[Stockmoose16]

Just got back from the vzw store, and was looking into purchasing a Droid to replace my BB Tour. I type a lot of emails on my Tour, so I wanted to test the Droid's KB to see if I could type as quickly and accurately.

As stated over and over across many reviews, the hardware keyboard is crap. It's way too close to the screen, and as a result, hitting the top row of keys is difficult and inaccurate.

I had read that the Droid's virtual keyboard was fantastic, but I spent more than 30 minutes in the store trying to type on the virtual keyboard in both landscape and portrait mode, and I had nothing but trouble. I probably type 40-50 words per minute on my BB Tour (very fast thumbs). I tried to type at a similar pace on the Droid and I got TONS of errors. Not only did the device regularly select the wrong key (i.e. I'd hit "A" and it would select "S"), but sometimes it wouldn't even register the letter that I touched. I tried this with autocorrect on and autocorrect off. Both ways are terrible. Autocorrect didn't know a lot of the words I was using, and thus, it made incorrect word selections regularly.

How are people supposed to use this to type emails and longer messages, especially if you're a quick typer? I'd have to type at 1/10th the speed of my bb to get the same accuracy. Anyone have any solutions?

[noized77]

Turn on auto correction, use the calibration feature and most importantly use the Droid for at least a week not just 30 minutes. If all else failed keep your Tour.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Stockmoose16]

Turn on auto correction, use the calibration feature and most importantly use the Droid for at least a week not just 30 minutes. If all else failed keep your Tour.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

If you turn on autocorrection, and you're trying to fly using thumb typing, it regularly chooses the wrong word out of its dictionary, and then you have to stop, go back and change the word. I don't use autocorrection on my Tour, and I type with about 99% accuracy. What is the advantage of turning autocorrect on?

What is the calibration tool and what does it do? Will that fix the problem of "A" coming up when you hit "S"?

[zacko]

What noized said. Try using the either of the Droid's keyboards for a week or so. I doubt you'll ever be as fast on the droid's physical keyboard as on a blackberry's, but once you get used to the virtual keyboard, you'll be amazed. When you first came to a blackberry from nothing, you had a learning curve, the Droid is no different. It takes a short time and a little bit of patience, but the reward is worth it. I type faster on my Droid than I ever did on my storm and probably at least as fast as I did on my Bold and curve.

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[cereal killer]

it's all new hardware...it's not going to happen in 30 minutes...

takes at least a few days at the minimum to get used to the virtual AND the slide-out.

You are using an entirely different device.

If you are not willing to learn something entirely new stick with a BB. You know what you get...

[anon(1170375)]

Before I had my Droid, I had a BlackBerry Bold, and a BlackBerry Tour. Once you get used to the onscreen keyboard, you can type very, very quickly.

Here, and just for this thread, I went ahead and made a small video. Here is me typing a few lines of text on my Droid.



In the video I type:

"I never used to be much of a fan of virtual keyboards either. But once I got used to the one on the Droid, I was able to type very quickly in no time. I have always favored a Blackberry keyboas, but the predictive text on the Droid makes it very nice."

Only one spelling mistake made it by me. I know that everybody types differently, but once you really get familiar with the on-screen keyboard, you can type probably just as fast as you do on your Tour. I really don't even bother using the physical keyboard. When I do, I can type just as well as the on-screen keyboard, simply because I'm used to it. The physical keyboard isn't perfect, but it gets the job done just fine.

Hope this helps.

[BzB]

i wonder if the op has used a touchscreen phone before. it's always a difficult change, and in fact some people can't make the transition. virtual keyboards just aren't for them.

the droid's physical keyboard won't be as good as the tour's, but it does get better than the initial impression. some people pick it up right away, for me it took a week. at first i used only the virtual keyboard, mainly because that's what i used on my storms. now i only use the virtual keyboard for short responses and the physical keyboard for everything else.

[Stockmoose16]

Before I had my Droid, I had a BlackBerry Bold, and a BlackBerry Tour. Once you get used to the onscreen keyboard, you can type very, very quickly.

Here, and just for this thread, I went ahead and made a small video. Here is me typing a few lines of text on my Droid.



In the video I type:

"I never used to be much of a fan of virtual keyboards either. But once I got used to the one on the Droid, I was able to type very quickly in no time. I have always favored a Blackberry keyboas, but the predictive text on the Droid makes it very nice."

Only one spelling mistake made it by me. I know that everybody types differently, but once you really get familiar with the on-screen keyboard, you can type probably just as fast as you do on your Tour. I really don't even bother using the physical keyboard. When I do, I can type just as well as the on-screen keyboard, simply because I'm used to it. The physical keyboard isn't perfect, but it gets the job done just fine.

Hope this helps.

Very cool video. I actually typed along to the text with my Tour and you beat me by a few seconds. My only question is, why in the store was it making so many errors? I'd hit the "a" key, and it'd select "s"... this would happen throughout typing an email, making several typos throughout the written text.

Additionally, the keyboard would often not register the letters I was hitting, unless I went very slowly, meticulously hitting each letter.

What am I doing wrong that you are doing so right in the video? BTW, I have never used a virtual keyboard before.

[Stockmoose16]

i wonder if the op has used a touchscreen phone before. it's always a difficult change, and in fact some people can't make the transition. virtual keyboards just aren't for them.

the droid's physical keyboard won't be as good as the tour's, but it does get better than the initial impression. some people pick it up right away, for me it took a week. at first i used only the virtual keyboard, mainly because that's what i used on my storms. now i only use the virtual keyboard for short responses and the physical keyboard for everything else.

I have never used a virtual KB before.

[Dukins]

Did you learn how to ride a bike in 30 minutes? Just joking. Its a learning curve, I type pretty fast on mine.

[noles200]

I had the Tour and went to the Droid and it did take me about 5 days to get used to the keyboard. I will tell you that I am on the hunt for a better keyboard then the stock one that comes with it. I've checked out Better Keyboard but it lags a little.

I've had the phone since the 9th and feel comfortable enough with the virtual keyboard that I don't miss my Tour. I also find myself going to the physical keyboard more than I thought.

Conversely, I know someone who switched back to the Tour because they just couldn't adjust to the virtual keyboard. I think you're just going to have to try it and at least give it a couple weeks before you know for sure.

[Johnly]

After checking the droid in the VZ store, the guy had me set up the phone, you should have seen what a clown I looked like trying to get it right coming from the storm. Days later, I am typing three times as fast as I ever could on the storm. It isn't bad at all, and the virtual keyboards require effortless taps, very ergonomic.

[krazykid6911]

What is this Calibration thing you guys are speaking of? i searched all settings to the best of my ability and cannot find anything. Thanks in Advance.

[anon(1170375)]

Very cool video. I actually typed along to the text with my Tour and you beat me by a few seconds. My only question is, why in the store was it making so many errors? I'd hit the "a" key, and it'd select "s"... this would happen throughout typing an email, making several typos throughout the written text.

Additionally, the keyboard would often not register the letters I was hitting, unless I went very slowly, meticulously hitting each letter.

What am I doing wrong that you are doing so right in the video? BTW, I have never used a virtual keyboard before.

Accidental key strokes are the nature of the virtual keyboard beast. It just takes a bit of acclimation before you can get a feel for how the virtual keyboard responds to your thumbs. One thing to note about the Droid keyboard, DO NOT have 2 fingers touching at once. As doing this will cause definite errors. If you're typing along with your thumbs, and they both should touch the screen at the same time, it won't register the click of the 2nd thumb, ever. So, with that in mind, you eventually find the rhythm/method you're most comfortable with. Just like with your Tour, it just takes a bit of time to get used to the keyboard.

And the auto correct/predictive text feature is awesome, especially for long words. For example: Instead of having to type out 'Semiconductor' letter for letter, you can type in 'semic' and then just press the space bar, as the predictive text will know you're typing 'semiconductor' and will place that word in your text. Now I know that semiconductor isn't a word we all use every day (if even once a year), but the point is, getting used to the predictive text and its suggestions can make sending big texts very simple.

I can even text very quickly with one hand thanks to predictive/auto correcting text. When using the virtual keyboard in portrait mode, I'm able to tap out quick texts A LOT quicker than I was able to do a one-handed text on my Tour or Bold.

This was also my first virtual keyboard experience, but now that I've gotten used to it, I love it. I never used to think I'd be able to use a phone without a physical keyboard, but from this point on, a physical keyboard is no longer on a list of "must haves".

[cereal killer]

Here, and just for this thread, I went ahead and made a small video. Here is me typing a few lines of text on my Droid.




Hope this helps.

click click click click click click click click click click click DRRRRRRRRRROID click click click lol

phone is just bad a$$

[daseff]

I haven't read through the posts on this thread, but you have to keep in mind that the display phones are ALWAYS messed up in the stores due to 14 year olds messing with them, haha. I was disappointed when I tested out the Tour cause it seemed like it had a lot of problems. I got it a couple weeks later and absolutely loved it. The floor model had just been abused, making it really slow, and making programs not respond correctly.
That being said, I don't think a virtual QWERTY would be as good as the Tour's keyboard. I guess it's just personal opinion though.

[d1pham]

I switched over from a Tour and I too also thought I would not be able to get used to the typing. However, after a week of usage I'm typing as fast if not faster than on my Tour. Take the plunge, you will not regret it.

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