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HEy all
i was using my brothers iPhone earlier on and i couldnt help but notice how responsive his screen is to finger touches! is this something that is unique to the iphone (i.e hardware based) or is there anything to make WM phones that responsive?
Its due to the software being designed with animation in mind, and using graphics accelerators.
To get the same in WM would mean a rewrite of the whole UI basically, but 3rd party software can approximate it.
Surur
Actually it's the hardware too. on the iPhone there's no need for pressure (like on our PPCs). It's enough to touch the screen and it senses it.
Hardware. The iPhone uses an electrostatic like touchscreen while WM uses a pressure sensitive one. The good with the iPhone is that it's sensitive and you can have a hard screen (like the glass they use), but you can't use a stylus or do it with gloves on.
Good bumper sticker
WM USERS DO IT WITH GLOVES ON lol
You mean to tell me that the iphone has one theme,limited customisation and NO stylus?Have they heard of Calligrapher? Then again,guess thats why they call it the iPHONE.I get it now.
Vukile said:
You mean to tell me that the iphone has one theme,limited customisation and NO stylus?Have they heard of Calligrapher? Then again,guess thats why they call it the iPHONE.I get it now.
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limited customization for now!
they will start releasing the ability to use 3rd party apps. Currently, you have to hack through it, inorder to use 3rd party apps (that voids your warrenty)
RPG0 said:
Actually it's the hardware too. on the iPhone there's no need for pressure (like on our PPCs). It's enough to touch the screen and it senses it.
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If you played with touchflo sensitivity on the kaiser etc you will see it does not take much pressure at all for touch to be sensed. Its the software which is more responsive.
Surur
I stumbled somewhere on the net that the iphone screen can sense heat of the fingers that is why its so responsive. But it sure'll give problems over a period of time.
surur said:
If you played with touchflo sensitivity on the kaiser etc you will see it does not take much pressure at all for touch to be sensed. Its the software which is more responsive.
Surur
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You, my friend, are wrong !
I actually own a Kaiser, and i bought my wife a Touch, so i assume i have two of the most finger friendly HTCs out there atm.
I also had a chance to play with an iPhone a little.
It's the hardware that makes the iPhone finger-friendly, unless you don't mind putting some oil on your fingers when using HTC's pressure sensitive screen - it's not that you have to press hard, but you have to press and move, and the screen isn't slippery (unless your screen is really dirty).
You do have a point about the responsiveness of the iPhone, but there are (a few) apps on WM that are pretty fast and the finger thingy is still not that pleasant.
Also, our touchscreens "feature" a lag, which you can see when drawing: draw something and look carefully, you'll see the line is draw a little behind the stylus (don't tell me it's the app, i know for sure there's a 100-200ms lag on input)
Bottomline: i wouldn't trade any of my WM devices for an iPhone, but the iPhone touchscreen really is better - finger-wise, because not being able to use a stylus kinda sucks big time.
Are there better onscreen keyboards for the vzw tp2? The keys are too small and I have a lot of typos since they're too close together. I have a perfect time on my ipod touch and would like to somehow change the onscreen keyboard on the tp2 so the keys are bigger or something.
Also it doesn't auto correct spelling either when typing messages, emails etc. If anything all it does is capitalize the first letter of the first word in aqnew sentence and that's it. Is there a way to make it work like on the ipod? That is perfect.
Thanks.
1: rotate phone 90 degrees counter-clockwise
2ush upward with thumbs
3. Tada! Best mobile keyboard.
buggs1a said:
Is there a way to make it work like on the ipod? That is perfect.
Thanks.
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Buy an iPhone?
Or as football0552 pointed it out, just slide the keyboard out. On-screen keyboard is meant for only replying "OK" to a friend =D
hardware keyboard too small.
iphone sucks. apple sucks.
onscreen keyboard is not meant for only ok. it is meant for all typing. hardware keyboard for me is even worse then the onscreen one.
buggs1a said:
hardware keyboard too small.
iphone sucks. apple sucks.
onscreen keyboard is not meant for only ok. it is meant for all typing. hardware keyboard for me is even worse then the onscreen one.
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Too Small??? Oo
Well, try some other keyboards, there are some lying around here somewhere, search for resco keyboard and finger keyboard
buggs1a said:
hardware keyboard too small.
iphone sucks. apple sucks.
onscreen keyboard is not meant for only ok. it is meant for all typing. hardware keyboard for me is even worse then the onscreen one.
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Apple sux??? and you have a Ipod Touch? And Hardware Keyboard is too small?? Are you serious, this keyboard is gigantic compared to any other slideout KB out there. Just search for other KB out there, I havent found a WVGA one yet. I use the Compact Qwerty KB that is on Mightey Mikes new rom. I think its the best for texting if you dont feel like whipping out the KB bro.
buggs1a said:
hardware keyboard too small.
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Really?? I thought it is the best. Definitely the best hardware keyboard for a phone...but anyway I have used SBP Keyboard. It works pretty good and you can download different skins that have different layouts and bigger and smaller keys so you can kind of customize it to your liking.
Here is the cab for the keyboard: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ODHE7PK9
I just hate it when someone asks for help and then people go suggesting other stuff. eg iphone.
Thanks for the suggestion for the sbp. I still think its keys are way too small. Look how skinny they are. Way smaller then my thumbs.
The hardware keyboard on the tp2 is yes, the best I have seen, but still too close together by far. You look at yer thumb and how wide it is and I need a bigger onscreen keyboard.
The sbp I tried and I think it is slightly better then the default onscreen keyboard. Only thing is it doesn't stick to that when I reboot the phone etc. At least mine went back to the default.
That may be. I mostly used it on my touch pro and it stayed as the default on that one. I haven't used it a lot on my TP2
I assume you've had your device for a while now. They all take getting used to, so my only suggestion would be to practice a bit more with both keyboards. I came from using Treos (no problem using a keyboard that size for me when I had them). I am by no means small of hand: the top joint of my thumb covers 15 of the physical keys at a time, and I have zero problems selecting individual keys. The virtual keyboard, while not the easiest to use, is one I still can use with very few mistakes, actually better than I expected.
Sorry to not have a solution to your exact question, merely a suggestion, but I hope you stick with it. This is too good a device to give up on IMO.
Afterthought question: what were you using previously that had bigger keys than this?
i have ipod touch 2g and love the onscreen keyboard. maybe its better not only from size but it is capacitive on glass solid screen? could the screen be the difference? i just have to type very slow with tp2 hardware kbrd and onscreen. im not giving up on my tp2. what makes this such a wonderful phone anyway? i just wish the onscreen kbrd keys were wider. but my thumbs maybe dont slip to next key on ipod cus its capacitive. i dunno.
are you typing with the ends of your thumbs or the actual pads? I have noticed that Cap screens are pretty lenient in allowing you to use big blunt things like the pads of your thumbs whereas resistive screens are somewhat more picky so using the ends of your thumbs, fingers, nails are better off used in this case. Same would go for physical keyboards of smaller size.
I would strongly suggest using the fingernail to type on the screen. A solid tap right over top of the intended key then moving on to the next letter lets me type very fast on the screen. Possibly faster than the physical keyboard (but only for shorter messages/search phrases). Just tap with your index fingernail and trust that the screen picked it up. that's what i do
I don't use the very tip of my thumbs or fingers but just below that with fingers or the middle/fatter part on the thumb because of how you hold the phone. But even if I use closer to the tip that doesn't help much on tp2.
I really have towonder if a big thing here is capacitive iPod touch (glass?) vs tp2 resistive. My fingers thumbs don't seem to slip as much on iPod but maybe that's cus iPod keys are a bit wider which of course they are I think.
The hardware keyboard on the tp2 I use the tip of fingers/thumbs a bit more for sure. They're way to clse and flat otherwise when using the fatter middle part of my thumbs.
buggs1a said:
I just hate it when someone asks for help and then people go suggesting other stuff. eg iphone.
Thanks for the suggestion for the sbp. I still think its keys are way too small. Look how skinny they are. Way smaller then my thumbs.
The hardware keyboard on the tp2 is yes, the best I have seen, but still too close together by far. You look at yer thumb and how wide it is and I need a bigger onscreen keyboard.
The sbp I tried and I think it is slightly better then the default onscreen keyboard. Only thing is it doesn't stick to that when I reboot the phone etc. At least mine went back to the default.
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buggs1a said:
I don't use the very tip of my thumbs or fingers but just below that with fingers or the middle/fatter part on the thumb because of how you hold the phone. But even if I use closer to the tip that doesn't help much on tp2.
I really have towonder if a big thing here is capacitive iPod touch (glass?) vs tp2 resistive. My fingers thumbs don't seem to slip as much on iPod but maybe that's cus iPod keys are a bit wider which of course they are I think.
The hardware keyboard on the tp2 I use the tip of fingers/thumbs a bit more for sure. They're way to clse and flat otherwise when using the fatter middle part of my thumbs.
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I've got pretty big hands and an iPod Touch 32GB (1G) and I have a harder time with the iPod's keyboard vs. the TP2.
I use the TP2's 'full qwerty' on-screen keyboard for texting and the hardware keyboard for emails.. I find it easier to format emails with the hardware keyboard.
Anyway, my suggestion is to use that little nub in the middle of your thumb and teach yourself to type over a few day period.. that's what I did and it only took me a few days to follow the learning curve from my Storm 1 (now THAT'S a HUGE difference)
-mak
Maybe what I'm seeing is iPod is glass and the tp2 is plastic. Much easier to use the iPod onscreen then tp2 for me. With tp2 I think what happens is I slip to the next letter and i have to manually correct it. I get auto correction on iPod but my fingers/thumbs don't slip to the next letters. The hardness of my iPod screen feels so much better then the tp2 screen.
Is what I'm talking about capacitive vs resistive? Is it the iPod glass screen/hardness vs the tp2 softer screen?
And does anyone know how to get the tp2 to auto correct like iPod does?
Perhaps what we really need to know is what all the typing is for? Are these just little SMS messages or are you doing a lot of work on your phone?
The only way you're going to get physically bigger is by going to a full size (more r less) Bluetooth keyboard. Actually quite nice if you are doing a considerable amount of work on your phone. Maybe not so hot if you are only looking for a solution to tap out some SMS messages once in a while.
You can only make each key so big and still fit them all on a certain size screen. Does your iPud have a larger screen? You can look for other software keyboards, but the keys can only get so big & keep them all on screen.
A resistive screen needs to receive pressure. A capacitive screen only needs to register the electrostatic ground you provide. And yes, a capacitive screen is more like glass if not actually made of glass. Perhaps the capacitive screen of your iPud works better for you and the properties of the resistive screen just don't get along with your fingers. There are just now WM phones coming out with capacitive screens, HTC HD2 for instance.
These two are simply things that can't be changed with this phone. They are physical properties. If these are the problems, you need to look at other phones.
If you want the software to do others things like auto-correction, you need to look at other software keyboards.
Wikipedia & internet searching are your friends.
p.s. Please look up the proper usage of the words "then" and "than".
... How is this CMDA specific again?
just got my Acer Liquid with android.
i cant use my finger nail to touch the screen or use the onscreen keyboard with nail!
it' so much easier with resistance screen to use nail and 1 hand use!
you could glue a small magnet under your fingernail
i dont understand all this hype about capacitive screen. it really hard to type onscreen with finger and not nail!
and i dont understand all the hype about htc hd2 with capacitive screen, i dont want no freaking capcative screen!
i thinking of selling my acer liquid, i really dont like capcative screen!
Get used to it. It looks like all the begging and hype for capacitive means its not going away any time soon. Instead resistive seems to be on its last days.
I have heard though that someone was working on a dual cap/res screen. Now that would be useful.
jagnet said:
Get used to it. It looks like all the begging and hype for capacitive means its not going away any time soon. Instead resistive seems to be on its last days.
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then i'm going to keep my Acer S200 neotouch with 1G cpu for awhile! just tried texting on capactive screen with 1 hand, and u have to press the whole thumb on screen and u always get the wrong letter. haha
i going to sell my Acer Liquid just got it today! email me if you in USA! haha
netnerd said:
then i'm going to keep my Acer S200 neotouch with 1G cpu for awhile! just tried texting on capactive screen with 1 hand, and u have to press the whole thumb on screen and u always get the wrong letter. haha
i going to sell my Acer Liquid just got it today! email me if you in USA! haha
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you got mail.
where are you located?
Assume this is the Euro version?
With capacitive screens you have to almost touch above where you want. Not just and edge of where you want. It's hard but you get used to it. I much prefer resistive though and that's why I won't buy the HD2 or the Hero. Eventhough I want Hero so bad.
I've havd plenty exprience with both types of screens and can do everything better on resistive. I can type so much faster and accurate and can hit the smallest of links.
Capcitive screens require large screens and buttons to work right. Why do you think all the icons and buttons on the iphone are big? Not cause your grandma wouldn't be able to see them if they were small but because it's more accurate if they are big. That way you don't have to be exact. You can be sloppy with the touches and still get what you want.
I pref capa they can take more abuse
and don't require as much pressure
Rudegar said:
I pref capa they can take more abuse
and don't require as much pressure
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True but having that little pressure gives you more control of where you want to touch. And I like setting my thumb on the screen wthout actually pressing something unless I want.
Being able to press on the keyboard gives you a better feel and more control of hitting the right letter and faster because it feels more natueral.
But to each his own. Each has their pros and cons it's up to the individual to choose which combo of pros vs cons they prefer.
I would take accuracy and pressure presses over light presses and multi touch any day.
Resistive is getting more sensitive as the years go by. So I wouldn't call the tech dead. Resistive can also do multi touch. But Drivers and such have to be created and also the OS has to support it.
This is where I get confused. My fuze (Raphael) has a resistive screen but a capacitative d-pad. I have gscroll, which allows gestures and tapping on the d-pad. It may be a little less sensitive than using a finger, but it also responds fine to a nail. Maybe screen construction is different, though.
Yeah, and i got rid of my palm pre for the same reason, couldn't use it on my motorbike with the gloves on, went back to resistive with the acer f1, now biking and texting at the same time (NOT !)....
So far, I am underwhelmed by capacitive screen on Hero
HTC Touch Freak said:
With capacitive screens you have to almost touch above where you want. Not just and edge of where you want. It's hard but you get used to it.
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I'm not used to it yet, but I've only been using my Hero for about a week... Right now it's stock from HTC, not rooted, so I have not even consulted the Hero thread here yet to see what tricks and rigs they've got going.
While I will agree it is smoother to touch and glide/slide your finger across screen to scroll or flip to next page, truthfully, even on my T-Mobile Wing, old tech but made golden by the ROM chefs and app developers, I have had no problem for years flipping up down in iContact contact list, and more recently on Nitrogen song lists, or through a long file directory via Total Commander. In fact, I have, so far, felt that on the resistive screen, a flick up or down can be done with different force or speed, and results in different speed of scrolling through the list and where the screen lands at stop... whereas on my capcitive screen Hero, when I am flicking up down a long list of Gmails, I seem to only get one speed, and it's very incremental, I can't flick it to get down to the bottom of the list as I have been able to do on my little old T-Mobile QVGA Wing.
Same with browsing a webpage, especially a long article, and wanting to flick to the bottom... Can't do it (yet, again, not sure what the rooted Heroes with XDA ROMS do there) on my capacitive Hero.
Likewise, take the newest UI app made for WM (resistive) devices: Androkkid from Simo -- It has a UI like the Hero/Android, and it is so easy to swipe the screen left to right to flick to next and previous pages. It glides, no resistance... on the resistive screen !
Now THAT move on the Hero's capacitive screen is for sure much smoother and requires the lightest of touches. So, win 1 for capacitive.
And with s2v (slide to view) and various photo apps including rescoe viewer, a quick rotational arc gesture of my finger on the screen flipped a photo from landscape to portrait -- not simply for viewing (which accelerometers arguably do simpler, but I have not found it the case yet; there's lag time) -- but also for cropping and editing a picture.
One of the big arguments FOR capacitive screens is multi-touch and the squeezing and pinching to control zoom levels. That myth got shattered with browsers like Opera mini 4.2 and skyfire, and Netfront and Iris, etc. Tap-tap to zoom is SO much easier, and less RSI (repetitive stress) on finger muscles just to perform these multiple pinch and squeeze actions. I have seen ZERO value so far in this supposed selling point of capacitive screens. And, conversely, the resistive screens handle zooms and size changes fairly effortlessly, and very intuitively. So, to me, that's a win for resistive.
I don't get it (yet)... I have found no gestures on the Hero, like swiping right to left to go BACK on a website, or in any app. As much as I absolutely love this new Hero, I didn't want this to be the case, but the ergonomics of holding the device, hitting the hardkey back button (which requires a serious push, not a soft touch), as well as having to push a manual key for MENU options? All really taxing on one's hands and finger muscles even after a short while like 15 minutes straight.
Please someone tell me that XDA has given the Hero, and its capcitive screen all sorts of really simple and smooth to touch gestures that I can program to replace any hardkey function, especially: Back key, Menu key, and even volume controls.... All much easier to control on the resistive screen. Slider control actions like a touchscreen volume control left to right? As many have said, the target area for the finger to hit the control is very unforgiving... I've had to try again several times in a row... vs on resistive screen, such controls are so easy to control , whether with my full finger tip, or with a fingernail, and the precise control of stopping and sliding is more precise on resistive, in my view. Again, win for resistive.
I much prefer resistive though and that's why I won't buy the HD2 or the Hero. Eventhough I want Hero so bad.
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Are you paying attention? I can't quite say I am disapponted with the hero, because it is a stunning phone, with a great UI, and beautiful screen, and yes, shiny and elegant, with a great build quality. But if I can't discover gestures or ways to use touchscreen controls to bypass these hard-buttons, i can for sure say, no, it will grow tiring, I hate to say. Though again, i do not know what the new firmware will do, both Android's 2.1 and HTC's sense upgrade. (I know this has nothing to do with cap vs res screen, but I am really surprised by how stiff the hard buttons are on the hero. They feel like first generation calculators, vs the light touch keyboards from apple, for example.
I've havd plenty exprience with both types of screens and can do everything better on resistive. I can type so much faster and accurate and can hit the smallest of links.
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Resistive wins HUGE here. I almost never used the hard keyboard on my wing. I have always preferred an on screen keyboard, for rapid entry, and composing longer messages. And the app I used this past year on my Wing is Finger Keyboard -- oh my god it is so more advanced than even the HTC soft keyboard on the Hero that is the makeover for the default android soft keyboard. From the UI and color differentiation of FingerKeyboard, to its multi-functions and programmable shortcut phrases, to the real petal to the metal consideration of my fingers hitting all the right keys -- FAR greater accuracy on the resistive keyboard with my finger, and, like you i do like using a stylus for tapping out longer messages, or for entering long passwords that are combos of numbers and letters, cap and lower case. The rapid tap sequencing on that resistive screen using a stylus to accomplish that is easily 3 times faster to enter a complex username and password for sites that require it. A big win for resistive. Not even close.
Capcitive screens require large screens and buttons to work right. Why do you think all the icons and buttons on the iphone are big? Not cause your grandma wouldn't be able to see them if they were small but because it's more accurate if they are big. That way you don't have to be exact. You can be sloppy with the touches and still get what you want.
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But I will quibble: I don't think the decision tree of how to design the iphone began with -- oh, looks like we're going to need big icons because we're using capacitive screens. I think more likely it was Jobs swooningly saying "how do we fundamentally change the user experience of using a touch screen phone... And I'll bet that whole pinch zoom thing was more of the driver of "we MUST have multi-touch; therefore capacitive"... and the bigger icons were absolutely a usability design issue that solved for rapid selection of a large variety of items, even if the phone is mounted in your car near the steering wheel. I have to say, that was breakthrough thinking on their part, and the icon size issue should not be minimized as a "must make do with" reaction to the target accuracy of capacitive screens.
But yeah, I am with the original poster. But since I am new to capacitive all together, I am guessing there has been thread after thread of this same discussion 200 times over since the first iphone came out, and people were comparing it to WM devices.
So I hope someone can nevertheless explain to me: WHAT is the alleged advantage of capacitive other than pinch-zoom? I don;t get it at all.
Sadly
I think it is because WM is heading a a very very user friendly interface. Like the phone. There are trying to dumb the whole o.s. down and have the same things as the iphone has, to remain in the smart phone wars. Think this is all because of stupid apple
I agree, it's all a big trend to follow the iphone, a pity it's going to ruin whats great about WM in the process
I love my hero because of the capa screen, it looks so much better than the resistive ones, colour/clarity ect. i dont have to keep askin my mates " have you seen my stylus" lol and i dropped my ash tray on my hero the other day and not one scratch on the screen lol id hate to see the damage to my touch pro's screen if i did that lol
mancsoulja said:
I love my hero because of the capa screen, it looks so much better than the resistive ones, colour/clarity ect. i dont have to keep askin my mates " have you seen my stylus" lol and i dropped my ash tray on my hero the other day and not one scratch on the screen lol id hate to see the damage to my touch pro's screen if i did that lol
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Just because it is a capacitative screen doesn't mean that it is made of glass...
And I just can't wait till the multi-touch for resistive screens gets ported over to the TP2. It's already been proven to be possible on a larger screen, but hopefully it'll work on smaller screens. Still like resistive more than capacitative.
First of all, yes, I am calling it the mySlide 4G. But, my question is, how good is the keyboard? And I don't mean "how good is the keyboard compared to the [Insert Phone Name Here], I mean is the keyboard usable, does it get the job done, and can it be used fast? I have never owned a keyboard before so I am not super worried about adjusting, but in the time I (im)patiently wait for my phone to arrive, I thought I would get thoughts of what real users think of the keyboard. Despite watching/reading all the reviews of the mySlide, it's refreshing to find out what people who don't compare phones for a living think.
natehoch96 said:
First of all, yes, I am calling it the mySlide 4G. But, my question is, how good is the keyboard? And I don't mean "how good is the keyboard compared to the [Insert Phone Name Here], I mean is the keyboard usable, does it get the job done, and can it be used fast? I have never owned a keyboard before so I am not super worried about adjusting, but in the time I (im)patiently wait for my phone to arrive, I thought I would get thoughts of what real users think of the keyboard. Despite watching/reading all the reviews of the mySlide, it's refreshing to find out what people who don't compare phones for a living think.
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Click to collapse
I like the keyboard, sure I wish it had a dedicated number row but no biggie. It feels great my fingers. The only thing I'd really change at this point is moving the .com button. I'm constantly hitting that when I want an "a". But I really don't understand why there are so many reviews trashing this keyboard. I'm very particular about my hard keyboards and this one fits in with my high standards.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App
I think given the amount of real estate that the keys could use on the phone. That they are too tiny and close together. I'm constantly hitting keys I didnt mean to. And to reach some of them it feels akward, I have to reach further than feels natural. Namely the space bar feels too far to the left.
The response time seems fine. Keys work smoothly. It's just a bit off for me, and not really a comfortable keyboard to use. I'm sure I will adapt and eventually wont notice it anymore.
I really didn't think I would like the Slide's keyboard after using the Touch Pro 2 for so long, but it isn't that bad. The only thing I find myself doing is hitting the '.com' key more often than not when I want an 'a'. I've only had the phone since Tuesday, so I'm sure that with a little bit more time, it won't be an issue.
I think the keyboard is quite usable, and I can type at a relatively quick speed on it.
hah, funny how different typing styles result in different annoyances with the keyboard.
I'm quite liking it, personally. the G1 is still my favorite of the hw keyboard android phones I've had, but the slide is just fine. the only things I would change:
-the back button is pretty inconveniently placed for my typing style. it's not uncommon for me to be typing a sentence and when I end it I accidentally hit "back" and lose everything (unless it's a text or whatever that saves a draft). I also hit "menu" occasionally when typing a comma.
-tactile feedback. I like a nice "click" or at least a pronounced "smoosh" when I'm typing. with the slide, you almost can't tell you've pressed a key.
some things that I really like about it so far:
-however superfluous they may be, the leds at the top of the keyboard that tell you if you have caps or alt on. nice touch.
-spacing is nice. I look at, for comparison's sake, the D3 and can't imagine how anyone with hands bigger than a toddler can type accurately on it. the slide has good spacing and while I agree with azscrewloose on the size of the keys (they could be a smidgen larger), overall, it feels good even with huge hands like mine.
I've never used a slide-out keyboard before but all-in-all this phone feels really nice. The most awkward part for me is the spacebar but I love the www./.com button and caps lock/alt leds, it makes it easy to punch in numbers. The keys they chose to make default work very well. And I think once this phone gets root/s-off/overclock it's going to be a force to be reckoned with.
this phone qwerty and the rest of the hard buttons went kaput. broken. tried factory reset and did not help. these phones are pieces of crap. sending them back and done with android maybe. idk. htc dropped the ball on this one and tmobile lost customers. hope this helps some considering. dont do it.
fireinthesky2night said:
this phone qwerty and the rest of the hard buttons went kaput. broken. tried factory reset and did not help. these phones are pieces of crap. sending them back and done with android maybe. idk. htc dropped the ball on this one and tmobile lost customers. hope this helps some considering. dont do it.
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lol... this happens with any phone from any manufacturer on any carrier. any electronic device, for that matter. it's called a hardware defect and sometimes it happens. get a replacement and get over it.
pmcqueen said:
-tactile feedback. I like a nice "click" or at least a pronounced "smoosh" when I'm typing. with the slide, you almost can't tell you've pressed a key.
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This was one of my worries. Although I have never owned a QWERTY keyboard phone, I imagine some tactile feedback would be nice.
fireinthesky2night said:
this phone qwerty and the rest of the hard buttons went kaput. broken. tried factory reset and did not help. these phones are pieces of crap. sending them back and done with android maybe. idk. htc dropped the ball on this one and tmobile lost customers. hope this helps some considering. dont do it.
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Click to collapse
Yea I agree with pmcqueen, just because your phone had problems doesn't mean every phone did. And I certainly wouldn't get rid of Android due to this, it is a great and probably the most powerful phone OS out there. Get a replacement, I guarantee that it won't have the same problems. And if it does, contact T-Mobile and get a free Sensation and a discount on your plan or something lol.
I like the keyboard. I find typing on it to be a much better experience then some of the other phones i've tried, I don't run into the problem of hitting other keys I didn't mean to.
Seems like they are spaced just far enough apart, and raised to just the right height.
Another thing I like is that all the keys are backlit, so I can see them even when it's dim and the light from the screen makes everything around it hard to see.
The one thing I don't like is a lack of arrow keys, but I suppose I can live with that, even though it really sucks.
I like the combination .com and www. button, and the symbol button. The symbol button pops up a choice of symbols on the screen that you can tap to insert. Very helpful.
Blue6IX said:
I like the keyboard. I find typing on it to be a much better experience then some of the other phones i've tried, I don't run into the problem of hitting other keys I didn't mean to.
Seems like they are spaced just far enough apart, and raised to just the right height.
Another thing I like is that all the keys are backlit, so I can see them even when it's dim and the light from the screen makes everything around it hard to see.
The one thing I don't like is a lack of arrow keys, but I suppose I can live with that, even though it really sucks.
I like the combination .com and www. button, and the symbol button. The symbol button pops up a choice of symbols on the screen that you can tap to insert. Very helpful.
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I do wish that the backlighting was more generous, but hopefully there will be an app for that once the phone is rooted.
Plus, for the arrow keys, the optical scroll pad works great!
Keyboard is not to my liking
I had the "mySlide 4G" for a week. I hated the keyboard. I have used a G2 a couple times, the slide fails to match that experience. I thought after a week I would get used to the keyboard, that did not happen. I hated it and returned the phone, even though i am currently phoneless I am not going to get that phone. I hate software keyboards so much, I thought this phone was going to be amazing. The keys are spaced to wide, I thought that would accommodate my fat fingers, but it was worst than the G2. I did not get the feedback I was expecting, the keys are a bit too far in for my taste. The slide mechanism felt flimsy after a couple days use and battery life was terrible compared to my previous nexus one.
TL;DR The keys do not have good feedback and are too far apart. Battery life is meh.
I would say it's on par with the other physical keyboards that HTC has released. I still think the G1 was the best, because of the number row....even though it took time getting use to holding it. So far I am having issues with the MTS4g, but I think it's because I am coming from the G2. Comparing the G2 to the MTS4G, the Alt and Shift keys are literally backwards. So I am constantly hitting Shift when I want to hit Alt, just because they are backwards and I am used to the G2 button location.
I just wish I could figure out what button I am hitting that shuts down my SMS in the middle of typing....that's starting to get annoying.
All in all, I would give this a 6.5 out of 10.
cberbes said:
I would say it's on par with the other physical keyboards that HTC has released. I still think the G1 was the best, because of the number row....even though it took time getting use to holding it. So far I am having issues with the MTS4g, but I think it's because I am coming from the G2. Comparing the G2 to the MTS4G, the Alt and Shift keys are literally backwards. So I am constantly hitting Shift when I want to hit Alt, just because they are backwards and I am used to the G2 button location.
I just wish I could figure out what button I am hitting that shuts down my SMS in the middle of typing....that's starting to get annoying.
All in all, I would give this a 6.5 out of 10.
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almost certainly the "Back" button on the SMS shutdown. if I remember right, the G2 just had a search and menu key on the keyboard... for better or worse, the MT4GS has [rather inconveniently if you ask me] placed a "back" key right next to the period. I regularly hit the back button when trying to punctuate properly.
so I guess I either look like a halfwit when making business communication or I have to deal with losing a few messages (usually they just save as drafts when I press back, but sometimes I lose them altogether) and start from scratch.
thankfully, though, s-off and permaroot are now officially right around the corner and we can remap these buttons. yayyyy.
The 4g slide's keyboard definitely needs some getting used to.
I LOVED the 3g slides keyboard and thought it would be pretty much the same.
The buttons are MUCH more sensitive and are taking time to get used to.
I liked the g2's buttons (as far as feel) better, and I liked the original slides the best. I've been reading that people have been keyboards that have different feels so you mileage may vary. I noticed pressure differences in the two 4g slides I bought (mine is ultra sensitive).
Once we have root, one of the FIRST things I'm doing is editing the keymappings and making the retarded www.com key a tab button. WTF are people that lazy that it warrants a dedicated key? I understand TAB with linux since it autocompletes and I use a shell and ssh a lot. Oh well.
pmcqueen said:
almost certainly the "Back" button on the SMS shutdown. if I remember right, the G2 just had a search and menu key on the keyboard... for better or worse, the MT4GS has [rather inconveniently if you ask me] placed a "back" key right next to the period. I regularly hit the back button when trying to punctuate properly.
so I guess I either look like a halfwit when making business communication or I have to deal with losing a few messages (usually they just save as drafts when I press back, but sometimes I lose them altogether) and start from scratch.
thankfully, though, s-off and permaroot are now officially right around the corner and we can remap these buttons. yayyyy.
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Click to collapse
Yup, that's it. Good call. I just looked at both of my keyboards and I think you nailed it on the head. Which of course brings up another issue with the physical keyboard....more of a software issue than anything. I can NOT get the physical keyboard set to auto-punctuate and auto-cap. With my G2 running CM7.1.0, I have auto punctuate and auto cap, so I don't have to worry about apostrophes, capitalizing "I", and what not, and double space ends the sentence.
I miss those features.
I'm getting used to the keyboards lack of tactile feedback but the lack of a dedicated number row is my biggest annoyance. If u could hold the buttons down and get the alt function that would help a lot. Hopefully a new rom can give us that option. I do miss my touch pro 2 kb...
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using XDA App
I'm on the fence about what I think. On one hand, I actually prefer having such wide spacing between keys, a shallow travel, and soft response. I'm the type of person who loves the keyboards on palm phones since the centro; I like that soft touch, and I like that I can input with my nails if i need to. But the problem for me is that response among keys is uneven, on my model at least, with the keys towards the outwards edges being perfect, whereas a few keys towards the center, like the "t" and "g", barely provide me with any feedback. So little that I was actually looking around to whether I can enable virtual keyboard sounds or vibration feedback when using the hardware keyboard. I wonder whether its just a quality control issue because I haven't seen others have problems with specific buttons like that, they might just not like the keyboard at all but I haven't read about an uneven response.
Which is a shame because otherwise the phone is absolutely spectacular, and imo the best overall android offering out there. I have no issues whatsoever with using a virtual keyboard, but given the possibility, I'd rather use a physical one to save real estate and for the sake of my fingers.
However, I've only had the phone for 2 days, and I have clearly noticed that the keys are "breaking in". It was much worse the first day, but now response has improved substantially. I can tell because some of the outer keys had little response as well before but now click more satisfactorily after I spent a good amount of time pressing keys randomly in the notes app to wear the keys in.
I like this keyboard a lot. The only thing that absolutely sucks about it is that when using it your hands cover the bluetooth radio. For me since I am constantly listening to music on my phone via my bluetooth headphones... I am constantly annoyed by skipping music during texting or browsing. So I generally use the touch screen keyboard while listening to music via bluetooth.
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using XDA App
On another note, does anybody know if their is a version of the stock gingerbread keyboard available with hardware spelling suggestions? The hardware keyboard is a lot more usable for me when used with suggestions. Better Keyboard has it and works well, but its prediction simply isn't as good as either gingerbread's or HTCs, mainly because it doesn't correct a lot of words where you type in an extra letter. And HTCs keyboard, though good as well, simply annoys me because it alwaayyysssss autocorrects "lol" to "LOL", which though minor, I find incredibly irksome when texting. No one uses caps for lol unless they are actually find something hilarious. Everybody knows that lol doesnt actually mean you're laughing out loud most of the time, lol. See? I didn't laugh.
In general, the phones I've had before had really snappy keys that had a lot of feedback when pressed. Unfortunately, I'm not getting the same thing on my myTouch's keyboard. It works in such a way that I put a little bit of force on the key, feel no feedback, and see the key appear in whichever text box I'm typing in.
Is this the way it was designed, or is it a hardware defect? I'd really like to know because I am getting ready to root it, and I'd rather not have a subpar phone. The keyboard is one of the main reasons I really wanted this phone, but I've now grown accustomed to typing on the screen because of how odd it is to type on the keyboard.
If it matters, I have the khaki color.
I don't recall ever having feedback when using the hardware keyboard, and what you described above sounds like normal operation.
How do you like the khaki one?
I've noticed this as well. I've returned several phones, not for this reason, but my current phone is the only one where I get a good click or compression on the keys. Otherwise, sometimes it feels like I didn't press the key, but the keystroke still shows up. The g2 imo gives a lot of feedback.
I would have preferred the black, but I do think that the Khaki does look very nice. It has a nice contrast to the colors, but manages to look good.
As for the keyboard, I'm disappointed to hear that. My sisters mytouch 3g slide had a keyboard that gave a lot of feedback. I see no reason why it would be gone from these models... In any case, it's a fantastic phone otherwise.
i was kind of fooled by the dummy model phones in the Tmo store- they seem to have a real nice, more-raised keyboard. then when i got the phone i was kind of dissappointed that the keys were pretty flat. i went back and a guy told me that the dummy models are not exactly the same as the real models, that they are built more durable, to withstand all the touching and handling that people will do to it in the stores. i guess that makes sense.. i should have complained more i guess.. maybe i'll go back, lol.
I played around with them too, but I didn't notice any real difference between the display unit and my own. I suppose that some people get lucky with their units.
If you want to trade your khaki for a black I'd be more than happy to but yea my phone provides a little feedback although not as much as desired. It takes some time to get used to. But overall this phone is the first one i fell in love with, and i dont want to change it until it becomes completely obsolete
Sent from my DoubleShot Lite using XDA App
Coming from a g1 this keyboard feels smoother and nicer.
Just me though.
sent from my RuBiX infused MT4G Slide using xda premium
Droidmoder said:
Coming from a g1 this keyboard feels smoother and nicer.
Just me though.
sent from my RuBiX infused MT4G Slide using xda premium
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I'll agree with this to a point. I miss the dedicated number keys.
My MT3GS had much better tactile feedback, but I got used to this one pretty quickly and don't mind it.
blackknightavalon said:
I'll agree with this to a point. I miss the dedicated number keys.
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Yup thats my only. Gripe. I got use too using alt now lol
sent from my RuBiX infused MT4G Slide using xda premium
I hate the mushiness of the keys.
Sent from my ICS Splashed MT4GS using Tapatalk
the MTS3G was much better (as others have said) the keys on that phone almost seemed to "snap" like a proper keyboard.
Although the layout of keys is better on the 4G slide (with the exception of the <back> button too close to the spacebar) , but the keys themselves really suck - feels like im typing on a some cheap calculator.
Also (being like a calculator) find it hard to type fast on the 4G slide.... with the tops of the keys flat (as opposed to the concave [dome'd] keys on 3G slide). The flat keys make you hit the wrong key sometimes, even with people with small hands.
in summary the old keyboard was much better..... but performance sucked. 4G slide much better faster, better camera, more storage... --just sad it has such a crappy keyboard...
My phone got better over time. My top row of keys did not have much of a click when I pressed em initially. Not all mt4gs are made the same. You can probably exchange it for another one if your keyboard is bad. You might have better luck
Sent from my ICS Splashed MT4GS using Tapatalk
Like I said I went through about three replacements before finding one where the keys actually felt like they were clicking
Sent from my Doubleshot using XDA App
Having used all sorts of HTC phones with keyboards since my first Blue Angel I have to say that my old TouchPro2 had the best keyboard. MT4GS keyboard feels like it was put there in haste. Awfully constructed, no tactile feedback, i keep hitting the .com key because in their infinite wisdom they put it right before the A key, the space bar key is hit or miss and it is NOT centered. I am finding i have to retrain myself with this thing to use my left thumb to hit the space bar instead of my usual right. Before I clould type long emails on the phone, with this one I find i am not typing nowhere near as much. And would it kill HTC to put the 4 directional keys????
FreeK200 said:
In general, the phones I've had before had really snappy keys that had a lot of feedback when pressed. Unfortunately, I'm not getting the same thing on my myTouch's keyboard. It works in such a way that I put a little bit of force on the key, feel no feedback, and see the key appear in whichever text box I'm typing in.
Is this the way it was designed, or is it a hardware defect? I'd really like to know because I am getting ready to root it, and I'd rather not have a subpar phone. The keyboard is one of the main reasons I really wanted this phone, but I've now grown accustomed to typing on the screen because of how odd it is to type on the keyboard.
If it matters, I have the khaki color.
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Click to collapse
i have a terrible time trying to type on this thing. i, also, end up using the soft keyboard and just sorta look at the trackpad and hardware keyboard as a fail-safe in case of magnetizer failure. such was the fate of my beloved hd2 (leo) twice.