Sunday, June 10, 2007

An effective finger-based keyboard

It would[n't] be fair to just say that the iPhone is unsuited for use while driving due to the lack of a keypad without mentioning why it'll be quite comparable to typing on a physical keyboard for sighted people.

iPhone touch-based keyboard

From left to right:
  1. a finger hovers over the letter 'u' (another is over the letter 's')
  2. the finger touches the screen, prompting visual feedback before the input is actually registered
  3. on release, the letter us is registered and appears in the text input field. Until the release, you get the chance to correctively reposition your finger in the event that 'u' was not your intended keystroke.

The visual feedback you get from letter magnification combined with 'on release' behavior instead of 'on click' behavior suggest that typing will be a breeze on the iPhone. Multi-touch, or the ability to touch different parts of the display at the same time, means fast two (or more) fingered typing.

SOURCE: iPhone UI videos at apple.com

5 comments:

Unknown said...

so you're getting an iPhone?

Let me know what you think about August's plans for vacation

Will said...

I'm waiting for them to announce at least one new killer feature, although after Monday's keynote, I'm not so sure that will happen.

I'll be in touch.

Anonymous said...

I'll definitely be getting one and will blog it hard and mercilessly.

Anonymous said...

"unsuited for use while driving"

Isn't this illegal, not to mention dangeorus???

Why is this an important ability to a phone? I don't understand.

Will said...

Joeyyy, that's just what some analyst said, but having physical keys probably means you can keep your eyes on the road while dialing a number.

Gerald, I wonder if you're ditching another contract for AT&T?

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