QOTD: Data Input?

18 Responses to QOTD: Data Input?

1. Jason says:

   July 31, 2009 at 4:23 am

   Slide-out keyboard of my Touch Pro2. Actually, the Suretype-style slide-out keypad of my old Touch Dual was just as fast.
2. gavinfabl says:

   July 31, 2009 at 6:31 am

   Bizarely it is my iPod touch – it is faster than any thumboard as it requires so little pressure to type. You do need. A week to get used to it.
3. claudette says:

   July 31, 2009 at 7:27 am

   grafitti.
4. vboelema says:

   July 31, 2009 at 9:22 am

   Apart from my old Psion? I was pretty fast on my Treo 600 and I’m getting better on my E71.
5. Joel says:

   July 31, 2009 at 9:39 am

   Touchpal is the best for me I think, then a thumbboard…
6. lazyboy says:

   July 31, 2009 at 10:41 am

   iPhone’s keyboard, for the same reasons as Gavin – though it took me less than a day to become proficient with it.

   (Aside: my wife is struggling terribly with her new work-issued BlackBerry Curve – she absolutely hates the tiny keyboard and finds even dialling phone numbers a real trial.)
7. Shaun says:

   July 31, 2009 at 11:04 am

   “(Aside: my wife is struggling terribly with her new work-issued BlackBerry Curve – she absolutely hates the tiny keyboard and finds even dialling phone numbers a real trial.)”

   My wife loved my Curve 8900. It is still the best keyboard I have ever used bar none.
8. Philippa says:

   July 31, 2009 at 11:15 am

   The best keyboard I ever used was the Treo 650, but it wasn’t just about the keys, it was also about the ease of navigation around the device via those keys.

   The iPhone keyboard is the best soft keyboard I have used bar none, however I think I still prefer real keys with tactile feedback. Perhaps when haptic keyboards are fully implemented I will change my mind.
9. lazyboy says:

   July 31, 2009 at 11:45 am

   “My wife loved my Curve 8900. It is still the best keyboard I have ever used bar none.”

   I have to say that, when it comes to typing, I’d take my old BlackBerry 7100t over the Curve anyday. Dialling was much easier because the number keys were bigger, and the SureType did a pretty good job – better for me than my Treo, anyway.

   My wife is seriously unimpressed with the Curve. She’s not a geek and can’t be bothered with tech that doesn’t just work right out of the gate. That it took a two-hour “training session” from a guy from IBM to get her up and running didn’t help either.
10. Shaun says:

    July 31, 2009 at 11:55 am

    A 2 hour training session? The BlackBerry platform was the easiest I have ever used and my wife thinks the same. It is almost so easy that it becomes a problem in itself at the start i.e. just start typing to add a calendar entry etc. Still my favourite OS for data entry, hardware and PIM by far.
11. lazyboy says:

    July 31, 2009 at 12:34 pm

    Just saying that my wife did not have a decade of smartphone/PDA use under her belt before she came to the BlackBerry and she has NO interest in gadgetry. I don’t find it hard to see what a daunting challenge a BlackBerry presents to that type of user, or that a lot of people find the keyboard way too small and fiddly.

    By the way, the 2 hour training session was not at her request, it’s standard procedure for all new BlackBerry users at the company. No wonder IT loves those Berries.
12. Shaun says:

    July 31, 2009 at 1:23 pm

    It shows that no manufacturer will ever get it right for everyone. My wife has no real experience either and loved it.

    Many of you love the iPhone keyboard, you know what I think of it:)

    I think a training course is a good idea- I see so many people with smartphones who have no real clue how to use them…
13. lazyboy says:

    July 31, 2009 at 1:25 pm

    I actualy started jotting down some preliminary notes for an article while why wife was struggling with the Curve. The title came to me in an instant.

    “Why IT loves BlackBerries and my wife doesn’t.”

    Training – 2 hrs with a guy from IBM!

    Problems: keyboard too small, and she can’t see the letters or symbols, even finds it hard with her reading glasses. There is no way she is ever going to be typing much on this thing.   

    Welcome to scroll time! Yawn. She’s got the hang of the back button, but the constant scrolling is tiresome for her.   

    Can NOT type! Can’t even peck with one finger, the keys are so hard and packed so close together. 

    Dialpad is tiny and she’s struggling to even dial a phone number!

    Company policy is to keep the phone locked, but it takes her two or three attempts to enter her passcode every time she wants to use it.

    ————-

    That’s as far as I got before I got bored with the idea. She may get better with it, but I doubt it. She will use it for calls, but she won’t ever find it as easy as with her basic Samsung flip phone; she’ll check her calendar and quickly scan her emails, but that’s about it. A couple of lines is the most she will ever type on it. Notes? Forget it.
14. lazyboy says:

    July 31, 2009 at 1:34 pm

    “It shows that no manufacturer will ever get it right for everyone.”

    Spot on.
15. tonyk says:

    July 31, 2009 at 2:40 pm

    Same as vboelema…. Psion 5 followed by Treo 600. I was pretty quick on Palm on-screen keyboards before the OS became quite clunky & slow, some time around NVFS was introduced.
16. James M. says:

    July 31, 2009 at 6:53 pm

    The iPhone really is fascinating. I read a review that said that you tend to be more accurate if you just let go and speed up, and I was shocked to find that to be true in the first day of use.
17. jah says:

    August 1, 2009 at 9:04 am

    For small device keyboard the best I used was on the old SE P990 with predictive text off. I find predictive text not to be helpful. For large keybaord the HTC Touch Pro 2 must be near the top for me. I really don’t like touch screens for data entry as they seem to rely on visual feedback as opposed to tactile feedback, which I prefer. Finally, another reference to the Psion 5 and Revo – real examples of well designed keyboard.
18. ntw1103 says:

    August 7, 2009 at 12:50 am

    For me I would have to say my Diamond Mako(psion revo) had the best keyboard ever. after that I really the keyboard on my zaurus sl-c860. I have tried the newer zaurus models, but the keyboards aren’t as nice.