4 ms·

I agree broadly with your point, but I fail to see why a physical keyboard is important except to a very small subset of users. Swype handles all the text input

I agree broadly with your point, but I fail to see why a physical keyboard is important except to a very small subset of users. Swype handles all the text input I need, and does so about 20%-30% faster than my physical keyboard. Now, this is on a first generation Motorola Droid. I have seen some students that are pretty wicked fast on their Blackberry. We haven't 'raced' yet. Maybe it's just a bad keyboard design on the Droid?

ergo98 16y ago
Do you post HN comments using your touchscreen? If not, why not? I've done the keyboard smartphone thing, and the touchscreen smartphone thing (incl. swype with the latter). I prefer a real keyboard overwhelmingly -- even a miserable keyboard like on the HTC Dream -- and I know I'm far from alone. When someone sends me an email or a text requiring a response, honestly it is a sad, defeated feeling when I have to respond on the touchscreen keyboard. I know I'm hardly alone with this: iPhone toting friends and peers tend not to author any content on their device beyond the occasional "lol" or "brb" type response (you know instantly that they're hacking it on the screen), whereas others with Blackberry devices or physical keyboards...I often can't tell from their response whether they are at their desk or remote because they don't artificially abbreviate their comments. I'm sure there are non-typists or those of few words who are completely satisfied without a keyboard. Most others simply accept it.
- enjo 16y ago
  Have you used Swype? It's a touchscreen keyboard, but works in a very different way. Since your not physically lifting your finger you can really plow through words really quickly. Much faster than I ever could with a blackberry style Keyboard for me at least.
  - corin_ 16y ago
    My work no longer requires me to fly off to places on a nearly weekly basis and spending so much more time at my desk makes a big impact on the number of emails I write from my Blackberry, and therefore my speed. But back when I was using it a lot, I did a test and was able to write on it at 80wpm, which is pretty impressive.
- bbgm 16y ago
  Except that I do 50% of my emails and know many others who do exactly the same or more (and these are not short emails) from their iPhones. People who lived on their blackberries live on their iPhones or Android touchscreen phones. While it might be a problem for some for most it hasn't been one.
  - ergo98 16y ago
    While it might be a problem for some for most it hasn't been one. iPhone users live on with a touchscreen keyboard because they have no choice. Most Blackberry users never migrated to the iPhone for that reason. Android users were caught in a temporary world where every Android maker tried to be like the iPhone, with the terrible choice of the onscreen keyboard, but thankfully that period is quickly passing, with great devices like the G2 / Desire Z and the Galaxy S Pro.
    - danudey 16y ago
      I've talked to a lot of people who use iPhones, and none of them would switch to a hardware keyboard if given the chance. Touchscreen keyboards work better than physical ones (the keys are larger), they're better for anyone typing more than one language (accents are easy, different keyboard layouts are possible at all). The touch keyboard isn't there when you don't need it, leading either to an increase in screen space (vs. RIM's offerings) or a more practical physical design (without slider mechanisms that tend to be awkward, get damaged, or make the phone bulkier). I had no problem typing on an iPhone the first day I ever encountered one. The first day I laid hands on a blackberry, it took me minutes to get a single sentence out, because the keys are so tiny and packed close together. The key to effective touchscreen typing is to trust the autocorrect (and to have good autocorrect in the first place). My typing speed skyrocketed when I learned that if I just kept typing, the iPhone would be right 90% of the time, and the other 10% is easy to fix.
      - ergo98 16y ago
        Look, I don't mean to go all John Gruber here, but a good portion of iPhone users wouldn't want anything changed...until it's actually changed at which point it's the most obvious, most important thing in the world. If Apple came out with a slider version of the iPhone tomorrow, I suspect there would be a rapid, but remarkably quiet, appreciation of hardware keyboards among many iPhone faithful. Mileage will definitely vary. I know people who absolutely love their onscreen keyboard. They do tend to be people who actually type very little though, so it's perfect for them. It's interesting that you mentioned onscreen keyboards giving you a increase in screen space -- yeah, when you don't need to type anything. When you do, suddenly 80% of your screen is all keyboard.

ergo98 16y ago

Do you post HN comments using your touchscreen? If not, why not? I've done the keyboard smartphone thing, and the touchscreen smartphone thing (incl. swype with the latter). I prefer a real keyboard overwhelmingly -- even a miserable keyboard like on the HTC Dream -- and I know I'm far from alone. When someone sends me an email or a text requiring a response, honestly it is a sad, defeated feeling when I have to respond on the touchscreen keyboard. I know I'm hardly alone with this: iPhone toting friends and peers tend not to author any content on their device beyond the occasional "lol" or "brb" type response (you know instantly that they're hacking it on the screen), whereas others with Blackberry devices or physical keyboards...I often can't tell from their response whether they are at their desk or remote because they don't artificially abbreviate their comments. I'm sure there are non-typists or those of few words who are completely satisfied without a keyboard. Most others simply accept it.

enjo 16y ago
Have you used Swype? It's a touchscreen keyboard, but works in a very different way. Since your not physically lifting your finger you can really plow through words really quickly. Much faster than I ever could with a blackberry style Keyboard for me at least.
- corin_ 16y ago
  My work no longer requires me to fly off to places on a nearly weekly basis and spending so much more time at my desk makes a big impact on the number of emails I write from my Blackberry, and therefore my speed. But back when I was using it a lot, I did a test and was able to write on it at 80wpm, which is pretty impressive.
bbgm 16y ago
Except that I do 50% of my emails and know many others who do exactly the same or more (and these are not short emails) from their iPhones. People who lived on their blackberries live on their iPhones or Android touchscreen phones. While it might be a problem for some for most it hasn't been one.
- ergo98 16y ago
  While it might be a problem for some for most it hasn't been one. iPhone users live on with a touchscreen keyboard because they have no choice. Most Blackberry users never migrated to the iPhone for that reason. Android users were caught in a temporary world where every Android maker tried to be like the iPhone, with the terrible choice of the onscreen keyboard, but thankfully that period is quickly passing, with great devices like the G2 / Desire Z and the Galaxy S Pro.
  - danudey 16y ago
    I've talked to a lot of people who use iPhones, and none of them would switch to a hardware keyboard if given the chance. Touchscreen keyboards work better than physical ones (the keys are larger), they're better for anyone typing more than one language (accents are easy, different keyboard layouts are possible at all). The touch keyboard isn't there when you don't need it, leading either to an increase in screen space (vs. RIM's offerings) or a more practical physical design (without slider mechanisms that tend to be awkward, get damaged, or make the phone bulkier). I had no problem typing on an iPhone the first day I ever encountered one. The first day I laid hands on a blackberry, it took me minutes to get a single sentence out, because the keys are so tiny and packed close together. The key to effective touchscreen typing is to trust the autocorrect (and to have good autocorrect in the first place). My typing speed skyrocketed when I learned that if I just kept typing, the iPhone would be right 90% of the time, and the other 10% is easy to fix.
    - ergo98 16y ago
      Look, I don't mean to go all John Gruber here, but a good portion of iPhone users wouldn't want anything changed...until it's actually changed at which point it's the most obvious, most important thing in the world. If Apple came out with a slider version of the iPhone tomorrow, I suspect there would be a rapid, but remarkably quiet, appreciation of hardware keyboards among many iPhone faithful. Mileage will definitely vary. I know people who absolutely love their onscreen keyboard. They do tend to be people who actually type very little though, so it's perfect for them. It's interesting that you mentioned onscreen keyboards giving you a increase in screen space -- yeah, when you don't need to type anything. When you do, suddenly 80% of your screen is all keyboard.