regardless of whether he's driving or not. He's very impressed by the iPhone overall, but considers the virtual keyboard a dealbreaker because you HAVE to look when you type, you can't feel your way around a flat glass surface...
 
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