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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Click to collapse
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?
Related
this is not a rant thread but what is what is what is the hype about capacitive screens?
for one i enjoy using my nails to click stuffs on the phone and wont this be more precise?
i do not have the fortune to have a capacitive phone before but i really want to know what is so good about this?
So many pple cant be wrong right?????????
(p/s I WANT A HTC TOUCH HD 2 NOW )
First post in a long time!!!!
Well, maybe some of you have noted that i was not posting haha. its because im busy at school.. all those knowledge things etc.
Ok, when i saw that title i was already thinking in something that could make a revolutionary change O:!!
Actually, you can fit a resistive screen layer on a capacitive screen surface.
Just with the needed configuration, driver and alternation between screens (ie: using resistive for pen works as writing programs and capacitive for multi-touching things)
Imagine, using the fingertip to scroll smoothly and writing with a pen at the same time ;D! (Just an idea... no one would do that, but anyone could do ;D)
Just with the right libaries, drivers, software and OS modifications.
cuff cuff M$ could try this on its phone or for the new wm7 cuff cuff...
Just an idea ;D!
See ya !!
The sensitivity!!! Can someone confirm if the HTC HD2 has the same sensitivity to the iphone? I know it will be much better than resistive...
leobox1 said:
i do not have the fortune to have a capacitive phone before but i really want to know what is so good about this?So many pple cant be wrong right?????????
(p/s I WANT A HTC TOUCH HD 2 NOW )
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leo... while your waiting on the LEO, just go to an at&t store and play with one on an iphonie
capacitive means that you can put a screen protector on it and it will be pretty much just as sensitive =]
but perhaps the best part is that you can just glide your finger over the surface and it will respond...resistive screens are much less sensitive.
I have read somewhere that HTC was working on a capacitive stylus though..sothat would be the best of both worlds =]
am i right to assume,
resistive = precise but not sensitive
capacitive = not precise but sensitive
Isaygarcia said:
First post in a long time!!!!
Well, maybe some of you have noted that i was not posting haha. its because im busy at school.. all those knowledge things etc.
Ok, when i saw that title i was already thinking in something that could make a revolutionary change O:!!
Actually, you can fit a resistive screen layer on a capacitive screen surface.
Just with the needed configuration, driver and alternation between screens (ie: using resistive for pen works as writing programs and capacitive for multi-touching things)
Imagine, using the fingertip to scroll smoothly and writing with a pen at the same time ;D! (Just an idea... no one would do that, but anyone could do ;D)
Just with the right libaries, drivers, software and OS modifications.
cuff cuff M$ could try this on its phone or for the new wm7 cuff cuff...
Just an idea ;D!
See ya !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wont it be thick? the screen..
leobox1 said:
this is not a rant thread but what is what is what is the hype about capacitive screens?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Resistive screens work by detecting pressure, so you have to press on them, sometimes quite hard. Capacitive screens can detect the lightest of touches. So capacitive screens tend to be more responsive. If you're trying to type on an on-screen keyboard at speed then a capacitive screen is usually far better - you can actually type rapidly rather than having to methodically press. each. key. one. at. a. time.
Another important difference is that, for practical purposes, resistive screens cannot support multi-touch - they can only detect being pressed in one place at once. That means they can't do things like iPhone-style pinch-zooming which requires the phone to track you pressing in two different places at the same time. (There are multi-touch resistive displays but they're too expensive or difficult to use on a device like a phone).
The upside of resistive screens is that you can press them with almost anything. A conventional stylus won't work on a capacitive screen, neither will your fingernail - only skin. So you can't stab the screen with a convenient pen-top, and it won't work if you're wearing gloves. There has been some work done on creating special capacitive styluses - I'm not sure how well they work in practice and they're not yet widely available.
skulk3r said:
capacitive means that you can put a screen protector on it and it will be pretty much just as sensitive =]
but perhaps the best part is that you can just glide your finger over the surface and it will respond...resistive screens are much less sensitive.
I have read somewhere that HTC was working on a capacitive stylus though..sothat would be the best of both worlds =]
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A capacitive one works like the touchpad of a laptop. Sometimes i would prefer a capacitive screen on my Touch HD but sometimes even not. Because you can get much easylier error inputs with a capacitive screen. It just needs that your finger touchs slidly the screen and a input is made. But with a resistive screen you really have to press on it.
A screen with both tecs would be nice, have read something about this, but don´t remember who is inventing this.
Don't know if it's because it's capacitive, but the iPhone screen always seems more readable in direct sunlight compared to my Touch Pro (or Touch 3G, or Touch).
For me personally, I think the problems of cold hands or a stylus not being able to work the screen outweigh the benefits. I also can't get my head around pinch to zoom - I love watching iPhone users trying to demonstrate the feature with one hand, sort of juggling it around trying not to drop it. I prefer double tapping on the bit you want to zoom in on. I can't wait to play with a Leo and see which works best in a 'Windows Phone' environment.
Ouzo said:
For me personally, I think the problems of cold hands or a stylus not being able to work the screen outweigh the benefits. I also can't get my head around pinch to zoom - I love watching iPhone users trying to demonstrate the feature with one hand, sort of juggling it around trying not to drop it. I prefer double tapping on the bit you want to zoom in on. I can't wait to play with a Leo and see which works best in a 'Windows Phone' environment.
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Well obviously pinch-zoom is not designed to work one-handed, but then neither is using a stylus. One advantage of pinch-zoom is that it lets you pick which part of the screen you want to zoom in on and exactly how much you want to zoom in by. Using a zoom-bar doesn't give you any control over where it zooms - it'll always pick (say) the top left hand corner of the screen as a reference point; double-tapping lets you pick where to zoom, but not by how much. Other solutions require additional gestures or presses. Pinch-zooming is also extremely intuitive - non-technical people get the hang of it instantly. Other types of multi-touch gesture are often very intuitive too; for example, running Google Earth on the iPhone, if you want to rotate the map you simply take hold of it and twist.
I think it's interesting how many people were claiming that resistive is better than capacitive whenever they were trying to bash the iphone, yet now those same people can't wait to get their hands on the Leo's capacitive screen.
Personally, I'd rather have resistive. The difference in sensitivity isn't great (so many HD reviews said how close it was to the sensitivity of the iphone). Multitouch is overrated. You can easily zoom in and out with a circle motion on a resistive screen. For me, neither of those capacitive advantages comes close to the benefit of being able to select with a stylus far more accurately than you ever can with a finger. No need to pinch-zoom in to select that link on a web page, or to select a cell in a spreadsheet. That's what's important to me.
capacitive is not good for drawing precise pics right?
HP tablet laptops have some hybrid of resistive and capacitive screens. They have a switch on the side that flicks between them and so they support multi-touch AND stylus
HP Laptop
My mates got one and its dead impressive. Just a shame the screens only 12" If they had them on 17" laptops like the one im using i'd be well up for it!
Capacitive and pinch zoom are both well overrated!
I can touch the screen of my X1 and it responds - no pressure. And I can zoom in by double tapping. Can't see what all the fuss is about to be honest. Probably something started by iPhone fanboys!
Ouzo said:
For me personally, I think the problems of cold hands or a stylus not being able to work the screen outweigh the benefits.
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I totally agree. I don't want to lose the accuracy of a stylus. Why should I have to zoom in to click a small link with a fat finger, when I can click it unzoomed with a stylus? Same with a cell on a spreadsheet.
Multitouch is just a gimmick that really doesn't add anything useful. Either double tap or use the circle gesture to zoom/unzoom.
RIM applied for a patent for a dual capacitive/resistive screen about a month or two.. so someone is working on it.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/05/rim-patent-filing-reveals-hybrid-capacitive-resistive-touchscr/
Monty Burns said:
HP tablet laptops have some hybrid of resistive and capacitive screens. They have a switch on the side that flicks between them and so they support multi-touch AND stylus
HP Laptop
My mates got one and its dead impressive. Just a shame the screens only 12" If they had them on 17" laptops like the one im using i'd be well up for it!
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thats my laptop, did not know it had a hybrid screen. there no switch on the side, the pen works and the multi touch works (i think, if i press in 2 places it the marker goes to the middle) without press any switch.
People who say there x1, diamond 2s and so one are as sensitive as an iPhone, have not tried seeing how gently you can touch it.
I do like capacitives screens, but I will feel lost without a stylus.
Has anyone else noticed on the iPhone, it doesnt respond to a touch with a nail, but if you touch with you finger and then without taking your finger off put it so only your nail is on the screen it still responds!?
Hopefully HTC will soon release the capacitive stylus that isnt a joke like the pogostick one.
Shasarak does make a very good point though regarding the extra operation being involved after double tapping in a particular area - I guess I'm taking the 'scroll wheel' on my Touch Pro for granted and using it to do the second operation without even thinking about it ; )
As an aside, boy would I like to see physical scroll wheels with navipads underneath make a return, not to mention dedicated camera buttons!
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.
I've never had a touch screen phone. The only touch screen device I've had is a Palm IIIxe. Yeah, I guess I'm dating myself here. All of my phones have had hardware buttons with some sort of D-pad. I'm considering finally getting a touchscreen device (EVO) and I'm wondering what you guys think about alternative cursor controls in combination with a touchscreen.
The G1 had a trackball. As does the Nexus One. Several Android devices now have optical pads in place of the trackball. And some other devices have hard d-pads.
My question is thus:
What do you guys think about having an extra way to input on a touchscreen phone? Do you find yourself using it often? Hardly at all? Would you rather have that extra space as more screen (or something else)? And which do you prefer? Optical, hard d-pad, or trackball?
Just trying to get some discussion and some thoughts going.
Thanks.
Minjin said:
I've never had a touch screen phone. The only touch screen device I've had is a Palm IIIxe. Yeah, I guess I'm dating myself here. All of my phones have had hardware buttons with some sort of D-pad. I'm considering finally getting a touchscreen device (EVO) and I'm wondering what you guys think about alternative cursor controls in combination with a touchscreen.
The G1 had a trackball. As does the Nexus One. Several Android devices now have optical pads in place of the trackball. And some other devices have hard d-pads.
My question is thus:
What do you guys think about having an extra way to input on a touchscreen phone? Do you find yourself using it often? Hardly at all? Would you rather have that extra space as more screen (or something else)? And which do you prefer? Optical, hard d-pad, or trackball?
Just trying to get some discussion and some thoughts going.
Thanks.
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Click to collapse
Optical track ball looks sweet, but it's alot finickery than the trackball itself. I can old see a d-pad for games, that's it.
it is GREAT for selecting texts. i think track ball is the best as it feels the most smooth and have some physical feedback.
I'm happy to have it. It would honestly draw me away from the phone if it didn't have a trackball. I constantly use it, it's kinda just natural.
my x1 got an optical actionpad and it's pretty jittery close to useless
It's a great optional way to input, edit, etc. Plus changing colors for diff events is awesome...Luv it on my Nexus!
I love the trackball on my Nexus, just makes it WAY easier to correct text, instead of tapping around till you find the right spot, you just go there. Now I will be buying an Evo, and I'll get used to it, I did it on my iPhone & I do fine without it on my Droid, but it will be missed.
I've heard trackballs don't last as long. Is this true?
I love my trackball it makes things easy
How does it work exactly? Do you get a mouse pointer? Or are the trackballs movements just translated into up/down/left/right?
A mouse pointer would be sweet....
I love the trackball. On my G1, it is no longer perfect, but still does the job.
I have just got a Desire as a new work phone, and the optical track ball SUCKS. So dissapointed. It's going back! I'm either going to wait for a keyboard phone or get an N1.
MooGoo said:
How does it work exactly? Do you get a mouse pointer? Or are the trackballs movements just translated into up/down/left/right?
A mouse pointer would be sweet....
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You get a mouse pointer in Opera 5. I like having it.
Is it mini or mobile? I can't remember.
TrackballS tend to get dirty and jam, this happend to almost all my phones that had them (especially BB's). Now that I have a phone with the optical pad, I find it more stylish, durable, comfortable and reliable. It just took a little getting used to at first. Im sure most phones from now on will be using the pad over the ball. Trackballs are so 2009.
it's 2008, not 2009
optical trackpad has been out for too long and I think it's better. I don't know how can you guys use the trackball and not get it dirty :-s
and on android phone I don't need either of those, I use volume key to move the cursor, and it's good enough for me
I use it mainly for moving my cursor in a text, copying text.
Sometimes I use it for scrolling through a list or a document.
Little use overall, but I'm happy it's there when I need it.
benoitb85 said:
I use it mainly for moving my cursor in a text, copying text.
Sometimes I use it for scrolling through a list or a document.
Little use overall, but I'm happy it's there when I need it.
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Exactly, it is rarely used, but selecting text/moving the cursor around a text field with the optical sensor is bad. You can only jump 1 character at a time.
As I mentioned before, it's great having the mouse pointer in Opera, and the trackball complements it great. The optical is no good at all with this, as it only moves up/down and left/right, not diagonally, and only in small steps.
I have had my G1 for ages, without a case, and the trackball, while not as good as new, still blows the optical sensor away.
I don't think it matters what year it is, there are advantages to the trackball over the optical.
I like the trackpad and the hardware d-pad of my Xperia X1. They enable me to use my phone singlehandedly whenever I need to. It's also nice to scroll through lists. And last but not least one or two more opitions to control your device can never be bad.
very useful, you cant navigate the bootloader without it.
i smashed my phone yesterday and im glad i have the hardware buttons including the trackball
i managed to backup everything without touch input! win
the track ball would keep me away from the g1, nexus one and any other phone that has it. i never understood it nor did i see the need for it. i've played with them on my friends phones and have not felt comfortable using them. but it does seem like others have found them valuable so i guess its safest to say that they are not for everybody.
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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.
So, I have the mt4gs and a Samsung Transform Ultra that's unconnected. (long story.) the STU has swype on it as well. However, the on screen buttons are taller and slightly wider. the screen is wider, but also not as tall, so I figure that causes it to auto format differently. i absolutely hate on screen keyboards with incredible passion, which Is why I'm using a phone with a real hardware keyboard. But sinc eht on screen buttons ont he STU are so big and perfectly placed, I actually find it quite tolerable and actually use it to type when I turn that phone on.
I also noticed that manufacturers alter swype to suit the marketing and purposes of their phones. so I wondered if there's any way to mod the swype files to increase the sizes of the on screen keys, since I'm rooted. any help or pointing me int he right direction would be much appreciated.
Falkner09 said:
So, I have the mt4gs and a Samsung Transform Ultra that's unconnected. (long story.) the STU has swype on it as well. However, the on screen buttons are taller and slightly wider. the screen is wider, but also not as tall, so I figure that causes it to auto format differently. i absolutely hate on screen keyboards with incredible passion, which Is why I'm using a phone with a real hardware keyboard. But sinc eht on screen buttons ont he STU are so big and perfectly placed, I actually find it quite tolerable and actually use it to type when I turn that phone on.
I also noticed that manufacturers alter swype to suit the marketing and purposes of their phones. so I wondered if there's any way to mod the swype files to increase the sizes of the on screen keys, since I'm rooted. any help or pointing me int he right direction would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not trying to sound snarky, but have you rotated the phone to landscape mode? The landscape Swype keyboard is much nicer.
Fuzi0719 said:
Not trying to sound snarky, but have you rotated the phone to landscape mode? The landscape Swype keyboard is much nicer.
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Click to collapse
Yeah I don't like that much either. but I'm talking about the portrait mode, since that can be operated with one hand to tap out a quick short message. I mean, if I was willing to turn the phone each time and remove my other hand from what it's doing/holding, I'd just slide the top portion and use the hard keys.