The Keypad Championship
Various form factors, various designs, various brands, various keypads. Almost everyone does some text input if not a lot, be it in sending messages and emails, typing notes, calendar items, edit documents. Many have also started using mobile devices to write books on the go (apparently it’s very popular in Japan). What matters the most in order to achieve a pleasurable experience is the keypad. You would want keys large enough to fit a whole thumb, raised enough to give good feedback when being pressed, but also a device that is easy to grip.
Having had the Nokia 3250 for 18 months, I was blessed with an extremely smooth and thumb-friendly keypad. Now that I got the N95 8GB, I am also very pleased with the ease of use of its keypad, although I have previously criticized it for not being comfortable for long periods of time. That’s how I got the idea to compare the keypads over many mobile devices. Featured are the Nokia 3250, N95 8GB, N73, N76, Nokia 6120 and for the fun of it, I added my Qtek 9100 with qwerty keyboard and the HTC Touch with on-screen keyboard and stylus. How did it go?
The Rules
In order to perform a comparison, there should be a set of rules. I decided I will type the well known “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” sentence which contains every single letter in the alphabet. Before starting to time a device’s performance, I typed on it for a minute in order to get familiar with the keypad. Then I tried typing the sentence. I counted how many times it took me to get the whole sentence correct (not a single mistake) and the best achieved time over the device. I allowed T9 on the Nokias and predictive text on the Windows Mobile devices because that’s what a user usually does.
RRRR-RRR-Ready?! Fight!
The Results
I classified them from worst to best, judging on the speed of input, the number of repeats and the overall impression.
7th place – N76: 15.24 seconds and 5 attempts to get the sentence correct. I had to type with my nails or else I would always press the key below the one I was aiming at. I can’t imagine using it for more than 5 minutes of texting.
6th place – HTC Touch: 16.71 seconds and 2 attempts to get it right. It went actually smoother than I thought, although I was only typing with a stylus. But still, I don’t think I can use it for more than 5 minutes.
5th place – N73: 13.57 seconds and 3 attempts to get it correct. The keys are too small for my taste and I had to use the tip of my thumb to type, which wasn’t very comfortable. I can imagine doing 10 minutes of texting using this device, but not more.
4th place – Nokia 6120: 12.96 seconds and 2 attempts to get it done. Same problems as with the N73, but I had a little better feedback than the N73. I can also imagine myself doing 10 minutes of texting on the 6120.
3rd place – Qtek 9100: 14.16 seconds and 1 attempt to get it right. The keys are small but they are well spaced which makes the size problem irrelevant. The feedback was right and I can seriously imagine myself doing 50minutes to 1 hour of texting.
2nd place – N95 8GB: 12.05 seconds and 1 attempt to get it coorect. The keys are large and easy to press, but as I have mentioned earlier, the raised sides of the keypad makes it unbearable to type for more than 15-20 minutes. Big letdown.
And ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this keypad championship is the old, the forgotten, the outcast…
1st place – Nokia 3250: 12.23 seconds and 1 attempt to get it done. The keys are basically the exact same size as the N95 8GB’s, and they are well raised and give a nice feedback. I have previously done more than 1 hour of text input on the 3250 without feeling a lot of discomfort. The device has a nice grip and makes texting a smooth experience. I am not the only one to think so, because many of my friends (who use the devices tested over here) have used my 3250 and they all have this first impression “oh my God, the keys are sooooo big!”
The keypad is probably the one thing I am missing from my 3250 during this N95 8GB trial. But as you see, the N95 8GB by itself isn’t so bad. It is the fastest amongst all devices here and very nice to use intermittently. It’s just that for long periods of time, it gets uncomfortable.
great article. i wish you could’ve tested the n82 keypad as well, since i’ve looking to buy a new nseries in a few months.
Agreed. Great article, Rita.
I agree that the N95 keypad is rather uncomfortable, but for a different reason. Personally I have nothing against the raised sides. They’re there because…well, Nokia doesn’t quite know how to make slider phones. And the way the back cover slaps on also has to do with those, but I’m sure you know that. However, in my opinion (I also have to change position after 10 minutes tops) the problem is in the weight balance of the phone. A lot of weight is on the top part, and this is apparent all the time. But when the slide is up, it gets worse. I’m sure there was no better way way of keeping the phone as slim as it is (I know how this sounds, but considering what’s inside…it’s slim), but it still is a letdown.
I don’t understand why Nokia don’t hire the guys who created the slider mechanisms for Samsung. :)
Hmm.. Great post. I’ve never seen a detailed keypad review before ths .. Kudos !
One point to be noted: The speed testing was good, but I think you should have also included the comfortability in using the keypad. Although you can get a good typing speed, one cant usually sustain it for long as fingers start hurting.
p.s. Rita, could it be possible for you to get hold of a 6600, the former nokia flagship ? Personally, I felt that phone to have the most comfortable/ fastest keypad yet with the softest keys & pretty well sized buttons. (I remember buying that phone as it was the best at the time for gaming) :D
What about the N75 or iPhone? I’ve yet to use/see an Nseries device with keys that big and T9 friendly to date. The iPhone may not be as tactile friendly as a plastic keyboard but its Multi-touch qwerty never seems to get tiring IMO.
Vlad, you’ve put the finger right on the wound. I noticed that about the N95 8GB but thought I was being delusional. I totally agree, the weight of the N95 8GB, ESPECIALLY when the slide is up is mostly put in the upper parts, which makes holding it with the slide open a painful experience.
As for the other devices, like the N82, N75 and iPhone, I couldn’t test them because I don’t have them and no one around me has them. Sowwy.
I have in my Nokia’s (E61, 9500, N800) qwerty keyboards and I think this is the best kind of keyboards. Keyboard in E61 it’s great.
I’ll add my try based on your test: 14.03 seconds and only 1 try to get the sentence right with my nokia e51.
LoL, i’m in train station, waiting for a train and spending some time, reading this post from my 3250.
Amazing that 2 T9 keypads outperform the mini-qwerty of the Qtek 9100. I am not bothered by the raised edge of the N95. Any chance of doing a comparison of the N810 with the N800, E90 and N95?
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