I was under the impression that text messaging while driving was never safe.
A bonus for Apple. They should be using the results of this study and calling the iPhone the safest phone to text while driving because it's designed not to be easily used while driving, so says this study. \
I was under the impression that text messaging while driving was never safe.
First thing I thought when I read this thing!
Quote:
One participant tried to use their fingernail to press the keys and couldn't.
Well, this participant might have been accustomed to resistive touchscreens, where any form of pressure can count as a touch. The iPhone's capacitive screen (which doesn't actually react to pressure, but rather to proximity to materials with specific dielectric characteristics resembling human flesh) might understandably be confusing to someone in that position.
I haven't read all the comments left here before typing this, so I'm sure I am just repeating.
So they took a bunch of people who are well practiced at typing messages on a qwerty keyboard, had them use iPhone for the first time, and found they were not as good with the new iPhone than with what they are used and accustomed to.
Could they not have guessed that would be the case, from pure common sense?
Who the hell is spending money on such retarded research?
Even if it weren't such a useless experiment, isn't 20 people far too small a population to test on?
The headline "iPhone keypad less efficient than physical QWERTY keypads" makes it out to be a general case for all users, not just newbies, which is entirely misleading. Someone trying to get the Apple stock to dip again?
Why does AppleInsider support these loser "scientists"? Slow news day?
Sorry but this study sucks. They should try to get their money back.
Fist the study group is way too small at only 20 participants
Second the people being studied did not have the phone long enough to get used to it and become proficient.
Fair is fair, make the study mean something. Give us the real world results with no sugar candy, but make sure the study adds real value and measures real world conditions.
Measuring how fast someone types after just 5 or 10 minutes with a new device they never used can only measure "Out of the box" speed, then not only that but you are measuring against devices they have used a lot longer than 5 minutes.
Any consulting firm worth its salt would have used seasoned (sorry) QWERTY users and seasoned iPhone users and put them head to head.
Their claimed conclusion - that it takes time to learn - is right up front with Apple's iPhone info. They have proven what was already published.
And as for "User Centric said there were some "limited improvements in keyboard comfort as users progressed through the tasks on the iPhone."
All improvements are limited, so they stuck this in there as a verbal speed bump.
My god, what would unlimited improvements look like?
I think the one thing that a lot of people so far have overlooked is the aspect of people walking in off the street and trying to type on the iphone. First impression is everything, if people think it's tough to type on the keyboard they may not purchase it. I think Apple can make some changes to the KB to make it easier for people to initially use, but for now its not something that leaves a great first impression like some of the other features or products apple makes.
Yeah, they should take a look at Justine (tastyblogsnack.com) who was the gal who got a 300 page itemized bill of all her iPhone text messages. She would likely skew the typing speed results a bit, however not in the direction that the reviewers would have wanted.
Most QWERTY phone users initially used the iPhone by holding it with both hands and typing with their two thumbs. However, by the end of the session, most had decided that it was easier for them to use one index finger to type.
This means that mot (if not all) of the participants had never used the iPhone before.
One word: learning curve.
Just because Microsoft Paint is EASIER to learn than Photoshop doesn't mean people should ditch Photoshop for Paint...
Since this is Software, why wouldn't Apple allow people to use custom keyboard layouts/sizes. Configurations that are conducive to single thumb typing and double-thumb, etc., etc. I'm sure there's lots of other layout options that would make life easier for people.
Yeah, they should take a look at Justine (tastyblogsnack.com) who was the gal who got a 300 page itemized bill of all her iPhone text messages. She would likely skew the typing speed results a bit, however not in the direction that the reviewers would have wanted.
m
She looks like a younger, better looking Cameron Diaz.
MacDailyNews Take: This is so interesting that we decided to conduct a similar study of our own!
MacDailyNews took a total of 20 participants who had watched golf on TV, but never played the game. 10 of the participants had played field hockey. The other 10 had played ice hockey. Participants were give a bag of clubs, many balls, and were driven out to the first tee and told to begin play.
We recorded these detailed observations:
? Most participants felt either that the ball was too small or the clubs were too long to hit accurate shots.
? Most felt it was easier to watch golf on TV than to actually play the game.
? Most participants noticed that the sand hindered their shots.
? Most ice hockey players initially held the club like an ice hockey stick.
? All ice hockey players believed playing ice hockey to be easier than playing golf.
? Most field hockey players intitally held the club like a field hockey stick.
? All field hockey players believed playing field hockey to be easier than playing golf.
? Participants made an average of 11 strokes per hole higher than actual golfers (18 handicap).
? In particular, participants struggled with driving, approach shots, chipping, putting, sand shots, and general etiquette.
? One female field hockey participant tried to jump her golf cart over a stream, but was unsuccessful.
? 5 out of 20 participants asked if the golf tees could be used for every shot.
? Participants expressed a great deal of frustration with the game of golf.
Based on our study's findings, it appears that non-golfers are likely to eventually increase their level of play with practice, hence actually becoming golfers.
Our study indicates that people who have never played golf are likely to have some level of initial frustration with the game. Although our analysis suggests that both types will eventually adapt to the game with practice, the learning curve for golf will be slightly steeper for field hockey players than for ice hockey players based mainly on that unfortunate golf cart and stream episode.
Learning to use Apple's iPhone expertly is immeasurably easier than learning how to play golf at its most basic.
Are you taking your vitamin b6? It helped me a lot.
Hope It Goes Well!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by andrewjnyc
Personally, the touch screen keypad on the iPhone has been a godsend for me--I'm a cancer patient who has experienced significant loss of sensation in my fingertips as a side effect of chemotherapy (it should all come back in approx two years, I'm told), and before I got an iPhone, text messaging was extremely difficult/awkward with my old Sony Ericsson because of the reliance on physical feedback. I'm not doing 50wpm or anything on the iPhone, but I'm a heck of a lot faster than with a tactile keypad--and, more importantly, I'm making a lot, lot fewer typos...
I like my iphone and I've had it since the release date - I also have a treo - i'm a good typist (100 wpm +) - and although, I love my iphone - I will never be as fast at typing on it as on my treo or a conventional keyboard... I found i tried to use my thumbs at first, as well - but have converted to using my index finger as well...
The should have also included a group of texters that had experience in using the iPhone and another group that had never sent a text message on any type of phone. Then their "study" would have had some validity to it.
And the size of each group should have been much larger.
Comments
I was under the impression that text messaging while driving was never safe.
A bonus for Apple. They should be using the results of this study and calling the iPhone the safest phone to text while driving because it's designed not to be easily used while driving, so says this study.
text messaging while driving = MORON!
I think the funniest part about this article is the title....
"Sutdy: iPhone keypad less efficient than physical QWERTY keypads"
It's obvious this was posted to AI via iPhone.
-Clive
I wanted to be all witty and whatnot, but you beat me to it.
*Generally agrees with concerns about the credibility of the sutdy"
It's like pitting a kungfu master up against someone who has taken two lessons.
I'd pay to see that.
I was under the impression that text messaging while driving was never safe.
First thing I thought when I read this thing!
One participant tried to use their fingernail to press the keys and couldn't.
Well, this participant might have been accustomed to resistive touchscreens, where any form of pressure can count as a touch. The iPhone's capacitive screen (which doesn't actually react to pressure, but rather to proximity to materials with specific dielectric characteristics resembling human flesh) might understandably be confusing to someone in that position.
So they took a bunch of people who are well practiced at typing messages on a qwerty keyboard, had them use iPhone for the first time, and found they were not as good with the new iPhone than with what they are used and accustomed to.
Could they not have guessed that would be the case, from pure common sense?
Who the hell is spending money on such retarded research?
Even if it weren't such a useless experiment, isn't 20 people far too small a population to test on?
The headline "iPhone keypad less efficient than physical QWERTY keypads" makes it out to be a general case for all users, not just newbies, which is entirely misleading. Someone trying to get the Apple stock to dip again?
Why does AppleInsider support these loser "scientists"? Slow news day?
Rant over.
Fist the study group is way too small at only 20 participants
Second the people being studied did not have the phone long enough to get used to it and become proficient.
Fair is fair, make the study mean something. Give us the real world results with no sugar candy, but make sure the study adds real value and measures real world conditions.
Measuring how fast someone types after just 5 or 10 minutes with a new device they never used can only measure "Out of the box" speed, then not only that but you are measuring against devices they have used a lot longer than 5 minutes.
Sorry this is GARBAGE.
Any consulting firm worth its salt would have used seasoned (sorry) QWERTY users and seasoned iPhone users and put them head to head.
Their claimed conclusion - that it takes time to learn - is right up front with Apple's iPhone info. They have proven what was already published.
And as for "User Centric said there were some "limited improvements in keyboard comfort as users progressed through the tasks on the iPhone."
All improvements are limited, so they stuck this in there as a verbal speed bump.
My god, what would unlimited improvements look like?
I think the one thing that a lot of people so far have overlooked is the aspect of people walking in off the street and trying to type on the iphone. First impression is everything, if people think it's tough to type on the keyboard they may not purchase it. I think Apple can make some changes to the KB to make it easier for people to initially use, but for now its not something that leaves a great first impression like some of the other features or products apple makes.
Select a group of 20 people required to type a page long document using a standard key board and a Dvorak keyboard.
Provide them 5 minutes of familiarity with both devices prior to the study.
Do not discriminate against people that have used a standard keyboard.
Aim of study: Determine if the Dvorak keyboard slows down or speads up the ability of a user to type a document.
Obviously this is just as flawed.
Boy what people pass for science!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
m
Most QWERTY phone users initially used the iPhone by holding it with both hands and typing with their two thumbs. However, by the end of the session, most had decided that it was easier for them to use one index finger to type.
This means that mot (if not all) of the participants had never used the iPhone before.
One word: learning curve.
Just because Microsoft Paint is EASIER to learn than Photoshop doesn't mean people should ditch Photoshop for Paint...
Yeah, they should take a look at Justine (tastyblogsnack.com) who was the gal who got a 300 page itemized bill of all her iPhone text messages. She would likely skew the typing speed results a bit, however not in the direction that the reviewers would have wanted.
m
She looks like a younger, better looking Cameron Diaz.
MacDailyNews Take: This is so interesting that we decided to conduct a similar study of our own!
MacDailyNews took a total of 20 participants who had watched golf on TV, but never played the game. 10 of the participants had played field hockey. The other 10 had played ice hockey. Participants were give a bag of clubs, many balls, and were driven out to the first tee and told to begin play.
We recorded these detailed observations:
? Most participants felt either that the ball was too small or the clubs were too long to hit accurate shots.
? Most felt it was easier to watch golf on TV than to actually play the game.
? Most participants noticed that the sand hindered their shots.
? Most ice hockey players initially held the club like an ice hockey stick.
? All ice hockey players believed playing ice hockey to be easier than playing golf.
? Most field hockey players intitally held the club like a field hockey stick.
? All field hockey players believed playing field hockey to be easier than playing golf.
? Participants made an average of 11 strokes per hole higher than actual golfers (18 handicap).
? In particular, participants struggled with driving, approach shots, chipping, putting, sand shots, and general etiquette.
? One female field hockey participant tried to jump her golf cart over a stream, but was unsuccessful.
? 5 out of 20 participants asked if the golf tees could be used for every shot.
? Participants expressed a great deal of frustration with the game of golf.
Based on our study's findings, it appears that non-golfers are likely to eventually increase their level of play with practice, hence actually becoming golfers.
Our study indicates that people who have never played golf are likely to have some level of initial frustration with the game. Although our analysis suggests that both types will eventually adapt to the game with practice, the learning curve for golf will be slightly steeper for field hockey players than for ice hockey players based mainly on that unfortunate golf cart and stream episode.
Learning to use Apple's iPhone expertly is immeasurably easier than learning how to play golf at its most basic.
Hahahaha....
- Xidius
I think Apple should look into three options for the future.
1) The iPhone should "click" when you type like the iPod does when you scroll.
It does this already, as long as the phone is not set to the vibrate mode.
So what does this study prove? That learning curves do indeed exist? WTF?
FUD. nothing more.
Are you taking your vitamin b6? It helped me a lot.
Hope It Goes Well!!
Personally, the touch screen keypad on the iPhone has been a godsend for me--I'm a cancer patient who has experienced significant loss of sensation in my fingertips as a side effect of chemotherapy (it should all come back in approx two years, I'm told), and before I got an iPhone, text messaging was extremely difficult/awkward with my old Sony Ericsson because of the reliance on physical feedback. I'm not doing 50wpm or anything on the iPhone, but I'm a heck of a lot faster than with a tactile keypad--and, more importantly, I'm making a lot, lot fewer typos...
And the size of each group should have been much larger.