R.I.P Pen Key, You Will Be Missed
Ever since I first used an S60 3rd Edition device, I looked at it and wondered what that “pen” button was supposed to do. Day after day, I discovered a new use for it. I could select one item or better multiple items, I could copy text and paste it somewhere else, I could also select the writing language and toggle predictive text on and off. To me, the pen was a revelation in S60, because all those hard to reach options seemed to be just one click away.
Then came NStarter, followed by a couple of other quick-access applications. They all made use of a combination of the pen and another number button to launch a certain software. The pen was once again the star for me, it allowed me to reach my favorite applications in a second, no matter what I was doing on my device. In my opinion, if there is one button that shouldn’t be removed from any S60 handset, it’s the pen, because it is one concrete symbol of the great features and versatility the platform offers.
Apparently, the device designers in the Finnish company didn’t quite agree with me, and the pen was removed. The reason was that many users didn’t know about its functionality and it was one of the least used buttons on the devices. I quite agree with the fact that not many users knew what that pen really did, I also agree with the fact that improvements should be done in order to improve the use experience and easily show people what their device can do. But I never agreed with the way things were handled with the pen key. Nokia said they mapped the function to the # and * keys. Although this is true, here are the problems I see with this new layout and theory:
- I agree that the pen was the least used key by device owners, because most of them ignore its functionality, but take a look at those who know what it does and see how frequently they press that button
- The copy/paste functionality was mapped to the Options menu, and yes that made it more visible, but that also made it impossible to copy a text from the software in which Nokia didn’t integrate the Options>Copy and Options>Paste possibilities, and that includes native and 3rd party software. One example is renaming files, I usually rename some of my photos with batch names, like “Room 1″, “Room 2″, “Room x”. Instead of typing “Room” every time, I copy it, and paste it in each file name, then add the number next to it. Now I can’t do that, can I?
- The multiple selection option was mapped to the # key. Now that is one of the biggest mistakes I have ever seen being made. I had the N81 for a while, and I experienced first hand what problems that modification generated.
- First, 3rd party software still rely on the pen key for multiple selection and wouldn’t recognize the # (eg: X-Plore). I reckon that most of these will eventually change this, but for now it is still extremely awkward.
- Second, normally the # key switches between Shift/Capslock/Numlock modes, in a very recognizable pattern: I had the N81 for 2 weeks and I can assure you that I never figured out the new pattern used, I kept on pressing # until the option I wanted popped on the screen.
- Third, the language/predictive text options were switched to the * key. Not a very smart move because inserting a symbol needs now a lot more presses than it used to. But yes, putting the most used symbols on the top of the menu that pops when the * is pressed did make up for it.
- Forth and foremost, the main problem with the pen was that users didn’t know the functionality, do you think hiding a function on a button will make the user more aware of it? I mean come on! At least before, they had a pen button in front of them, and could have had the curiosity to see what it does. Now there’s nothing! Real life example: a friend of mine got a 6120 a while ago. A few days later, I asked her to send me a couple of pics over bluetooth. Sitting next to her, I watched her agonize while going through Options>Mark/Unmark>Mark. After 2 pictures, I couldn’t take it anymore, took the device out of her hands and showed her the multiple selections using the # key. Guess what she answered me “yes, I’ve seen you do it with that pen on your phone, I looked for the button on mine, didn’t find it”. True, very true.
So yes, I am still a firm believer that the pen key shouldn’t have gone anyway. They could have just added Options>Copy & Paste in order to make this more viewable and hence more usable, but they could have kept the pen and all of its functionality, especially if your the other changes they made aren’t real solutions to the original “the functionality isn’t visible to the average user” problem.
We have grown to use the pen and moving around things isn’t something we do like, nor does the average Joe. You smashed his # key by providing a different pattern than the one he got used to ever since your monochrome screen handsets. You smashed his * key by giving him more steps to do to go insert a symbol, a feature he also got used to ever since the monochrome era. You simply can’t change in one day the habits of 10 years of texting.
So, readers, what are your thoughts about this, especially those of you who now have an N81, N82 or 6120? Do you miss the pen button? Did you face any of the problems that I had with it being forgotten? If so, did you grow accustomed to the lack of the pen or do you still struggle each day to make it work without it?
Thankfully, I havnt reached the point of having a device without the pen key.. Im using am N95-3. In thinking about this new mapping sequence though, it sounds like its going to be one hell of an annoyance. I use the pen key all the time, and have used it since my first S60, the 3650. I am not relishing the thought of having to retrain my keypress techniques.
I was actually surprised to see the pen key again on some newer devices, because my Nokia 6290 which launched alongside the original N95 already replaced it with the hash key.
And no, new device, new means of input, so no trouble adapting from pen to #.
The only key replacement that bothered me a little was the “4 way launcher”, on my 6290 I pushed it and was presented with an additional configurable shortcut menu, on my N-Series device however it launches the spinning menu which is okay if you need quick access to both your latest pictures and videos, but the contacts one for example is redundant in my humble opinion as you can access more contacts quicker using speed dial, so is the bookmark pane which has more options and entries in the browser directly.
About those symbols.. Just press and hold the * key for 0.2 seconds ans all symbols will pop up……
I couldn’t do without the PEN key in a non-QWERTY S60 device, period. Luckily, I currently use QWERTY devices (E61 and E61i) and plan upgrading only to the successor (E71?) or the upcoming Nseries QWERTY. Bad move on Nokia’s part, I agree.
I use the pen key all the time. In fact, the copy/paste capability it gives me is one of the major reasons moving to a non-touch screen PDA (I previously used Nokia Series 40 phones and a separate Windows Mobile PDA) was a viable avenue for me.
Without it, I fear I will grow annoyed, enraged, and prone to look for other alternatives. Most likely in that order.
The copy/paste and select functions are almost intact in the # key. You just have to keep it hold and move arrows to select for copy/past (when editing text) or to mark when in a list. To paste just keep hold a short time and you’ll get the same menu as with the pencil. It’s almost identical, I’m using now the N82 coming from the N80 and I don’t miss anything but the shortcuts from NStarter or Screenshot… but this is 3rd party software using just this for hotkey specifically. The Shift/Capslock/Numlock is identical for me, at least compared to the N80. And the symbols as åke says are just there holding *.
Perhaps the problem is the same as with the pencil, functionality is there but not clear enough. Maybe the welcome wizard should show these things or some kind of popups tips should waiting for the first time this keys are pressed or maybe used to show how they work for 1st time users.
Al7AIR
I am glad you got used to it, as you see not many people can even think about it. I had the N81 for two weeks and there were moments I swear I was going to start banging my head against the wall.
Totally agree with you in every point Rita
Sirul,
I never paid attention to the fact that we could still use # to copy/paste (and not only select files or text and then use Options to c/p). Thanks for mentioning it, but that also brings me back to my question: now that there’s no dedicated key for it, people are less likely to discover it. I just don’t get it.
Dotsisx (hey, I just got your name! *LOL*), this seems to be nothing but a marketing move. Yes, the new method is still obscure to most users (actually, even more obscure than the PEN key), but at least they don’t see a key there that they don’t understand and may drive them away from buying their first S60 phone afraid they will not know how to use it. So Nokia may have made this move in favor or getting new S60 adopters, but alienating their current following. Still a bad move in my opinion.
It’s a classical problem, making your UI simple enough for first time users but not too dumbed down that power users get annoyed. I think this is a move in the wrong direction, especially for the high-end devices that are mostly bought by experienced users anyways.
Ahhh…at least Nokia isn’t as prone to branding disasters as ATT! “Tab Top?” Gimme a break, losers!
NOs i love the pen key. i use it almost every day for one thing or another. mostly when i write text messages its the key i press to switch between number mode and alpha mode on my n73. what a travisty! hopefully i’ll get lucky and when they finally release the n82 with us 3g (not really holding my breath) it’ll still have the key on it.
to be honest for the first 5 or 6 months i owned my n73 i had no clue what the pen key was used for. but after i figured it out, it was like opening up a lexicon of new possibilities.
damn man bad move nokia bad move. next you’ll hear that they want to get rid of teh task manager key!
Well thank havens the Pen key is there on ma N95 GB.
I totally agree with the article that it plays a very imp. role &
should not be replaced.
To save my self the pain & agony of usinga device without the pencil key,
I would may be wait for Nokia’s 5th Gen Touch UI phone.
LOL…. that ought to give some redemption
VJ,
I couldn’t agree more. I was thinking about it myself, and I believe there’s nothing appealing coming from Nokia now other than the S60 Touch devices. The N96 is good looking, but it’s not THAT much of an improvement over the N95. I previously said that the N96 might not be the device for current N95 owners, but I didn’t know any better, since I didn’t have an N95 by then. Now I do, and I feel that S60 Touch is my next logical step. Plus as you said, a touchscreen would make a good replacement for the pen key.
Razor 1973,
I get that a lot, the Dotsisx name I mean. I kinda sorta agree with your explanation, problem is that I haven’t met any user who was “afraid of” (or unlikely to) getting an Nseries because they didn’t know how to use the pen. But that may be just my society. An Nseries is cool, no matter what it has, does or retails for.
The N82 being my first S60 device I have no previous experience but still find it awkward to do copy/paste this way. At least the functionality is there.
A pen key would make explaining it to other users easier I guess and tech savvy people will experiment with an unknown key. So a separate pen key definitely makes the functionality much more visible.
I’m with you… I was having a problem with my Screenshot application. After they remove Pen key, I have to re-introduce some new shortcuts. The thing is Forum Nokia doesn’t recommend us to “capture” all keys in the numeric pad (0..9, #, *) -> http://wiki.forum.nokia.com/index.php/KIS000708_-_Applications_should_not_capture_events_from_numeric_keys
Antony,
I bet a lot of developers had to modify their software when the pen was removed, just like you. Just getting multiple selection to work with the # instead of the pen must have made a hundred developers angry.
Oh wow this sucks, this is gonna take some getting used to
Loving the pen button since my 3650 <3