E61i Thoughts - Qwerty Ain’t THAT Bad
A while ago, I had a passionate article that received a lot of comments and links across the web, entitled I Like T9, How About You? In this article, I was defending my position about T9 and how I perceived it as a very convenient way to type on a 12-key mobile handset. I also compared T9 to QWERTY, as well as other predictive text input software, announcing my preference for T9 at the end of each.
Part of the reason I was eager to trial the E61i is that it has QWERTY as the main input interface, but differs from the 2 devices that I have had a QWERTY experience on, which are slide outs. The E61i’s form factor resembles the more popular Blackberry, Palm Treo / Centro, Samsung Blackjack form factor, in that the QWERTY is crammed right below the screen. I have always wondered about the advantage of such a layout, and 4 days into the E61i, I now know.
Blackberries aren’t popular at all here in Lebanon, even amongst businessmen who either turn to S60 or WM, so for the past days, each time I have taken the E61i out of my pocket, I have received glances and side looks. I can see that many people think, from faraway, that it’s some old handset coming from the 19th century, because of the width of the thing, but those who have approached and held it in their hands immediately spotted the qwerty. The form factor is a relative novelty for most of them, and the first thing they ask me is “Is it convenient?”. And this is where I stop in silence and wonder what to answer. Do I go on for 5 to 10 minutes explaining the advantages and disadvantages, or do I just blabber a quick “relatively yes” or “kinda”?
You see, I am a long-time fan of T9, I can use it blindfolded, while steering and choosing the radio frequency with one hand, and arranging my hair and texting with the other. Talk about multitasking! I can’t imagine being able to do that on a qwerty, especially with the bulk that is arabic texting with latin letters (lots of numbers are involved: 3 and 7 mostly). There is NO WAY I can think of myself pressing the function button and the wanted number with one hand, period.
But fact is that I kinda sorta like the E61i’s qwerty. There, I said it! Actually, if like me, you’re not stubbornly hanging on to one form factor, you’ll find the E61i increasingly convenient the first day, and simply love it the second.
I have been enjoying the form factor a LOT for steady activities, like writing posts and thoughts while sitting on the sofa and watching television, while lying in bed before going to sleep or during my slow morning walks… As a matter of fact, each post I wrote in the past 4 days has been typed on the E61i : it is that nice. I have also been enjoying chatting with Windows Live on the E61i as well as checking medical information and taking consequent notes with MobiReader. These 3 activities are made very convenient thanks to the qwerty as well as the nice landscape screen that tops it, which I talked about yesterday.
Truth is, I am starting to see why qwerty can be preferred by those users who handle lots of email and documents all day long. I can most definitely see the usefulness of such a form factor in the medical profession, because information checking and note taking is made instantaneous. The fact that there’s a whole Eseries suite of business software to back it all up (which will be discussed tomorrow), just puts icing on the cake for professional and enterprise usage.
In conclusion, putting aside the lack of multimedia functionality, I know I will NEVER be able to use something like the E61i as my main phone because of the qwerty and the difficulty of using it one-handed, on-the-go or while driving. But I don’t find it weird now to get something like the E61i, as a backup handset for steady activities like typing posts or emails, chatting and medical usage.
After long time I’m back ..I’ve never had my hands on a QWERTY device,one of my friends have ugly looking HP pocket PC,that has very little keys,dunno how he’s doing all the texting on it,the keys are that much tiny.Any way this one doesn’t give me that feeling and also seems like a nice alternative for heavy texters.Why we don’t get any N-series with QWERTY or atleast a hybrid between these two?
Whilst you can practically deliver a baby with T9 texting, i can type on an E61 with one hand. How? I have big hands and my thumb can reach across the keyboard. So we are both special cases.
The average user will adapt to it and use it as its intendedn They generaly dont care about pros and cons, just as long it does the job they bought it for.
“But I don’t find it weird now to get something like the E61i, as a backup handset [...]“.
That’s a funny one, I have always thought of backup handsets as something smaller, sturdier, that I can ‘throw in a backpack/pocket’ and forget about…
Your E61i analysis have helped me a lot so far and I think that QWERTY is what I need know. I’m typing more and more in 2 to 3 langugages and T9 is just a pain in that particular use. Plus using a lot of symbols while writing is not efficient on my pre-FP1 device.
Looking forward to your next post
Ravindra, I bet they have thought about it, but the big question is WHEN?
bazza,
well i am sure the average user will adapt, but what I doubt is whether or not he will buy it.
Merlin,
we have different conceptions about backup devices, haha, my backup was a WM5/qwerty/wifi Qtek 9100 when I had the Nokia 3250. Lol
I’ve long been debating the qwerty vs T9 in my head when i’m thinking of optional phones.
I thought i had it sorted out a few years back when i purchased the nokia 9300 (us ATT version). And low and behold, no freakin t9.
I’m a texter on the go, but also need to input certain business information.
Right now, i’m on an N73, and the 9300 sits and does nothing (i’m not carrying 2 phones) because normal texting with the t9 takes less time, and one hand.
I’d like an E90, but that cost is absurd, i’d rather use the money for a laptop.
The E90 allows both T9 and qwerty….
Listen… I too was a T9 addict and went from a 6230 to a 7160 to a 6682 and so on… Until I got my hands on the E61. I didn’t let go again. Well, I did, for my E61i. And the next time, it will be for its replacement the E71. But that’s it.
As good as T9 is, it simply cannot replace a QWERTY keyboard. This is most noticeable when you’re writing symbols or words that are not English (or whatever your default phone language is) words. Think of typing an address, for example.
And as far as QWERTY goes, I have the HTC Wizard, Treo 750, BlackJack II and have tried many others and nothing beats the E61i in feel and accuracy. The Treo keyboard is actually really good, as are some BlackBerries (the Curve, for example).
There is simply no replacement for QWERTY when you do a lot of typing. When did you last see a PC with a 10-key keyboard?
That was supposed to be 7610, not 7160.
snoyt,
that IS true, but it’s a bulky device, especially for everyday usage and a GIRL! Lol, i’m not into gender discrimination, but I think people will find it odd for me to carry the E90. They already find it weird with the E61i.
Razor1973,
I get ur point, and i too was thinking about foreign languages, but as I stated, typing arabic (which is my main language) in latin letters involves a lot of 7 and 3, which isn’t as practical as with T9. I understand that the E71 might have a feature where you long press on a number key and the number pops up instead of a repetition of the letter (which is what happens now on the E61i). Then, i might have to reconsider qwerty. As for now, my speed on T9 is simply fabulous and I am not looking for a replacement. qwerty might be an add-on for me.
AH!
Told ya
Dotsisx, care to explain a little more what you mean with having to press 3 and 7 on a QWERTY pad so often? What is it you are trying to achieve? Whatever it is, it cannot be simpler with T9… It simply cannot.
I think the E71 is really going to settle the score in the “T9 vs Qwerty” battle: this one is coming with both QWERTY and predictive input (seems to be customized to fit the qwerty format and better than T9), in a rather compact form factor. The more I read Rita’s posts the more I’m excited about this one.
Talking about you by the way, you made me smile in front of my laptop for the second time with that backup handset thing…thanks…:-)
Razor1973,
In the arabic language, there are letters that can’t be mapped to any latin characters. That’s why when typing arabic with latin letters, we resort to using numbers, to symbolize the letters that can’t be mapped. 3 is more like an “aa” and 7 like a “hh”, but there are also other numbers used like 5 which is a “kh” and resembles the prounounciation of a “j” in spanish, as well as the 6 which is a “ta” with bit of emphasis on the t.
Merlin,
Glad I made ya laugh, that is my other passion in life :p
Dotsisx, I do get that. What I do not get is how a 12-key keyboard can make typing these easier than with a QWERTY.
Hi,
My E61i can receive SMS messages in Arabic but unfortunately, I cant type SMS in Arabic. I have tried to change the language option and it is giving me English option only.
Any hint is highly appreciated !
Jamal