Science and Tech

Touch Typing on the Cell Phone

11.13.07 | Comments

image Cell phone touch typists have arrived and I’m happy for it.

The observational moment was an odd one to begin with.  Crammed into the last row of a propeller plane which operates school bus-style with a full aisle-eliminating back seat load (i.e. 5 seats and nothing behind us), I was already viewing the young lady to my right, sitting where the aisle should have been, with a degree of bemusement.  She was reading The Scarlet Letter, mirroring the attention her seat and vantage point in the cabin afforded.

Out comes the cell phone.  Some thought has hit and she’s preparing a message to be sent upon landing, I suppose.  The thumbs are flying across the keys.  A standard, 12 button keypad, mind you.  And Nuance’s T9, or whatever software was doing the predictive text work, was humming.  Then she pulls her gaze off the screen to peek out the window and her thumbs keep going at 60 mph. 

I was utterly mesmerized.  Thoughts trickled back to learning the art of the touch type on a qwerty keyboard many years ago, and the boon that’s offered.  And then I wondered how valuable this 12-key magic of hers is.  Surely, in a world that is increasingly operating via mobile device, there’s measurable time recapture in touch typing.  Many of us are no longer on 12 keys, though.  We’re on full, tiny, keyboards or blackberry hybrids with two letters per key instead of three.  Will her skill be soon outdated?  Despite the hype, I’m not convinced we’re headed towards a world of full keyboard smart-phones.  Mobile keyboarding isn’t standardized and a generation of kids is learning to touch type on 12 keys (albeit, with poor grammar). 

Food for thought.  Any data on mobile keyboard type distribution status and/or projections?

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Photo credit: Tweat x29, originally uploaded by *nathan

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Viewing 5 Comments

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    There are several subjects much more interesting that keyboards on PDA phones, but i can't help but to agree with Nathan and be entranced by our abilities to communicate over these little devices. I've been going yearly to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas and have found that there are several companies with new ideas for mobile keyboards. However, nothing really seems to be sticking in the marketplace. From what i've seen, there aren't too many people who like anything quite as much as the QWERTY. The blackberry 2 character per button simply isn't as effective for most crazed mobile typists. Some will argue that the Iphone's mimicked QWERTY touch screen is the next wave. My experience with touch screens has been a little less convincing. The other technology that's becoming quite popular is voice to text. However, nothing seems to be as rock solid as the good ol' tiny buttons on the QWERTY phones. I think that the average cell phone consumer is painstakingly migrating from the stone age 12 key system to QWERTY and that we will be seeing a lot more of our quirky QWERTY friend for at least the next few years.
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    I actually prefer the T9 keyboards because of the fact that I can touch type on them. A full qwerty keyboard under your thumbs is too many keys to be able to hit accurately with thumbs without looking, but T9 touchtyping is very doable and not uncommon among my friends…
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    I'd also have to disagree with Eric as to the perceived movement towards QWERTY. I don't see it happening. Business consumers have spoken (Treo/Blackberry/*some* smart phones) - they want QWERTY. The average consumer - I don't think so.

    The average user's interests are: #1 form factor, and #2 ease of use. They might even tell you that "ease of use" is #1, but I bet their buying decisions don't reflect that. People will buy pink Razrs with mediocre UIs by the millions. They spend more time carrying their phones (in pockets and purses, not in briefcases) than they do using them - form factor is #1 for valid reasons.

    The QWERTY keyboard still hasn't made the form factor cut. Apple has arguably done the best job, but as you say, with QWERTY usability sacrifices. The Treos and Blackberries, while still getting smaller, are still bricks compared to phones like the Razr which came out several *years* ago.

    My prediction: T9 touchtyping will remain the "average user" king until something more efficient comes along that doesn't add bulk to the device. Even though consumers might prefer QWERTY, T9 is good enough and still allows them to pick up the latest, sexiest phones.
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    Thanks, Eric, Tom, and Anon, for weighing in. Tom, I think your argument is persuasive and likely holds. I remember looking at "smartphone" growth predictions in 2003 and the numbers were paltry. It's a different story today, but still far from "average" and the style over substance issue is, sadly, real.

    Best,
    Matt
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    I have the "O2 XDA smini" and I use my thumbs to type on the qwerty keyboard. Iam really fast and for those who want to write large articles on there mobile phone, its great.

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