Love it and hate it: Does typing get easier?

**Time2Bling** · 02-26-2010, 08:02 AM

I've been a Bold and Curve user for years, and nothing but a BlackBerry will do for me. My employer recently switched to Verizon-- and I chose a Storm 2 over a Tour. (Going from a Bold to a Tour blows-- smaller screen, no wi-fi).

I have had the S2 about a week.

I love the Storm's big screen and I like surepress for the phone and apps. But the typing is very hard for me-- I find it MUCH slower and more error-prone than a traditional BlackBerry with a keyboard.

I am a business user who answers nearly 100 emails some days-- and BBMs frequently. The constant typos-- and accidental sends on BBM are making me look bad to clients and co-workers alike. On a business trip to NYC yesterday, I was ready to fling the device against the wall out of frustration.

Are there any traditional BlackBerry users who have adjusted to S2 typing-- or is this just a tradeoff I must either accept or give up on?

**djackson02** · 02-26-2010, 08:06 AM

I came from curve and tour something always with a physical keyboard. I struggled with touchscreen for a week or so but now I'm faster on the virtual keyboard.

**neoblaster** · 02-26-2010, 08:32 AM

Give it a week or two. I came from a couple Curves to a Tour to a Storm2 and type a lot faster on the S2. Though it is pretty loud in meetings...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

**flybub** · 02-26-2010, 09:19 AM

Give it time. going to a virtual keyboard is a big learning curve. I type just as fast on my S2 as I do on my PC keybard, which is plenty fast. Give it time and be patient.

**corymcnutt** · 02-26-2010, 10:38 AM

Yes, give it time...in a couple weeks you will love it. I know it looks smaller, but I would try the Portrait, SureType option. After a week of "learning" your words, or adding them to your dictionary, you will be flying on the keyboard. It DOES take some patience, but, like they say, patience is a virtue!

For me, the landscape keyboard is to hard to use.

**wdanker** · 02-26-2010, 10:39 AM

I agree with the other posters. I made a similar switch a couple months back and now find that for the most part I am very comfortable with the Storm typing. I would also suggest giving both keyboards a chance. I did not think I would like the SureType layout, but the more I use it, the more I like it. Now I only use the qwerty layout to type words that are 'unusual'.

YMMV

**collin16** · 02-26-2010, 10:47 AM

You're probably on the official OS right? In the recent beta OS's you can turn off the 'enter to send' option but I dont know if the official OS has that option.

Just a thought till you get use to the virtual keyboard

**cain0013** · 02-26-2010, 10:54 AM

I went from the 8330 to the 9550. Typing on the S2 does have a learning curve. It took me about a week to really get used to the virtual keyboard, but now I prefer typing on it compared to any other phone I have used.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

**Ronindan** · 02-26-2010, 10:56 AM

To the op, I came from the curve and never looked back. It it really up to you if you want keep your S2 or not. In time you will learn, but the question is that will you want to invest the time to adapt? Only you can answer that.

**Mr. Orange 645** · 02-26-2010, 12:35 PM

I started with a Curve and loved it. I used it for about 18 months and switched to the S2 on an early upgrade offer. When I got the S2, I adapted fairly quickly to the virtual keyboard. My preference is the landscape full keyboard, though i'm getting pretty quick with the portrait SureType. Either way, I'm much quicker with my Storm2 than I ever was with my Curve.

Last night, I was helping my dad with his Curve, and I felt stupid trying to type on the real keyboard. It was almost foreign to me. LOL.

Give it at least 2-3 weeks before you decide, but some people just don't adapt to the virtual keyboard. The Storm2 might not meet your needs. Thats the beauty of RIM: multiple form-factors.

**easyrun99** · 02-26-2010, 01:07 PM

Give it time...it does take some adjusting, but if you don't give it a few weeks you'll never know.

I'm on my second Storm 2 because I made a snap judgement on the first with respect to typing...but the feature set was exactly what I wanted so I went back and after a few weeks, it became second nature.

**easyrun99** · 02-26-2010, 01:13 PM

One thing I would love to see from the S2 keyboard (particularly in portrait QWERTY mode) if for the letters to display above the key before being pressed.

On both the iPhone and Droid (others perhaps, but I've experienced those two) keyboards, when you touch a letter, it displays that letter ABOVE the virtual key, while on the S2 it just highlights it (which you cannot see under your finger).

When I try to type with a QWERTY one-handed in portrait mode, I constantly type a "t" instead of an "r" and "d" instead of "s". Since there a physical push involved, if the letter was displayed above the key when I'm hovering, it would allow immediate adjustment...just my $0.02...

**jkerm3** · 02-26-2010, 01:18 PM

easyrun99

Just download one of the latest OS leaks (.428, 451). Both have this feature added.

**Speedv1** · 02-26-2010, 01:25 PM

To be honest - I miss my physical keyboard. But at the same time I'm comfortable with the onscreen keyboard, in particular the landscape one - it's surprisingly intuitive (with word prediction) and isn't that hard to get used to. To this day though if I rated the 9000 keyboard @ 10/10 then the 9550 would only get an 7-8.

**easyrun99** · 02-26-2010, 01:25 PM

Thanks!!! I assumed it would be software corrected; I will look into those OS versions.

**FuzzyB** · 02-26-2010, 01:27 PM

Originally Posted by Time2Bling

I've been a Bold and Curve user for years, and nothing but a BlackBerry will do for me. My employer recently switched to Verizon-- and I chose a Storm 2 over a Tour. (Going from a Bold to a Tour blows-- smaller screen, no wi-fi).

I have had the S2 about a week.

I love the Storm's big screen and I like surepress for the phone and apps. But the typing is very hard for me-- I find it MUCH slower and more error-prone than a traditional BlackBerry with a keyboard.

I am a business user who answers nearly 100 emails some days-- and BBMs frequently. The constant typos-- and accidental sends on BBM are making me look bad to clients and co-workers alike. On a business trip to NYC yesterday, I was ready to fling the device against the wall out of frustration.

Are there any traditional BlackBerry users who have adjusted to S2 typing-- or is this just a tradeoff I must either accept or give up on?

I am in the same boat as you with business. I had a Curve and was nervous as he11 to go to a touch. It took me 3 days and I can now type every bit as fast as I could before...so hang in there, it gets better.

**afropoika** · 02-26-2010, 01:57 PM

It's a love/hate relationship. Giving it time may not help. Kind of like Marmite. Some people like it, some don't (I do

)

**Lucied666** · 02-26-2010, 03:51 PM

I love the full landscape keyboard rather than portrait suretype.

Typing in landscape is definately faster than on my bold.

**GSCheer** · 02-26-2010, 09:54 PM

I have had the Storm 2 for 2 months and have not adjusted well. to the keyboard. As I have written in other threads I wish the keyboard was trainable, that there were arrow keys on the symbol keyboard, and that there was a way to select text with those arrow keys.

**cain0013** · 02-26-2010, 10:13 PM

Originally Posted by GSCheer

I have had the Storm 2 for 2 months and have not adjusted well. to the keyboard. As I have written in other threads I wish the keyboard was trainable, that there were arrow keys on the symbol keyboard, and that there was a way to select text with those arrow keys.

I don't know if this will help, but if you upgrade to .451 you have the option to show the pop up letters on the keyboard as you type. Its like the pop up letters on the Iphone. If you already have .451 go to Options>Screen/Keyboard>Show Key Indicator and set it to Always.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

**the_stig#WN** · 03-03-2010, 10:29 AM

I'm in the same boat. I have a Curve 8330, and my brother works for VZW and has a loaner Storm2, which he let me try last night. Sweet device for sure.

I was surprized at how good I could type on it. My only concern if I were to switch would be the navigation. I'm not a touchscreen fan (had a fling with a Palm Pre a little while back). But after using the Storm2 for about 30 minutes, I can see why everyone seems to really fall in love with this phone. Maybe I'll give it a try. It's not the typing (strangely) I'm concerned with, it's NOT having a ball/pad for navigation.

I was waiting for the Essex/Tour2/Bold, but after the short time with the S2 last night, I am definitely considering it. That screen is really something special.

Any advice/thoughts are appreciated.

**Coachbulldog** · 03-03-2010, 10:41 AM

I'm a Storm 1 user that previously had a Curve 8330. I am like a lot of the other posters in this thread, it took about a week to get the hang of it but now I prefer the SurePress touch screen over the traditional keyboard. I never use the landscape full keyboard either because I'm faster with portrait SureType.

**lambrosio** · 03-03-2010, 10:43 AM

[QUOTE=easyrun99;4742364]One thing I would love to see from the S2 keyboard (particularly in portrait QWERTY mode) if for the letters to display above the key before being pressed.

On both the iPhone and Droid (others perhaps, but I've experienced those two) keyboards, when you touch a letter, it displays that letter ABOVE the virtual key, while on the S2 it just highlights it (which you cannot see under your finger).

yes...this would be great to have on the storm2...

I come from 8900 and 9000 and for about a week i´ve changed to storm2 and its been a litlle dificult to adjust to the new keyboard.
to be honest, if the bold had a better camera and more memory it was the perfect BB for me....

**eazymac** · 03-03-2010, 10:53 AM

I did the same thing three months back. I have both a bold and s2. I love typing on the bold still. I'm much more accurate than I am on the s2. I've gotten used to the keyboards that the s2 offers but its no physical keyboard, and its definitely not a bold keyboard. Beta os's on the s2 do help a lot but it still seems the key's virtual locations move around depending what app you're using, and that is frustrating. On the bold I can type without looking, and never miss a beat with where all of the special keys are located. That's just not the case with the s2, and for me that's one of the most frustrating points - the virtual keyboard is just not that intuitive and well thought out.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com