[1TIME]

I currently have a Bold 9900 and I've been a die hard BB fan since day 1 but recently I've been thinking of upgrading to either the Classic or going to the dark side via my first I phone. I was wondering how much has the typing experienced improved on a touch screen phone and is it better and faster than typing on a qwerty nowadays.

[yohannrjm]

The typing experience on any virtual keyboard is now pretty mature. They are all accurate and very fast. A lot of people claim that typing on glass is faster than on a physical keyboard (probably because there's no travel on the glass).

I have used both and am very fast on both formats, but I still prefer typing on a physical keyboard. In fact, I dread typing on glass so much that I don't use my all-touch phones at all.

However, my daughter is so proficient at typing on glass that she rivals my typing speed on my Classic.

Basically, while it may take some time, you should be able to figure out how to type on glass pretty quickly. Whether you will learn to like it is another matter. Most people like it, some do not.

And, of course, moving to an iPhone comes with other benefits.

Sent from my Classic using Tapatalk 2

[ChrisLeNeve]

Some say typing on a VKB is faster, but not many. Using the Classic or the Q10 's physical keyboard just feels much nicer for starters, and it's much easier for typing letters, punctuation, abbreviations and words that aren't in the dictionary. In a speed test, with standard dictionary words, a VKB may win. But in the real world, where people have perhaps corporate abbreviations, strange punctuation, etc, a PKB is a lot more efficient, IMO.

Forgive my typos, I don't look when I type

[mad_mdx]

The iPhone virtual keyboard is awful. Eventually you get used to it. The BlackBerry keyboard, physical or virtual, is unmatched. Anyone who says otherwise probably only uses a single language and doesn't need to type with great accuracy.

If typing is your main thing, you're better off with a BlackBerry.
If you want exclusive apps, go with the iPhone, or if you're super keen on BlackBerry wait for the android based Priv by BlackBerry

[Lefty724]

I have and use a iPhone 6, Classic, and SE Passport. I find myself reaching for the Classic the most and the SE a close 2nd. I'm super anal about typing errors and punctuation, so the iPhone 6 is left at home for the kids.

If I had to type on a VKB, I'd rather use the Swype feature (which you can also get in iOS) on Androids than on the iPhone. Am I faster on a VKB? Yes. More mistakes on a VKB? Absolutely!

I love clicking away on my PKB's!

Posted via my Classic

[Rajbir Lorriet]

I also like to add here for typing in virtual keyboard. From my experience I feel most better in VKB. And of course my typing speed is so high in VKB.

[slagman5]

There is no debate. You can be faster on a vkb. But for me, it's not about speed, but accuracy. I'm too much of a perfectionist to leave typos behind. I'll have to go back and correct them as I see them. That'll end up making it slower for me...

Posted without the aid of AutoCorrect with my physical keyboard via CB10

[yohannrjm]

I agree with Slagman - autocorrect gets in the way of my typing too. I instinctively go back and correct errors, and having autocorrect is annoying. I used to like the flick feature on the BlackBerry vkb, but that was before I bought my first pkb BlackBerry phone. Since that point, it's been pkb for me all the way.

However. I know that's not the case for everyone. People can, and do, get used to the vkb. Whether it will work best for you is something you'll have to decide for yourself.

Sent from my Classic using Tapatalk 2

[Lefty724]

There is no debate. You can be faster on a vkb. But for me, it's not about speed, but accuracy. I'm too much of a perfectionist to leave typos behind. I'll have to go back and correct them as I see them. That'll end up making it slower for me...

Posted without the aid of AutoCorrect with my physical keyboard via CB10

So true! When using the iPhone or Galaxy, I literally have to proof read everything I type. I've never thought about it that way before lol.

Sent via SE Passport

[johnnydoesai]

For the virtual keyboard, autocorrect gets in the way quite often. Also it's slower to type out all these weird punctuation a and abbreviations, as someone upstairs pointed out. Other than that vkb and pkb feels about the same for me.

I am currently using an iPhone6 but was an avid fan of the Bold and the Classic

[leeiling]

iPhone does not have a keyboard. It does come with a home button.

Posted via CB10

[skstrials]

Do you like not having to look at the phone at all when you type? If so, it has to be a classic or a Q10.

The real advantage of the physical keyboard comes from the fact that you can keep your eyes off from the screen, and still type accurately.


Why would you want to do that?
Have a read here:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...ing-our-spines

With a physical keyboard phone, you can keep your eyes off from the screen, and save your neck.
It is also useful when you have to walk and type. It is nice to be able to look forward when I type on my Q10. You can feel the ridges and a dot on the keyboard to really know which letter you are typing, without looking.


Virtual keyboard auto correct is good enough when you are typing WHILE YOU LOOK at the screen, but there is still no way that you can rely on it completely to not look at the screen at all.
- if you mess up one word on a virtual keyboard, the auto correct messes up all the subsequent words since the autocorrect mechanism looks at the whole sentence.

Don't take my word for it, look around next time you head out, see for yourself how many Iphone users walk around typing on their phones with their heads down. With a Classic, you can keep your head up.


You only have one spine, take care of it whichever phone you use.

Posted via CB10

[krugbot]

Virtual keyboard auto correct is good enough when you are typing WHILE YOU LOOK at the screen, but there is still no way that you can rely on it completely to not look at the screen at all.
Posted via CB10

And if you're someone like me, who can get eyestrain easily, having to look constantly at the keys is a recipe for a lovely headache.

[conbrio29]

Do you like not having to look at the phone at all when you type? If so, it has to be a classic or a Q10.

The real advantage of the physical keyboard comes from the fact that you can keep your eyes off from the screen, and still type accurately.


Why would you want to do that?
Have a read here:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...ing-our-spines

With a physical keyboard phone, you can keep your eyes off from the screen, and save your neck.
It is also useful when you have to walk and type. It is nice to be able to look forward when I type on my Q10. You can feel the ridges and a dot on the keyboard to really know which letter you are typing, without looking.


Virtual keyboard auto correct is good enough when you are typing WHILE YOU LOOK at the screen, but there is still no way that you can rely on it completely to not look at the screen at all.
- if you mess up one word on a virtual keyboard, the auto correct messes up all the subsequent words since the autocorrect mechanism looks at the whole sentence.

Don't take my word for it, look around next time you head out, see for yourself how many Iphone users walk around typing on their phones with their heads down. With a Classic, you can keep your head up.


You only have one spine, take care of it whichever phone you use.

Posted via CB10

Funny how that Guardian article also mentions "BlackBerry thumb".

Posted via CB10

[slagman5]

Funny how that Guardian article also mentions "BlackBerry thumb".

Posted via CB10

Don't worry, that's only for weak people.

Posted without the aid of AutoCorrect with my physical keyboard via CB10

[Mr4aces]

I "use to" type over 80wpm on a PC keyboard before it cut the end off my index finger off. So now I type faster on a BlackBerry pkb.

For me there is nothing faster than the 9900 pkb, the Classic come close but the trackball, size and ergonomics of the 99 makes typing with 1 or 2 thumbs fast.

There is more to typing than just hitting keys.

Cut and paste?
Deleting?
Copying?
Editing?

By the the time you fumble around trying to make a correction on a vkb you've wasted to much time.

PIN 829A "You're only known for the worst thing you do" DSO 1978

[aluiziomachado]

The big difference is not about how fast you can type or even how accurate you are. When you have a physical keyboard you can hold your device steady using your thumb and second finger and your thumbs are resting on the keyboard ! So, when you type, you can make pauses , think , sometimes the thumbs just slide over the keyboard without pressing it, the device is still firmly in your hands. On the virtual keyboard you cannot rest your thumb over the screen, so they have to stay up and readiness for action all the time, its very boring to type long texts because your device isnt really well fixed inside your hand, its very uconfortable to make pauses when you type.Of course VK is for fast messaging, but far away from the ideal Keyboard for who had to answer many email and write a lot. Look the keyboard of your lap, the main advantage is that you can write and pause , but your hands and fingers are still over the keyboard, resting, all the time...

[alfonsojon]

I have a BlackBerry Classic and an iPhone 4. I use the iPhone for apps, but I hate typing on it, as AutoCorrect is terrible because I guess my fingers are too fat. I can type quickly on both, but being able to "feel" what I'm typing is so important for me. It's like the difference between hunt and peck typists vs touch typists.

Personally, I'll take the physical keyboard any day!

Posted via CB10

[idssteve]

"Auto correct" is counterproductive for dealing with unique identifiers like conductor and terminal designations, for example. Handle a couple hundred of them in a day and you'll spend your lunch break seeking the "auto correct - OFF" switch. Autocorrect, whether VKB or PKB, is too much like your 4th grade grand kid re-writing critical documents. Incompatible with some professions, IMO.

[willtothewong]

The best part of having a physical keyboard is the ability to spell whatever you want.

I've tried many touchscreen keyboards and they all seem to not spell what I want it to.

Posted via CB10

[slagman5]

"Auto correct" is counterproductive for dealing with unique identifiers like conductor and terminal designations, for example. Handle a couple hundred of them in a day and you'll spend your lunch break seeking the "auto correct - OFF" switch. Autocorrect, whether VKB or PKB, is too much like your 4th grade grand kid re-writing critical documents. Incompatible with some professions, IMO.

Yep, mine is turned off. That's why I can type whatever the hell I want to and the phone never attempts to do my thinking for me. :-)

Posted without the aid of AutoCorrect with my physical keyboard via CB10

[slagman5]

The best part of having a physical keyboard is the ability to spell whatever you want.

I've tried many touchscreen keyboards and they all seem to not spell what I want it to.

Posted via CB10

+100

Posted without the aid of AutoCorrect with my physical keyboard via CB10

[djslam]

Do you like not having to look at the phone at all when you type? If so, it has to be a classic or a Q10.

The real advantage of the physical keyboard comes from the fact that you can keep your eyes off from the screen, and still type accurately.


Why would you want to do that?
Have a read here:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...ing-our-spines

With a physical keyboard phone, you can keep your eyes off from the screen, and save your neck.
It is also useful when you have to walk and type. It is nice to be able to look forward when I type on my Q10. You can feel the ridges and a dot on the keyboard to really know which letter you are typing, without looking.


Virtual keyboard auto correct is good enough when you are typing WHILE YOU LOOK at the screen, but there is still no way that you can rely on it completely to not look at the screen at all.
- if you mess up one word on a virtual keyboard, the auto correct messes up all the subsequent words since the autocorrect mechanism looks at the whole sentence.

Don't take my word for it, look around next time you head out, see for yourself how many Iphone users walk around typing on their phones with their heads down. With a Classic, you can keep your head up.


You only have one spine, take care of it whichever phone you use.

Posted via CB10

This is the key for me as well. I'm all about efficiency, and not even having to look at the phone to type, you can't beat that with VKB.

Posted via CB10

[keyboardsrock]

Thank you! I thought I was the only one. I've had several BBerries: 9630, 9370, and a 9900 I only gave up because of on-going, unresolved software problems...

Yes, I like the real estate, but I HATE typing on a vkb. Worse than the keyboard itself is the fact that I have to give typing my undivided attention when using a vkb. The only vkb I've developed any skill at is MessageEase. However, I suspect that the only reason is that it's actually designed for adult-sized hands.

I'm out of contract with Verizon now so I'm enjoying my $15/month discount. A Classic on a 2 year contract would cost me $100. That plus the $180/year extra I'd pay for the service totals to $460!!
I see that Q10's are going for about $125 on eBay. I'm seriously thinking about it just to get a real keyboard again. Is the Classic's keyboard really THAT much better that it'd be worth an extra $14/month for 2 years? Hmmm.... I think that'd make a good thread.

[TJ Strozier]

I like both, but using a physical keyboard is always going to be more accurate simply because you can feel the keys. I always suggest people use both a BlackBerry and a iPhone, but I understand everyone can't do so; therefore, I feel the Classic is the best fit. If you haven't found a reason to switch to an iPhone at this point, there really is no reason for you to. It seems like you don't need your phone for anything other than that you use it for now. Get the Classic.

TJ Strozier of Astronomic Music Group