Database Users

Fat finger when dialing phone numbers

I have the Cingular 8125.
The problem I have with it is that the number keys are too small for me to tap with the tip of my thumb. Is there some mod that will change the size of each button, allowing me to use it more easily?
Thank

do a search for the touch dialer

Had the same problem
These are the best ones I've found. Plus, some of them are terrific for making the dial pad visible in bright sunlight. He's also working on smart-dial versions, if you use that feature, tho I don't know if they're fully functional yet:
http://www.paulya.com/dialerskins.htm

garyHal said:
I have the Cingular 8125.
The problem I have with it is that the number keys are too small for me to tap with the tip of my thumb. Is there some mod that will change the size of each button, allowing me to use it more easily?
Thank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you should not use your thumb !

kidlockatong said:
These are the best ones I've found. Plus, some of them are terrific for making the dial pad visible in bright sunlight. He's also working on smart-dial versions, if you use that feature, tho I don't know if they're fully functional yet:
http://www.paulya.com/dialerskins.htm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
keep hearing people mention this, what is smartdial exactly?

funy said:
what is smartdial exactly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a search feature. As you tap in digits, it displays a dynamic list of complete numbers to choose from. The way I use my 8125, I found it kind of annoying, so I disabled it, but depending on how you use your phone, it might come in handy.
"...should not use your thumb !" ?????
Heh, heh. The only time I'm not working the phone with just one thumb, either navigating by mouse-button, by page-slider (with Smartskey) or on the touch-screen, is when I've got the keyboard out and I'm typing !
(With both thumbs, and at 30 wpm)
Let's see Steve Jobs top that ...

Used to be a big fan of Jimm98y's Dialer (CAB) but these days, I find the PaulyA.com Vista Dialer (WWW) much more stable and quicker to load. I just re-skinned it to suit my color preferences. He has most basic colors packaged already, to make things even easier for you...
...and yes, I'm a thumb dialer, and yes, the buttons are large enough for it. I found it helps considerably to double the sensitivity settings of your touch screen (there is a tweak here); this is especially helpful if you use a screen protector film.
...oh, one last thing. Smartdial is useful if you remember numbers and start dialing them to find people. If you're like me and have a directory in the hundreds, Smartdial isn't that useful. I passed on it, in favor of Pocket CM, which I can quickly navigate one-handed.

Myrddin Wyllt said:
it helps considerably to double the sensitivity settings of your touch screen (there is a tweak here);
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried that. Yeah, I'd sure say that helped Thanks!

Honestly, how is the typing?

Guys - great information in the Blackstone forum - wow! I have been following this device for a while, and may want to take the plunge on it (after being disappointed with the Diamond and the Fuze). But - I really need to know how the typing is on this thing? I have read some negative and positive comments on this and other Forums, and I would love to get some opinions. I am a user of Nokia, BlackBerry and the iPhone (cell-phone crack addict), and even though I don't type a book on my phone each day, I do answer about 30 texts and 20 emails per day (1 to 3 sentence responses), and I want to make sure I will not struggle with the typing on this box. I crank on my various Nokia's and my iPhone (BlackBerry goes without saying) - and I don't want to slow down drastically with this device.
Could anyone give me some "real world" experience? I could see myself using the keyboard in both Portrait and Landscape mode - depending on what I was doing at the time.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Adam

I find it remarkably well, after getting used to typing instead of writing (I come from PalmOS). Still, my advice is go to a phone shop and try for yourself to see if your fingers aren't too fat
But at least allow for the fact that the first time typing on a touchscreen is going to feel wierd and that you will improve.

I find it really good (coming from the HTC Touch which was sooo small and a pain even when using the stylus). Typing fast its fairly accurate and although you can tweak it to write in landscape I generally type in portrait. I have spent a fair amount of time with the iphone too and although not directly comparative it really is a fairly close call.
(oh and i have fat fingers )

I have had my HD for about 3 weeks now. I don't type that often on it, but I can tell I am getting better. I usually make about one mistake per sentence, but I must say, that I type somewhat slow to avoid making mistakes.
I also see a pattern of mistakes, that show I probably need to practice accuracy with my fingers. For example I often type: W instead of E, S instead of A, X instead of C. All these are left hand keys, so I guess my right hand is better. My right hand sometimes types the space bar instead of B or N in portrait mode.
In landscape mode I make fewer mistakes. However, you will need third-party software to rotate the keyboard in messaging applications.
One BIG annoying thing in landscape mode when you are writing - say, a text message - is that the "Send" button is directly below the "z" and "x" keys (or Y and X in German keyboard). It has happened to me that I want to type one of those letters and I accidentally hit Send - and away goes the unfinished message!! This does not happen in portrait mode because there are other keys (CapsLock, D-pad etc) above the Send button.
This is my first touch-screen phone, so I can't compare it to others.
All in all, I am pleased with the keyboard, and I can see that I am improving. That leads me to believe that it is really just a matter of practice. But, for you it might be different since you are used to other phones. It would be best if you can test one at a store (unless you live in the U.S.).
Here are 2 youtube videos with reviews on the HD keyboard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh7YJ-upe1s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st7ivblVZwY

I came from the Touch (Elf) to the HD. The extra space on the screen means typing with the full Qwerty keyboard is much easier with fingers. I'm quicker with my finger tip than I am with the stylus, whereas the opposite was true with the Elf. I usually use the portrait screen mode and I like the layout of the keyboard in this mode.
On my Elf I installed PocketCM Keyboard which had the auto-correct feature similar to the keyboard of the iPhone. I miss this feature with my HD's keyboard although I'm making fewer mistakes even without this. The auto-correct meant that I could even type one-handed on the Elf but the bigger screen on the HD makes one-handed typing difficult.
But I agree that you should try the keyboard yourself before deciding.

You've got a fair few different styles with third aprty keyboards - something feature packed like touchpal (check youtube for examples), or resco/spb. Should be possible to customise it to suit your preferences.
Personally I like landscape mode, bashing away with both thumbs. The huge screen means the key sizes are quite practical.

Terrific feedback everyone - thanks! I saw a few videos just now, and it appears that you can crank with T9 or mini-QWERTY pretty well, but the full QWERTY in portrait looked a bit harder to use....maybe in Landscape it will be a bit easier?
No Mobile shops near me on Long Island, NY to test this out in-person, so I'm going to have to "wing it" and place the order if I decide on the HD.
Cheers.

I am having some problems with it because I come from a QVGA 2.8" and the WVGA 3.8" is really huge but considering that you have used an iPhone, the transition should be a lot smoother for you.
I am definitely getting the hang of it and improving by the day so I would say that typing is really great on it.

I actually switch a lot between built-in compact and full qwerty boards and leave T9 off. Anybody actually use any of the other built-ins, like the full keyboard etc?

adamzeit said:
....maybe in Landscape it will be a bit easier?
No Mobile shops near me on Long Island, NY to test this out in-person, so I'm going to have to "wing it" and place the order if I decide on the HD.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. yes, landscape is easier (except for the send button issue I mentioned)
2. If you wing it - I don't think you'll be disappointed. Especially if you have been looking into it and know the pros and cons discussed in this forum. (Mostly pros)

One minor glitch I found using qwerty keyboard in landscape (using Gyrator2) is the displacement of the dot with the comma, so when you want to type one you have to click on the other and viceversa. This doesn't happen in portrait

Great - feedback - thanks for the quick replies everyone. I decided to indeed "wing it" - and I should have this bad-boy in my hands tomorrow morning!
I'll continue scrolling through the WiKi and such, but besides installing Gyrator2, another other suggestions for my "out of the box" approach?
Thanks!

I used to love the physical keyboard on the TyTn II (Kaiser) I had as it was the closest thing to a full size qwerty keyboard. Made typing a joy. I was weary to abandon a keyboard for strictly virtual keyboard. So I went to the local shop, tried typing and did not like it. I decided to wait till the HD Pro comes (or similar) but that beautifully large, high resolution screen kept bringing me back. I then decided to try it in landscape mode. I sadly found out that HTC did not provide that option, which lead me to this very wonderful forum for help. I found out that you could edit the registry to bring the option of rotating to landscape. I did that at the shop and then unfortunately found out the next fall, it would not remain in landscape because of TF3D home screen and the dialer. I did not hesitate about turning off TF3d because I u se SPB apps (almost all of them collectively on the home screen) but the dialer menu/screen , when accessed - to dial a number for example, would retard the screen back to portrait which made owning it frustrating. Thats till I found out that changing from the HTC dialer to the standard/default WM dialer would allow me to keep it in landscape. Apparently HTC designed thier dialer in portrait mode, which is restricted from rotating. I did eventually loose the HTC dialer (the WM dialer is not that nice) but the large screen, faster processor outweighed the dialer loss.
Typing in landscape mode using full qwerty keyboard is actually a bit easier but you have to get used to the fact that you will not get a physical response. You know , when you press the button and it goes back up. Other than this its not problem.
I do miss the shortcuts provided by the TyTn II keyboard. Like the Fn + ok turns on wifi, Fn+ -> key opens up the explorer window.

CorruptedSanity said:
Typing in landscape mode using full qwerty keyboard is actually a bit easier but you have to get used to the fact that you will not get a physical response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look for "TouchResponse". This will make your phone vibrating by touching the screen.

johnpatcher said:
Look for "TouchResponse". This will make your phone vibrating by touching the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh My God man! I thank you infinitely!!!!!!!!!!
The little vibes gave me that "TyTn II keyboard" sensation I missed so much. Now I feel 100 times more comfortable looking at the text when typing rather watching whether I tapped the correct key on the keyboard.
Thanks to the generous creator of the app too.
The best part is that you can customize how intense the vibrations are.

Does "TouchResponse" make it vibrate only on the keyboard or does it vibrate in any and every application every time you touch the screen?
EDIT: By the way, can someone provide a link to TouchResponse. I can't seem to find it via search.

To have truly easy typing with your THUMB, use Tengo Thumb. It works like the T9 version of COMPACT QWERTY, except the keys are grouped into six areas instead of 12. Precision is not needed. When you need to type words not in the dictionary, use non-predictive typing with either finger nail or stylus to precisely touch the specific key within the large area.

Chris Cross said:
Does "TouchResponse" make it vibrate only on the keyboard or does it vibrate in any and every application every time you touch the screen?
EDIT: By the way, can someone provide a link to TouchResponse. I can't seem to find it via search.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.1800pocketpc.com/2008/12/12/touchresponse-022-vibrate-on-touch-for-windows-mobile.html
scroll down to the bottom.....

adamzeit said:
http://www.1800pocketpc.com/2008/12/12/touchresponse-022-vibrate-on-touch-for-windows-mobile.html
scroll down to the bottom.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A-ha!! Thank you!

I tried the Blackberry Storm and the iPhone before switching to the Touch HD using SPB keyboard - having come from Sony Ericsson P series phones before that.
With SPB keyboard I can honestly say that I make as few mistakes as I do when typing on my laptop QWERTY. It's terrific. And I don't mean the auto-correction feature a la iPhone. This just isn't necessary as my accuracy is first rate on the huge keyboard.
When I got the 'phone I immediatly downloaded gyrator to have access to a landscape keyboard but I really don't need it. My accuracy is spot on in portrait.

Keyboard - Are you happy?

Hi All,
I've tried for the past several days to find any word on what it's like typing on the TD2/Pure keyboard and cannot seem to find anything substantial. I like the look and feel of the phone and think I want one. However, I need to know from someone who has had one for a while what it's like typing on it daily. Speaking for me, I've got short stubby fingers and thumbs. Is that a problem? Will I end up using the stylus most of the time?
Also in the store, the keyboard wouldn't switch to landscape in anything other than the messaging applications. When I tried to use it in Word, it stayed in portrait mode.
Thanks in advance.

I've had my Pure for 3 days. I been using the Fuze for the past year. It's taking a little while to get use to the on-screen keyboard. I too have fat fingers. A friend of mine just bought a Sprint Hero. I really like the on-screen keyboard that comes with it. If I can find a similiar one for the Pure I'll be a lot happier. In the meantime I'll keep using the stylus when I need to type quickly and accurately.

had my Topaz since may 7th, many texts every day and its good Not as fast as a physical keypad, and you cant touche type well with it ofc. BUT, it is easy. It has auto correction built in, so you almost always get the right words. I run mine atm in Phone keypad mode, (2abc 3def etc) because the keys are bigger, altho the full Qwerty is also good
Also i by no means have small hands and i almost never use the stylus ;P

I got fat fingers as well and no nails. (I bite) and I can say I type really quick on the keyboad. I would type quick on the original HTC Touch aswell and that screen sucked. What I've noticted is that people use the tip and or pad of their thumb which blocks the screen. I type and use the phone by using the inner top edge of my thumbs. I get a bettr view of the screen and can type very accurtate in portrait view. I use both thumbs when typing aswell.
Oh and this is on the qwerty keyboard. People are surprised at how fast I can type on it. Way faster than using a normal keyboard. (1-9) I would a like to sugest to try out the 20key qwerty if you are having problems with the full qwrety. type a blackberry.

This is the first device I've used that didn't have actual keys, and for the first couple of hours, I got frustrated and resorted to the stylus. However, after another couple of hours making a good attempt to get used to the keyboard, I did, and my accuracy and speed are both pretty good now.

I use Fingerkeyboard and I am very happy. Of course it was better on my blackstone than on my topaz due to the bigger screen, but I found that I can type faster on this on-screen keyboard than I could on the physical keyboard of the xperia... On-screen keyboards are more sensitive IMO.

Well - After everything I had read and studied, I made the leap yesterday and purchased the Pure. It was a bit awkward at first and the typing was pretty much hit and miss. After burning through a few emails and texts, I think I've got the hang of it. It does seem that part of my problem is the screen calibration is a bit off. I figured this out by using the stylus in the contact list and if I hit the "T", the "S" list came up. The typing was easier than I expected but it's amazing how much screen real estate the keyboard takes up in landscape mode.
Thanks for all the replies.

Yeah you can recallibrate in the settings, will help Glad you got one.

I love it!
Here's a tip... Instead of pecking at the letters, if you hold your finger on the letter for just a tad longer, it will "popup" the letter. Got the wrong one, just roll your finger a little until the right one comes up.
You don't have much time to do this, but it's very easy to get used to!

OracleBlue said:
Well - After everything I had read and studied, I made the leap yesterday and purchased the Pure. It was a bit awkward at first and the typing was pretty much hit and miss. After burning through a few emails and texts, I think I've got the hang of it. It does seem that part of my problem is the screen calibration is a bit off. I figured this out by using the stylus in the contact list and if I hit the "T", the "S" list came up. The typing was easier than I expected but it's amazing how much screen real estate the keyboard takes up in landscape mode.
Thanks for all the replies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's strange that it's off like that. My Topaz came precalibrated just fine. Go to Settings in Touchflo then Menu>All Settings>System>Screen and you should be able to re-calibrate. If its like the original TD2 it you won't be able to re-calibrate unless you flash a cooked ROM.
Do you use both thumbs or one hand and one finger to type. Both thumbs work grand for me.

The keyboard itself is wonderful, nice layout and everything. But sometimes even if I press kinda hard the key I pressed don't show up which means I always have to press kinda hard to be sure to get the key I pressed.

Does anybody have the 20 key keyboard .cab? I might give it a go again. Can't seem to find it...

ArtieQ said:
The keyboard itself is wonderful, nice layout and everything. But sometimes even if I press kinda hard the key I pressed don't show up which means I always have to press kinda hard to be sure to get the key I pressed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hold they key on the screen it should pop up the letter to verify. Maybe that's a euro td2 vs usa pure thing?
My unlocked diamond did this out of the box, so hmmm.

syntrix said:
Hold they key on the screen it should pop up the letter to verify. Maybe that's a euro td2 vs usa pure thing?
My unlocked diamond did this out of the box, so hmmm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I confused you a little, I mean when I press on the screen nothing happens which means I have to press harder than I want to. It might be the TD2 screen itself because if you press on it you can feel that goofy thing, it's like some plastic glass instead of real glass (like on Diamond).

I gotcha.
I have a diamond too, and the screen seems just the same.
I have noticed that the actual LCD is sunk a little more down on the TD2 over the TD.
I actually welcome this as there's less glare and better readability of the screen.

try cliquick keyboard its the largest i can find lol

Keyboard Configuration

I'm trying to understand why during sms or email typing I do a lot of typing errors. I saw that so many times I touch the keys on the on screen keyboard in the right place but I release it in the wrong one. So I can see there is a little movement of my hand and thinger that causes keyboard misunderstanding.
I tried a lot of tweaks but what I wantto try now is the possibility to configure the oem htc on screen keyboard to accept keys on press and not on release.
Can anyone help me finding registry tweaks about?
thank you!

Bisis said:
I'm trying to understand why during sms or email typing I do a lot of typing errors. I saw that so many times I touch the keys on the on screen keyboard in the right place but I release it in the wrong one. So I can see there is a little movement of my hand and thinger that causes keyboard misunderstanding.
I tried a lot of tweaks but what I wantto try now is the possibility to configure the oem htc on screen keyboard to accept keys on press and not on release.
Can anyone help me finding registry tweaks about?
thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It needs to accept on release because a long press has a different effect to a short one.
I know what you're saying, and I sympathize. I had problems at first, but I simply changed my typing style to suit the screen and now I'm very fast, and only make as many mistakes as I would on a real keyboard. Just get used to hitting the keyboard and lifting your finger, without moving it on the screen. It works - you just have to get used to it. It doesn't take long

johncmolyneux said:
It needs to accept on release because a long press has a different effect to a short one.
I know what you're saying, and I sympathize. I had problems at first, but I simply changed my typing style to suit the screen and now I'm very fast, and only make as many mistakes as I would on a real keyboard. Just get used to hitting the keyboard and lifting your finger, without moving it on the screen. It works - you just have to get used to it. It doesn't take long
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I know this. But testing can be a good starting point.
I can also imagine that a "new keyboard" can accept keyboard on press and change pressed keys if I don't move my finger for a long time. If I don't remember bad I already saw a keyboard that works in this way... if I press a key it writes the key, then if I don't remove the finger from that key it changes the pressed key with the additional one.
So, there is not any way to change working way?

I think the thing is that if you can't get used to the HTC keyboard, just use another SIP if a good one is available, or wait until someone makes a new one...
The one in opera mini beta 5 seems good, would be great ig they could make a similar one system-wide...

kilrah said:
I think the thing is that if you can't get used to the HTC keyboard, just use another SIP if a good one is available, or wait until someone makes a new one...
The one in opera mini beta 5 seems good, would be great ig they could make a similar one system-wide...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, there's plenty of alternative ones out there. Fingerkeyboard, for example, seems very popular.

johncmolyneux said:
Yeah, there's plenty of alternative ones out there. Fingerkeyboard, for example, seems very popular.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used FingerKeyboard a lot with Blackstone but with Leo I don't like it so much... I prefer to have bigger keys and HTC sense integration with the original keyboard.
The problem to change keyboard is also this one.. you can loose some integrations.
So all of you can confirm me that original keyboard is not modificable? So there are not registry configurations?

is there any help for my request?

Hit instead of release !
I do agree with you. I have tried the keyboard on the iPhone a lot, and I don't think anyone would disagree that it is much better. And the only difference is like you say that the iPhone registers where you hit the screen, instead of where you release the screen. Fast typing means you have to move your finger sideways all the time. Can it be so hard to make a keyboard that registers hit instead of release ?
Have tried several keyboards to the LEO, including Fingerkeyoard, but they all seem to have the same problem when used on the LEO.
It's a shame since the rest of the phone is genious. Let us hope someone who is capable of modifying or rewrite a complete keyboard take the challenge.

I'm asking this just from when I was using Blackstone but it seems that developers don't like to make keyboard sensible to press and not release.
Please help us!

[Q] CM7 - issue when onscreen keyboard appears in portrait

(Would have posted in vanilla's thread, but I don't have permission to do so)
I have played with two CM7 ROMs.. the one that's been floating around for a while, and now vanillaLVL's.
In both, you can see the on-screen keyboard just below the list of suggested words.
To recreate
- Open Messaging and create a new SMS message
- Tap in the message box
- You'll see the OSK just below the suggestions. More precisely, you can see the bottom row of buttons.. like the ?123 and the Tab arrow
This isn't a big deal, just a little annoying. Is there a fix out there for this?

YES! Exactly! Somebody help with this problem. Personally, I'm annoyed when the keyboard comes out from the bottom of the screen.
Sorry for my english.

Abstractionist said:
YES! Exactly! Somebody help with this problem. Personally, I'm annoyed when the keyboard comes out from the bottom of the screen.
Sorry for my english.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have installed Swiftkey Flow and that bug isn-t there anymore, however, the problem now is that, whenever i want to use the physical keyboard, Swiftkey also appears taking more than half of the screen size :\
Would like to know if there-s a fix for this so Android keyboard doesn't appear when in portrait mode.