Windows Phone Keyboard Design is a major Issue

[thongvua]

I notice that MSFT has not improved the keyboard design in WP8, and not likely to allow 3rd party keyboard to be installed.
I have a Lumia 900 with 4.3" and I constantly making typo and the tying experience is a lot worse than my HTC G2 Android with 3.7" screen.
I wonder myself why something like that can happen? It's in the keyboard design, for some reason Keys in WP seem to be narrower, harder to see, and all 3 of the bottom rows somehow were aligned in the same vertical lines, which is not the case with the G2. Keyboards in Iphone 3.5" display was also easy to use.
This is a major input issue consider this is the all touch OS.
Anyone has any idea whether this issue will be addressed?

 

[Big Supes]

I'm also in the camp where typing isn't the easiest on WP, but I think its more to do with accuracy than the layout. I don't know, maybe the layout also plays a part, but there have been times where I have seen my thumb land on one key, and out pops the one next to it.

It has to be said, but you can't beat the iPhone for typing. I used to be able to fly along with no mistakes.

Sent from my Lumia 710 using Board Express

 

[thongvua]

Exactly, why is it Android and Iphone with smaller screen size is easier to type than WP with huge screen size? Isn't this the top priority when designing touch OS? How hard is it for a $200 Billion cap, No.1 software company in the world to get the KB design right for it's OS? And if MSFT really is incapable of designing a usable keyboard then they should open up for SWIPE or other 3rd party dev to get the job done correctly.

I have 2 friends who actually put away their WP just because they can not live with the keyboard. MSFT will have to give an answer for this issue!

Sorry for sounding frustrating but I am.

 

[ncxcstud]

Weird. I think tYping on my WP is extremely easy to do compared to my wife's android which stinks in typing. The autocorrect or whatever that WP uses is lightyears better than our iPod and our android phone and tablet. I find its a lot easier to make corrections as well on the WP too.

To each his own.

 

[mparker]

Weird. I think tYping on my WP is extremely easy to do compared to my wife's android which stinks in typing.

Same here. I find the Microsoft keyboards in WP7 and Win 8 to be much easier to type on than either iOS or Android on comparable devices. I typed much more accurately on my old Samsung Focus (died) than on my old iPad (sold) despite the much larger screen size on the iPad. Comparing phone-to-phone it was really no contest at all, not even swype and swiftkey could bring the android phones up to WP7 level for me.

 

[ncxcstud]

as an example, I typed that first message on my Android Tablet (SGT10.1) with a different keyboard (I believe Thumb Keyboard) to make it easier to type with and it still was littered with errors and such. Correcting it (which I didn't get everything because it was such a pain) took almost as much time trying to get the cursor where I needed it to be, the having to re-correct it again when it would add (or subtract) what I was trying to do from the end of the word instead of within the word itself.

Oh well. To be fair, I typed this message on my PC

 

[h4ck3d]

I have had no issues typing on my WP that I have now(HTC TITAN) nor did i have any issues typing on my old WP(HTC Surround) I hate trying to type on one of my friends andriod or iOS phones.

It might be something as simple as you get used to typing on a keyboard and you learn to correct for its mistakes.

I will say though my friends that have andriod phones do agree that its easier to type on a WP keyboard then their phones. Plus the auto correct thats intergrated into windows phone BLOWS andriods out of the water.

 

[aubreyq]

...for some reason Keys in WP seem to be narrower, harder to see, and all 3 of the bottom rows somehow were aligned in the same vertical lines...Keyboards in Iphone 3.5" display was also easy to use.

I agree. The keys do feel narrow to me.

I'm also in the camp where typing isn't the easiest on WP...
It has to be said, but you can't beat the iPhone for typing.

I'm glad I'm not the only that feels that way. Plenty of people here on the forums apparently have no problem with the WP keyboard, but I struggle with it. And you are right, I type pretty much flawlessly on iOS keyboards (iPhone and iPod Touch).

BTW, I do not use auto-correct on my phone so I want to rely on a good keyboard.

 

[socialcarpet]

Weird. I think tYping on my WP is extremely easy to do compared to my wife's android which stinks in typing. The autocorrect or whatever that WP uses is lightyears better than our iPod and our android phone and tablet. I find its a lot easier to make corrections as well on the WP too.

To each his own.

Exactly how I feel.

In fact, one of the reasons I went with Windows Phone was that it had the best keyboard (for me) by far. I can type more accurately on my Windows Phone than any other I've used. Only my Blackberry equalled it.

I had an Android phone and tried 3 different keyboards and Swype and none of them worked as well for me as the stock Windows Phone keyboard.

 

[Guzzler3]

It has to be said, but you can't beat the iPhone for typing. I used to be able to fly along with no mistakes.

I'm completely opposite. I can't stand typing on the iPhone, more typo's than I care to count, and don't get me started on its auto-correct.

 

[Niavlys77]

I think people have issues when their trying to get every single letter right when typing on WP. Like my mom...

But when you realize that the keyboards auto-correct is fantastic, all you need to do is get close enough to the letters and 9/10 it puts in the word you were aiming for.

Compared to Android, I much prefer typing on my WP7. The auto-correct is far better IMO.

 

[brmiller1976]

I have exactly the opposite experience. I find typing on WP keyboards to be easy and fast and accurate, while Android KBs (like the Galaxy S III/Swype) are slow and inaccurate.

 

[rkgriffin]

The auto-correct on WP7 is way better than the iPhone 4s I had. However, I make twice as many mistakes on my Lumia 900. I think it is down to the iPhone has more space between the keys. On the 900 I it is always putting a M instead of N and when texting when I try to hit send it just adds a "," instead.

I actually want smaller keys with more space in between them. Also the WP keys actually changing from capital to lower case is 100% better than the iPhone where all keys stay in caps.

 

[dermotf]

I have had an iPhone and Android phone and Windows phone is by far the best for typing. Android was just awful and iPhone was way to small for my fingers.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Can you have 3rd party keyboards, browsers, or email clients on iOS? Or is it just android that allows these sorts of things?

Sinofsky has made it clear that he doesn't think much of any developers but his own. The rest of us are only qualified to write calculator and fart apps.

No 3rd party keyboards for iOS, but there are 3rd party browsers.

[URL="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chrome/id535886823?mt=8&at=10l3Vy]https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chrome/id535886823?mt=8[/URL]

[URL="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/opera-mini-web-browser/id363729560?mt=8&at=10l3Vy]https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/opera-mini-web-browser/id363729560?mt=8[/URL]

 

[thongvua]

It seems many people prefer WP keyboard thanks to its auto-correct feature. Which means you can make typo but the OS correct it fine.
This is two separate issues to me. How about a keyboard designed so well that we make minimum typo, and those seldom chances that we do the OS correct the typo just fine?
I myself deactivate the auto-correct feature because I type in other languages as well.
We're looking at global market whether many other languages can not rely on auto correct.
The analogy of accepting typo since the OS can auto correct just fine is just like saying it is ok for your car to have bad brake pad since it has ABS & Anti skid system. Your car should have both, great brake pad and great computer functions.

Maybe those who satisfy with the current typing experience can try turn off auto correct and see how far you can go without making typo.

I think it is fact that our KB is inferior to other OS KB, and the longer we talk ourselves to compromise it the worse it is for the ecosystem, MSFT need to face truth in order to make real improvement, not self satisfaction like what Steve Ballmer said the other day: " I don't think anyone has done a product that I see customers wanting"
The hits continued this week when Ballmer spewed: "In every category Apple competes, it's the low-volume player, except in tablets. In the PC market, obviously the advantage of diversity has mattered since 90-something percent of PCs that get sold are Windows PCs. We'll see what winds up mattering in tablets". (story via the Wall Street Journal)

Is this really the right mentality for an underdog trying to catch up? MSFT wake up!

 

[AngryNil]

BTW, I do not use auto-correct on my phone so I want to rely on a good keyboard.

Why? Windows Phone has very, very good autocorrect. Sounds like a self inflicted problem you have there.

 

[GoodThings2Life]

Shame on me for not reading all of this thread, but... I completely DESPISE the iPhone keyboard. I can't use it to save my life. I'm quite proficient on Windows Phone, but I do make mistakes.

That said, WP8 does allow 3rd party keyboard hooks according to the API, so I assume that means we can finally see 3rd party keyboards. I would LOVE to see SWYPE, as it's the only Android app I miss.

Also, WP8's auto-suggest learns from your language and suggests words even before you type them. I'm super excited about trying it out, and I saw it in one of Joe Belfiore's demo videos. He typed a whole sentence about being home late and sent it and only typed "I ".

 

[aubreyq]

It seems many people prefer WP keyboard thanks to its auto-correct feature. Which means you can make typo but the OS correct it fine.
This is two separate issues to me. How about a keyboard designed so well that we make minimum typo, and those seldom chances that we do the OS correct the typo just fine? I myself deactivate the auto-correct feature because I type in other languages as well.

We're looking at global market whether many other languages can not rely on auto correct.
The analogy of accepting typo since the OS can auto correct just fine is just like saying it is ok for your car to have bad brake pad since it has ABS & Anti skid system. Your car should have both, great brake pad and great computer functions.

Maybe those who satisfy with the current typing experience can try turn off auto correct and see how far you can go without making typo.

I think it is fact that our KB is inferior to other OS KB, and the longer we talk ourselves to compromise it the worse it is for the ecosystem, MSFT need to face truth in order to make real improvement, not self satisfaction like what Steve Ballmer said the other day: " I don't think anyone has done a product that I see customers wanting"
The hits continued this week when Ballmer spewed: "In every category Apple competes, it's the low-volume player, except in tablets. In the PC market, obviously the advantage of diversity has mattered since 90-something percent of PCs that get sold are Windows PCs. We'll see what winds up mattering in tablets". (story via the Wall Street Journal)

Is this really the right mentality for an underdog trying to catch up? MSFT wake up!

I actually agree with Ballmer's quotes you posted.

On the keyboard topic, I completely agree with your points. To me auto-correct is a way to skirt around good keyboard design. If the OS thinks you meant to type something else and correctly changes it, then doesn't that mean that your fingers aren't landing where you intend them to land? And wouldn't that mean the keyboard layout should be improved? Like wider keys, for example?

Why? Windows Phone has very, very good autocorrect. Sounds like a self inflicted problem you have there.

Because 1) like the OP, I also type in different languages and 2) auto-correct can sometimes give you a different word that changes the context of a message. When you make a typo, at most you have a wrong letter but people can still understand what you meant. With a completely different word, you can confuse the recipient of your message.

Look, I understand most people probably love the keyboard. I'm just one of those few that think it could be better with a few adjustments to the key size and/or keyboard layout. I don't think it's a MAJOR issue like the thread topic indicates, but it is an issue for me.

 

[blehblehbleh]

I'd say it's a tough call between the two. There could be a slight change in MS's key prediction algorithm, but on the other hand it could be user error.

On the latter, for example, if I don't look at the keys at all and try to just type, I find I make more typos because my muscle memory assumes the key I want to type is in one place when in reality it isn't.

For the OP, is the issue in landscape as well?