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I enjoy using my iPhone for consuming content as much as I hate using it for typing. I have a hard time coming up with a worse typing experience than that of a

by runeks 5y ago

I enjoy using my iPhone for consuming content as much as I hate using it for typing. I have a hard time coming up with a worse typing experience than that of a series of tiny buttons on a touch screen. My first phone was a Nokia 3310, and the typing experience on this was significantly better — despite it only having 10 keys. I’m not saying it was faster — although it might have been — but the enjoyment of typing in words was so much higher because I could literally close my eyes and just press the given keys a deterministic number of times to arrive at my imagined word. The experience of typing on a touch screen, by contrast, involves constantly looking at the screen to both see if you hit the right virtual button, and also if Auto-Correct tried to be “smart” and changed the word you actually typed to something else. sigh. Oh how I yearn for the physical phone keyboard.

_Donny 5y ago
I completely agree, typing on 3310 was much more fun. I absolutely hate typing more than 3 words on my iPhone. Not only are the keys too small for my large-ish fingers, but regularly typing in 3-4 languages completely messes up my finger-memory for each keyboard layout. Even worse, it completely messes up auto-correct. I actually have a reoccurring nightmare where I need to send a distress message from my iPhone, but it refuses to write anything legible. I bet my subconsciousness agrees.
- MrsPeaches 5y ago
  > I actually have a reoccurring nightmare where I need to send a distress message from my iPhone, but it refuses to write anything legible. I bet my subconsciousness agrees. I have this style dream as well. It’s not always a nightmare but it’s trying to type something on a phone and it just never working, like wanting to show someone a video in YT and just not being able to get it right. I have actually been able to use this as a cue to start lucid dreaming i.e. when it starts happening I know I am dreaming and can start taking control of the dream world.
PinkMilkshake 5y ago
Have you had a look at Unihertz[1]? They're the only company I know who still make alternative style smartphones. They've got two Blackberry style phones. [1]https://www.unihertz.com/collections/all-products https://www.unihertz.com/collections/all-products
- runeks 5y ago
  The problem is that I’m so spoiled that I want a phone that’s both good for consumption and for typing, not one for each task.
- afandian 5y ago
  I've got a unihertz titan pocket and it's great. Not as good as a Blackberry Passport, but better than anything else on the market, I think.
i_have_an_idea 5y ago
[flagged]
- dang 5y ago
  Please don't post unsubstantive comments here. Also, please don't post swipes like this—we ban that sort of account. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
deepsun 5y ago
I vividly remember exactly the same arguments about touchscreens before iPhone came. Everyone was agreeing that physical keyboards rock and touchscreens suck (me too). There were non-Apple smartphones with touchscreens, but no one was buying them because touchscreens suck. If Apple did a focus-group at that time, they'd never release an iPhone. But Apple brand name was so strong, that they were able to push through and against public opinion and made touchscreens successful. Now we have another iteration of the same discussion, but with car media touchscreen dashboards.
- DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
  > Now we have another iteration of the same discussion, but with car media touchscreen dashboards. there ought to be a safety argument against touchscreens in automotive infotainment systems.
  - shaan7 5y ago
    You don't even have to go to safety. I did a test drive couple of years of Honda Jazz (known as Honda Fit in some markets) where the AC controls are touch-only. It was almost impossible to adjust it without taking your eyes off the road. Deal breaker.
    - sverhagen 5y ago
      Didn't you just exactly "go to safety"?
      - shaan7 5y ago
        What I meant was it is not limited to safety-related operations (hazard lights, for example). Even for relatively non-essential features (AC in this case), it helps to have physical buttons that you can recognize with your fingers.
- stavros 5y ago
  > If Apple did a focus-group at that time, they'd never release an iPhone. If Apple did a focus group at the time, they'd never release a phone with a resistive touch screen, which they didn't, because they suck. When capacitive was mature, that's when we got the iPhone.
fsflover 5y ago
https://liliputing.com/2022/01/pinephone-keyboard-now-available-wireless-charging-fingerprint-and-lora-cases-too.html https://liliputing.com/2022/01/pinephone-keyboard-now-availa...
leokennis 5y ago
I completely understand your point and indeed “pecking keys” on iPhone sucks (especially since they refuse to incorporate haptic feedback although the entire stack is there to do it). However I have to say since iOS (finally) started supporting “swipe typing” the process of typing has become a lot more enjoyable. It’s fast, accurate and easy to do one handed.
nicoburns 5y ago
I've recently switched from Android to and iOS, and I feel like part of your frustration might with Apple's overzealous autocorrect. Even if I type a word 100% accurately as I intended Apple often seems to correct it to something else. Very frustrating, and I feel like Google's keyboard was much better at this.
- soneca 5y ago
  I agree. Specially if you type in a language that is not English, Android’s keyboard is much, much better. My iPhone, after 2 years of use, still doesn’t suggest my email and I have to type the whole thing
  - pacifika 5y ago
    I added a text replacement of first letter of the name + @ + first letter of the domain. This always works reliably most of the time. ;-)
  - dwighttk 5y ago
    Do you have your contact information in the contacts app?
    - soneca 5y ago
      My own? No. Will that do the trick?
      - dwighttk 5y ago
        It should. There should be a way to mark a card as your own, but I can’t tell you because I don’t see a quick way to unmark mine so I can tell you. (My card is at the top of the list above the alphabetical sorting, so possibly there is a button there in lieu of creating a generic new card and marking it as yours)
causi 5y ago
I bet there's a market for a truly adaptive mobile keyboard. It could track when you go back and correct typos and learn over time where the user's fingers expect to find the keys, then put those keys there as well as manipulating their size and shape for maximum accuracy. For example, I often hit the spacebar when I'm trying to thumb the N key, so it could move the spacebar further away from the rest of the keys or even retract the section of it near that key.
- Clampower 5y ago
  I have the exact opposite experience. I often hit the b key instead of space making the keyboard autocorrect into one super long word.
  - sethammons 5y ago
    I do this near constantly. How is it that the software is not smart enough to recognize that typo and fix it? Heybthere seems like a trivial problem.
- aeyes 5y ago
  The Swiftkey keyboard which you can install from the app store does this. It also auto completes in two languages and allows swipe input like on Android.
  - causi 5y ago
    Swiftkey absolutely does not track your typos and move keys around to stop you from making them. I've used it for years.
    - kalleboo 5y ago
      If you go into the SwiftKey app and select "your tap map" it shows how it has arranged your keys for you. Here's what it looks like for me https://i.imgur.com/cB6hYGW.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cB6hYGW.jpg
dkdbejwi383 5y ago
Typing on a touchscreen is just so bloody slow, too. I can type reasonably fast on a physical keyboard without perfect touch typing, but I'd say I type about about 1/3 that speed max on a touch screen. If it's cold outside then that drops down to closer to 10%. It's frustrating because as you've pointed out, for consumption, it's great. I can easily read a long email while out, but if I want to respond with anything beyond a short sentence or two, it's just so frustrating that I wait until I'm home at a real computer.
- MBCook 5y ago
  I used to feel like that. Then one day I sort of discovered the “secret”. You just go for it. Don’t worry about pressing the right keys, just type fast. It sounds stupid as hell but it works great. Honestly the intent detection and auto correct works so well you don’t get many errors even though you would expect TONS.
  - dustymcp 5y ago
    Except the smart auto correct is terrible and will do very odd things when you are using multiple languages.
  - Tsarbomb 5y ago
    autocorrect is god awful on my iphone.
rm_-rf_slash 5y ago
Just to add a point to the contrary, but I was able to type this entire message while only glancing at my screen a few times. Muscle memory of fifteen years has gotten me used to touchscreen keyboards. Everyone has their preference.
amaccuish 5y ago
I do miss my physical keyboard too, but annoyingly, touchscreens are great for multilingual typing with different writing systems.
marssaxman 5y ago
I felt the same way, so I bought a BlackBerry KeyOne; now I have a Key2, and it is the happiest phone experience I've ever had. I turned off all the auto-correct features - I just type what I mean to type and the machine stays out of my way.
calyth2018 5y ago
I remember watching others struggle with texting on the 3310 without T9, while I could confidently tap out a message using T9 that's reasonably accurate. I was able to type emails on a BlackBerry keyboard on the subway while looking at where I'm going. But hey, it's a media consuming world now...

by runeks 5y ago

_Donny 5y ago

I completely agree, typing on 3310 was much more fun. I absolutely hate typing more than 3 words on my iPhone. Not only are the keys too small for my large-ish fingers, but regularly typing in 3-4 languages completely messes up my finger-memory for each keyboard layout. Even worse, it completely messes up auto-correct. I actually have a reoccurring nightmare where I need to send a distress message from my iPhone, but it refuses to write anything legible. I bet my subconsciousness agrees.

MrsPeaches 5y ago
> I actually have a reoccurring nightmare where I need to send a distress message from my iPhone, but it refuses to write anything legible. I bet my subconsciousness agrees. I have this style dream as well. It’s not always a nightmare but it’s trying to type something on a phone and it just never working, like wanting to show someone a video in YT and just not being able to get it right. I have actually been able to use this as a cue to start lucid dreaming i.e. when it starts happening I know I am dreaming and can start taking control of the dream world.

PinkMilkshake 5y ago

Have you had a look at Unihertz[1]? They're the only company I know who still make alternative style smartphones. They've got two Blackberry style phones. [1]https://www.unihertz.com/collections/all-products https://www.unihertz.com/collections/all-products

runeks 5y ago
The problem is that I’m so spoiled that I want a phone that’s both good for consumption and for typing, not one for each task.
afandian 5y ago
I've got a unihertz titan pocket and it's great. Not as good as a Blackberry Passport, but better than anything else on the market, I think.

i_have_an_idea 5y ago

[flagged]

dang 5y ago
Please don't post unsubstantive comments here. Also, please don't post swipes like this—we ban that sort of account. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.

deepsun 5y ago

I vividly remember exactly the same arguments about touchscreens before iPhone came. Everyone was agreeing that physical keyboards rock and touchscreens suck (me too). There were non-Apple smartphones with touchscreens, but no one was buying them because touchscreens suck. If Apple did a focus-group at that time, they'd never release an iPhone. But Apple brand name was so strong, that they were able to push through and against public opinion and made touchscreens successful. Now we have another iteration of the same discussion, but with car media touchscreen dashboards.

DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
> Now we have another iteration of the same discussion, but with car media touchscreen dashboards. there ought to be a safety argument against touchscreens in automotive infotainment systems.
- shaan7 5y ago
  You don't even have to go to safety. I did a test drive couple of years of Honda Jazz (known as Honda Fit in some markets) where the AC controls are touch-only. It was almost impossible to adjust it without taking your eyes off the road. Deal breaker.
  - sverhagen 5y ago
    Didn't you just exactly "go to safety"?
    - shaan7 5y ago
      What I meant was it is not limited to safety-related operations (hazard lights, for example). Even for relatively non-essential features (AC in this case), it helps to have physical buttons that you can recognize with your fingers.
stavros 5y ago
> If Apple did a focus-group at that time, they'd never release an iPhone. If Apple did a focus group at the time, they'd never release a phone with a resistive touch screen, which they didn't, because they suck. When capacitive was mature, that's when we got the iPhone.

fsflover 5y ago

https://liliputing.com/2022/01/pinephone-keyboard-now-available-wireless-charging-fingerprint-and-lora-cases-too.html https://liliputing.com/2022/01/pinephone-keyboard-now-availa...

leokennis 5y ago

I completely understand your point and indeed “pecking keys” on iPhone sucks (especially since they refuse to incorporate haptic feedback although the entire stack is there to do it). However I have to say since iOS (finally) started supporting “swipe typing” the process of typing has become a lot more enjoyable. It’s fast, accurate and easy to do one handed.

nicoburns 5y ago

I've recently switched from Android to and iOS, and I feel like part of your frustration might with Apple's overzealous autocorrect. Even if I type a word 100% accurately as I intended Apple often seems to correct it to something else. Very frustrating, and I feel like Google's keyboard was much better at this.

soneca 5y ago
I agree. Specially if you type in a language that is not English, Android’s keyboard is much, much better. My iPhone, after 2 years of use, still doesn’t suggest my email and I have to type the whole thing
- pacifika 5y ago
  I added a text replacement of first letter of the name + @ + first letter of the domain. This always works reliably most of the time. ;-)
- dwighttk 5y ago
  Do you have your contact information in the contacts app?
  - soneca 5y ago
    My own? No. Will that do the trick?
    - dwighttk 5y ago
      It should. There should be a way to mark a card as your own, but I can’t tell you because I don’t see a quick way to unmark mine so I can tell you. (My card is at the top of the list above the alphabetical sorting, so possibly there is a button there in lieu of creating a generic new card and marking it as yours)

causi 5y ago

I bet there's a market for a truly adaptive mobile keyboard. It could track when you go back and correct typos and learn over time where the user's fingers expect to find the keys, then put those keys there as well as manipulating their size and shape for maximum accuracy. For example, I often hit the spacebar when I'm trying to thumb the N key, so it could move the spacebar further away from the rest of the keys or even retract the section of it near that key.

Clampower 5y ago
I have the exact opposite experience. I often hit the b key instead of space making the keyboard autocorrect into one super long word.
- sethammons 5y ago
  I do this near constantly. How is it that the software is not smart enough to recognize that typo and fix it? Heybthere seems like a trivial problem.
aeyes 5y ago
The Swiftkey keyboard which you can install from the app store does this. It also auto completes in two languages and allows swipe input like on Android.
- causi 5y ago
  Swiftkey absolutely does not track your typos and move keys around to stop you from making them. I've used it for years.
  - kalleboo 5y ago
    If you go into the SwiftKey app and select "your tap map" it shows how it has arranged your keys for you. Here's what it looks like for me https://i.imgur.com/cB6hYGW.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cB6hYGW.jpg

dkdbejwi383 5y ago

Typing on a touchscreen is just so bloody slow, too. I can type reasonably fast on a physical keyboard without perfect touch typing, but I'd say I type about about 1/3 that speed max on a touch screen. If it's cold outside then that drops down to closer to 10%. It's frustrating because as you've pointed out, for consumption, it's great. I can easily read a long email while out, but if I want to respond with anything beyond a short sentence or two, it's just so frustrating that I wait until I'm home at a real computer.

MBCook 5y ago
I used to feel like that. Then one day I sort of discovered the “secret”. You just go for it. Don’t worry about pressing the right keys, just type fast. It sounds stupid as hell but it works great. Honestly the intent detection and auto correct works so well you don’t get many errors even though you would expect TONS.
- dustymcp 5y ago
  Except the smart auto correct is terrible and will do very odd things when you are using multiple languages.
- Tsarbomb 5y ago
  autocorrect is god awful on my iphone.

rm_-rf_slash 5y ago

Just to add a point to the contrary, but I was able to type this entire message while only glancing at my screen a few times. Muscle memory of fifteen years has gotten me used to touchscreen keyboards. Everyone has their preference.

amaccuish 5y ago

I do miss my physical keyboard too, but annoyingly, touchscreens are great for multilingual typing with different writing systems.

marssaxman 5y ago

I felt the same way, so I bought a BlackBerry KeyOne; now I have a Key2, and it is the happiest phone experience I've ever had. I turned off all the auto-correct features - I just type what I mean to type and the machine stays out of my way.

calyth2018 5y ago

I remember watching others struggle with texting on the 3310 without T9, while I could confidently tap out a message using T9 that's reasonably accurate. I was able to type emails on a BlackBerry keyboard on the subway while looking at where I'm going. But hey, it's a media consuming world now...