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Hi, after loving my Hermes for 2 years and talking myself out of upgrading to the Kaiser, Diamond, and Touch Pro as they just weren't quite "perfect" I think I have found my next device. The big screen and thinness are HUGE for me, and it seems that people are having no troubles running older apps with the funky screen rez. However I am really hesitant to give up a hardware keyboard....my question is two-fold...when rotated to landscape mode does the on-screen keyboard also rotate and enlarge so that you could use two thumbs to type with it? and is this device physically capable of multi-touch as with the Touch Pro and we are just waiting for XDA devs to write applications that unleash it? Multit-touch on devices this small is pure gimmick in every aspect EXCEPT on-screen keyboards (i.e. holding the shift key). I am willing to sacrifice some typing speed for the thinner waistline but don't want to go back to pecking with the stylus...
I've watched a ton of youtube video reviews but have yet to see anyone enter text in landscape mode or play video for that matter...any info on these questions from HD owners is GREATLY appreciated...thanks!!
There is no Multi-Touch screen in Touch HD...
And I think the standard sms application does not allow to rotate keyboard while writing text...May be some 3rd party software does it or some tweaks...
Even if everyone allready should know this: Get Gyrator 2 or GSEN
and you can rotate the screen at any time. Just search for it here on the boards.
I don't understand for what you would need a multitouch screen for typing. as you are only pushing one letter at a time anyway. I have got an LG Viewty now, and i can type extremely fast in landscape mode and multitouch wouldn't change a thing. Every normal phone keyboard is made so, that pushing shift will automatically be applied to the next letter/key you press. Or you can also switch between shift always on.
So, what is the best of that apps??
Gsen I know because I tried on my touch pro, but it didn't work 100%. Gyrator works best??
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.
Hi Guys,
Just got my HTC HD2 last night on O2 Ireland (Silent release yesterday),
Love the phone but one thing that is really annoying me is the onscreen keyboard, the qwerty and compact qwerty are useless to me, even in landscape mode, but I can use the numeric keypad one although I often have the odd mistake here unless I type really slow and think about it.
Basically what normally happens is as I have quite big fingers, sometimes I tough most of the key I want and a small amount of the key underneath, which is really irritating me as it's taking me 10x longer to send a message than it does on my N95 8GB.
I love the phone but the slow text entry really is making me stick with the N95 8GB right now. I was wondering if anyone had any advice? I wish I could have some nice bigger keypad like when you put the pin in when you turn the phone on and that would be much easier for me!
Is there any way I can use or install any other text input options, or what about bluetooth keypads (Keyboards not really acceptable as they're too big but a keypad could work)
Cheers for any advice
Dear JustinJJ,
I had the same problem, until I relaised I had a hardware screen problem. There are a number of tests you can do to find out if you have a hardware problem.
Just have a look on the forum.
Regards and best wishes with your typing.
Oh, just to let you know, I am on my third HD2 in less than a month, and this is the first time I can type the A-Z without making a mistake. So it was hardware not my fingers.
ADC (Yateley, UK)
Try another keyboard, like Swype?
It needs lots of practice, especially when you were using phone with keypad in the past.
I was going to try Swype over the weekend and see how that goes, it looks quite good but I have doubts because of the much smaller key size which makes me worry a little bit.
I've already tried to recalibrate the screen which helped a little bit, but it's still nowhere near as nice as typing with an actual phone keypad.
It really annoys me as I love the phone so much for everything else apart from text entry!
Practice makes perfect seriously though, it just takes a bit of time to get used to it. Back in December someone made a handy little programme - I think it's called touch mark - which plots where you touch the screen and compares it to where you should be touching the screen, quite handy to "retrain" your finger/eye coordination... will go see if I can find the link to it.
Edit: found it http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=594158&highlight=touchmark
going from resistive to capacitive screen is a big jump; you WILL make a lot of mistakes on the "fat finger" phenomenon, but eventually you will get better (right now i can type faster and with better accuracy on the iphone screen than my X1a keyboard )
Isadora said:
Practice makes perfect seriously though, it just takes a bit of time to get used to it. Back in December someone made a handy little programme - I think it's called touch mark - which plots where you touch the screen and compares it to where you should be touching the screen, quite handy to "retrain" your finger/eye coordination... will go see if I can find the link to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed,
Touch mark can be quite helpfull to retrain your touching skills
Grtz,
Degake
I use swype and it's mostly great (using it now, in fact) quite surprising how inaccurate you can be with it and it still gets it right.
regarding the capacitive screen in general, the angle of your finger can make all the difference, the pad being recognized much more accurately than the tip/edge, and even the temperature.... cold dry skin = jumpy detection.
I also found that no matter how much I align the screen, for best results my aim must always be slightly up and left if where I'm aiming....not much, just a bit.
I used Cootek touchpal on my HTC HD. I use the predicitive text feature with the 3 letters in each box. It does a hell of a job predicting my words. I find that it types faster than when I was on my blackberry. As in all things new you have to train yourself on it and eventually it becomes natural.
The only typing I never wanted to master was the number pad t9 crap. I got so fed up with it I didn't use it went to blackberry...
I went from a SE W910i with a physical numpad to the HD2 and the first week typing on the HD2 was torture, I dreaded typing a simple "On my way" SMS and kept everything as short as possible. After a week or two I started understanding how it works and started retraining myself in regards to hitting the right key. A few things I noticed are that you don't press the key like you would on a physical keyboard so you need a much "lighter" touch and try to just tap the screen with the tip of your finger. Patience is one of your biggest friends when learning to type and I've sat down with my HD2 for dedicated sessions on typing and have learnt a lot. I also avoid using my thumbs as they are too wide and flat and tend to not hit the keys I want, I usually hold the phone in one hand and "type" with the index finger of the other hand. Now I can type as fast as I would on a normal numpad keyboard but not as fast as I could with my G1.
I've owned a N95 and found the keys were too small and I usually hit more than one at a time which was most annoying. So I don't think your fingers are too big.
I've never tried any other keyboard program but Swype looks like it could be loads of fun as well as more accurate. So give it a week or two to get used to typing and if you still have problems then you may have a faulty screen.
i also use touchpal as it has a great auto correction. first i used the three letters in one box, but now i'm learning full qwertz to be more flexible.
never tried swype but this and touchpal seems to be the most famous osk's around.
a good way for me to reduce the sensitivity and also reduce errors is to apply a screen protector. i got one from - i think e-cell, which was recommended by a lot of users here at devs.
Tried swype, that was awful, partly because my fingers were too big and partly because I had to think about the letters and stop when moving my finger which messed the word generation up.
Tried Touchpal and found that a little better than the built in keyboard in keypad mode but the fact they moved the space to the right of the 9 key really messed it up for me, if they had it underneath it would be perfect but it really messes me up right now and the key after hitting it I always end up hitting wrong.
Then I tried Cliquick! I was in love straight away with it's huge keys this is the only editor I can type accurately with, and not make any mistakes by accidentally pressing the wrong keys. The only problem was this has no predictive text or no standard hardware style keypad mode so it is a little slow having to use multi-tap and an unfamiliar layout, but least it's accurate and less frustrating even if it is slow.
Does anyone know if they plan to release a predictive text add in or perhaps a standard keypad layour, or is there any plug-ins I can use to achieve the same effect.
So it isn't just ME...
samsamuel said:
...I also found that no matter how much I align the screen, for best results my aim must always be slightly up and left if where I'm aiming....not much, just a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's funny. I thought it was just ME. I realigned the screen and picked spots slightly BELOW the X.
Works great now when I actually click ON the icons...
What is the biggest keyboard which can be installed on the HTC HD2? I have tried swype and the standard keyboard that comes with the phone, but I tend to be hitting the key next door at times resulting in me taking longer than I would like to send a simple text.
I haven't seen an Iphone keyboard before but I have not heard anyone mentioning the difficulties with the typing on that phone, I could be wrong of course.
I need some decent size keys to press, it wouldn't of been to bad if we had a stylus in the phone.
Trust me, the Iphone keyboard is harder to use.
I always miss the buttons on the standard keyboard, but is it really a problem?
XT9 corrects me 98% of the time.
And with swype its not a problem at all...
You are swyping the keyboard, right? Because its almost impossible to press the buttons.
Maybe my damn fingers are just too big, with swype I find myself rolling my finger to see if I'm swiping the right key or the one beside it. Oh well let's see how it goes.
Cheers
Then you could consider the possibility to move the keyboard on the horizontal way, using software as girator, then if you use both the thumbs with an angle of 90 degrees it is really easy to write, look in youtube a video that shows how a iphone user can write faster than one that use the great swype on hd2, it is just a matter of pratical skill that stems for some training. anyway there are software that use bigger keyboard, if I well remember is the spb keyboard.
3 solutions...
1)swype
2)training
3)spb keyboard
seems easy...
Yeap practice is definately the way forward in this case I think
sony007 said:
What is the biggest keyboard which can be installed on the HTC HD2? I have tried swype and the standard keyboard that comes with the phone, but I tend to be hitting the key next door at times resulting in me taking longer than I would like to send a simple text.
I haven't seen an Iphone keyboard before but I have not heard anyone mentioning the difficulties with the typing on that phone, I could be wrong of course.
I need some decent size keys to press, it wouldn't of been to bad if we had a stylus in the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the iphone is much more accurate then hd2.i own the hd2 and the htc shift.
Accuracy depends on each and every person. You can`t say that one keyboard is more accurate than another, because only the person typing can be more or less accurate when using one of the keyboards. I`ve used both the iPhone and the HD2 (which I own) and I would go for the HD2`s keyboard anytime. But that`s just my opinion.
As for the OP`s problem, use SPB Keyboard if you have a hard time typing on the stock keyboard.
Hate to say it but I love the blur keyboard. I tried gingerbread keyboard for a while and at first hated it but after a few days got used to it. As soon as I went back to blur I fell in love within an hour.
My question is, how do I permanently make the smiley button next to the space bar, into the enter key. Sometimes it is enter and sometimes it is a smiley.
Does anyone else like the blur keyboard as much as I do? I also like the toned down intensity of the haptic feedback on the blur board as well.
My true favorite is the swype keyboard but it doesn't auto correct
Sent from my Atrix using XDA App
seh6183 said:
Hate to say it but I love the blur keyboard. I tried gingerbread keyboard for a while and at first hated it but after a few days got used to it. As soon as I went back to blur I fell in love within an hour.
My question is, how do I permanently make the smiley button next to the space bar, into the enter key. Sometimes it is enter and sometimes it is a smiley.
Does anyone else like the blur keyboard as much as I do? I also like the toned down intensity of the haptic feedback on the blur board as well.
My true favorite is the swype keyboard but it doesn't auto correct
Sent from my Atrix using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know the answer to your question, but I love that keyboard too. it's the best I have ever typed on. I can type very fast with minimal mistake.
I love the keyboard.
Swype > *
The Motorola Multitouch Keyboard isn't bad, better than Sense. Don't have experience with Gingerbread Keyboard on Atrix, though it was nice on my brothers Nexus One.
seh6183 said:
Hate to say it but I love the blur keyboard. I tried gingerbread keyboard for a while and at first hated it but after a few days got used to it. As soon as I went back to blur I fell in love within an hour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? I like the overall presentation (big keys, etc.) but I find that the blur multitouch keyboard doesn't really feel like multitouch to me. If I type really fast where sometimes my presses overlap, it often misses some of the letters I typed, even though they flashed above the keys onscreen. They just didn't actually appear in the textbox I'm typing in.
For example, type the word "what" as fast as you absolutely can, with very light taps (in portrait mode). I find that more often than not, I get the word "hat" or other misspellings. I didn't miss the key; the popup shows that it was typed, but it just didn't appear.
I hate to say it, but I learned my virtual keyboard typing on the iPhone and iPod Touch and those devices never lost some of my presses, despite fast, overlapping presses.
I tested many, many keyboards from the market, and you know what? The Gingerbread keyboard and Better Keyboard 8 are really the only ones that could handle really fast light typing. I also like Swype though, and use the beta version. It's quite good when you just want to do some one hand typing.
maledyris said:
Really? I like the overall presentation (big keys, etc.) but I find that the blur multitouch keyboard doesn't really feel like multitouch to me. If I type really fast where sometimes my presses overlap, it often misses some of the letters I typed, even though they flashed above the keys onscreen. They just didn't actually appear in the textbox I'm typing in.
For example, type the word "what" as fast as you absolutely can, with very light taps (in portrait mode). I find that more often than not, I get the word "hat" or other misspellings. I didn't miss the key; the popup shows that it was typed, but it just didn't appear.
I hate to say it, but I learned my virtual keyboard typing on the iPhone and iPod Touch and those devices never lost some of my presses, despite fast, overlapping presses.
I tested many, many keyboards from the market, and you know what? The Gingerbread keyboard and Better Keyboard 8 are really the only ones that could handle really fast light typing. I also like Swype though, and use the beta version. It's quite good when you just want to do some one hand typing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right about the blur keyboard missing inputs I never typed fast enough to notice it. I'm trying better keyboard 8 right now and like it but its glitched and keeps asking me to activate it, so I can't enter the options menu for the board.
Where can I get the swype beta? I have swype now, how do I know that I don't already have the swype beta? Also does the swype beta have auto correct? Not suggest but correct.
Sent from my Atrix using XDA App
So I got beta swype and while it functions better I don't nearly like the skin as much. Also it doesn't auto correct only auto suggests properly spelled words.
Also I do like better keyboard 8 but am unable to fully test it as I can not properly "enable" it to enter the settings menu.
Sent from my Atrix using XDA App
Try smart keyboard plus. Hands down the most customizabld keybaord ever and by far the most responsive. I love the fact that I am able to resize the keyboard all I want and I'm also able to disable full screen landscape mode which is the biggest failure of all keyboards on android
Sent from my MotoAtrix
seven2099 said:
Try smart keyboard plus. Hands down the most customizabld keybaord ever and by far the most responsive. I love the fact that I am able to resize the keyboard all I want and I'm also able to disable full screen landscape mode which is the biggest failure of all keyboards on android
Sent from my MotoAtrix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. This thing is great! True multi touch; it never misses a single word no matter how fast I type. Also I am able to even customize the length of the vibration for haptic which I love because the blur board had a very short, very light feedback and I am able to recreate that with this new board. And the skinning is just icing on the cake. Thank you!!!
Sent from my Atrix using XDA App
seven2099 said:
Try smart keyboard plus. Hands down the most customizabld keybaord ever and by far the most responsive. I love the fact that I am able to resize the keyboard all I want and I'm also able to disable full screen landscape mode which is the biggest failure of all keyboards on android
Sent from my MotoAtrix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice! Don't know how I missed this one. Better Keyboard has pretty much all the features mentioned EXCEPT it doesn't auto correct anywhere near as well as this one does. I guess I'll have to add this to my collection...
By the way, what skin are you guys using? I just found "Rapid" for Better Keyboard which looks really nice. Similar to the stock Blur keyboard, but better! It works just as well with Smart Keyboard too.
maledyris said:
Nice! Don't know how I missed this one. Better Keyboard has pretty much all the features mentioned EXCEPT it doesn't auto correct anywhere near as well as this one does. I guess I'll have to add this to my collection...
By the way, what skin are you guys using? I just found "Rapid" for Better Keyboard which looks really nice. Similar to the stock Blur keyboard, but better! It works just as well with Smart Keyboard too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using the stock HTC one that comes with the app
Sent from my Atrix using XDA App