Keyboard review

t4l

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May 12, 2004
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I went to the Apple store on 5th Ave in NYC to try out the iPhone (specifically the keyboard). I have to say that it is downright unuseable with 2 thumbs. It's designed to be held in one hand and tapped by a finger from the other hand. The auto-correction is somewhat nice for simple words, but it trips up when you type in something unfamiliar. Not having a stylus is also a problem if you want to place the cursor back to correct a mistake (and this happens a lot).

In short the keyboard is just as bad as I thought it might be and maybe worse.

P.S. Safari on EDGE is slow, but on Wi-Fi is probably the best browser I've seen on a phone.
 

MacUser

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I went to the Apple store on 5th Ave in NYC to try out the iPhone (specifically the keyboard). I have to say that it is downright unuseable with 2 thumbs. It's designed to be held in one hand and tapped by a finger from the other hand. The auto-correction is somewhat nice for simple words, but it trips up when you type in something unfamiliar. Not having a stylus is also a problem if you want to place the cursor back to correct a mistake (and this happens a lot).

In short the keyboard is just as bad as I thought it might be and maybe worse.

P.S. Safari on EDGE is slow, but on Wi-Fi is probably the best browser I've seen on a phone.
I have to strongly disagree. I can type fast with two thumbs and with just the index finger. Just type fast and don't stop for errors and see how many times you misspell a word...9 out of 10 times the auto-correct feature worked for me.

Are your thumbs very large?Are you using the tips of your thumbs or just mashing the buttons with the center of your thumbs? Maybe you just need a bit more practice...I've only been using it 3 days and I've got the hang of it.
 

Scott R

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Oct 29, 2001
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Yeah, I wasn't impressed with the keyboard in portrait mode at all. Tons of typos due to the too-small-for-finger-tapping keyboard. And, as you say, it seems like Job's intention is for people to hold the thing with one hand and poke at it with the index finger on their other hand (as opposed to holding it with one hand and typing with your thumb). Well, if you're effectively going to require people to make use of both hands, why not go all the way and optimize it for landscape use? In landscape mode, the thumbboard becomes usable (if a bit spartan). Too bad it only works with the web browser. From playing with my brother's iPhone today, it also seems like once you've got the keyboard visible, it won't change orientation. So if you're in portrait mode and you tap on the URL textbox and the keyboard shows up, turning the iPhone sideways won't re-orient the screen; it stays stuck in portrait mode.

The good news is that these keyboard issues are things that could be easily changed via a firmware update and I expect they will.
 

AnteL0pe

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I've got larger than average hands and i have no problems using two thumbs. It definitely takes some adjustment from the 650 i was using, but it wasnt a huge problem. What words did the auto-correct mess up on? For me it takes doing what David Pogue suggested, just trust the keyboard and auto-correct. When i have had to go back and correct a word it just takes dragging the cursor back and deleting. You will make mistakes when typing on this keyboard, lots of them compared to a treo style keyboard, but in my experience the auto-correct does its job. It wont help you on URLs or passwords though, you have to get those right, no auto-correct there and that is where the keyboards faults really show. I'm gonna have to build an extensive bookmark list to get around that issue. Another feature that helps mitigate this issue is that it will fill in visited URLs as you type them.

Also, ive actually been impressed with the EDGE network as compared to when i used it with my Treo, its much more usable with the iPhone.
 

AnteL0pe

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So if you're in portrait mode and you tap on the URL textbox and the keyboard shows up, turning the iPhone sideways won't re-orient the screen; it stays stuck in portrait mode..
Yup, once you enter the keyboard it wont switch, but you can cancel out of it, reorient the device and then enter the keyboard.
 

MacUser

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It didn't fix a couple of proper nouns...names :/

But, it'll learn them as I type them more often.

And I agree, the iPhone is much better using EDGE than my Treo 650 ever was.
 

edmc

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I had somehow overlooked this important feature of a smartphone. Surprising since I was very skeptical about the keyboard of the Blackberry Pearl. I was extremely surprised that I was able to get as fast on the Pearl as on my Treo with just a few minutes practice. The Pearl just somehow seems to get it right (far more than 90% of the time which, btw, is absolutely a horrendous success rate).

When I tried out the iPhone, I was quite dismayed. My fingers & thumbs are normal size, I guess, and the iPhone missed about every 3rd letter I typed. Enter the predictive text/error correction - what an abysmal joke. Apple needs to reverse engineer the Blackberry's implementation imho. And, for error correction, you basically hold your finger down until a magnified box pops up. Sliding your finger left & right moves the cursor. You move it just after the character to delete then hit the backspace key. You'd think they'd at least get this no doubt oft used feature wouldn't you - NOT! The sensitivity to movement seems to be all wrong. Perhaps it's somehow adjustable?
 

AnteL0pe

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My fingers & thumbs are normal size, I guess, and the iPhone missed about every 3rd letter I typed.
Hahaha, "the iPhone" missed every 3rd letter? Sounds like you missed them. It does take some adjustment, but no more than a couple hours and you're good to go. I was producing lots of errors on the first day I had it, but i'm getting few now. I'm rarely/never needing to make fixes after the auto correct has doe it's magic.

And, for error correction, you basically hold your finger down until a magnified box pops up.
Nope, you just keep typing and it fills in the words for you.

Sliding your finger left & right moves the cursor. You move it just after the character to delete then hit the backspace key. You'd think they'd at least get this no doubt oft used feature wouldn't you - NOT!
I'm not suer what the complaint is here. First, you dont have to do this all that often because the error correction is so good. Second, when you drag the cursor you get a little magnifying glass that shows you exactly where the cursor is. It's pretty dead simple.
 

renn#IM

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Faster each time

Was skeptical i could get used to the iPhone keyboard--but visited the Apple shop again yesterday. significant improvement though still not perfect -- i now have flashbacks of what a chore it was to type on the first qwerty Treo. I've always wanted those hard keys to be replaced by good ole screen so i guess there is an iPhone in my future.:eek:
 

dwman

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In wide screenmode,there should no reason for so many mistakes...with a little practice.

not an iphone owner, but my to my knowledge, you can't type emails in wide screen mode, only portrait. You can only use wide screen mode for using the web.
 

dpc

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I checked out the iPhone the other day. In my brief test I tried entering 'how now brown cow', what I got was something like 'hey neon born cow'. I kinda gave the kb the benefit of the doubt though since everyone seems to be saying that the iPhone eventually 'learns you'.
 

cmaier

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I think that, without a doubt, they are going to have to improve the keyboard. At the very least, allow the horizontal keyboard for all programs (which, according to a thread on howardforums and a blurb on macrumors, is also coming "soon.")

Despite the above trick, punctuation should appear on the main keyboard as well. And it sounds like the correction logic/dictionary logic could be improved as well. Hopefully improvements will be coming soon.
 

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