What form of input are you using

[xizor24]

My first PDA was a Palm OS with it's graffiti soft panels and pop up soft keyboard, but when I made the move over to Pocket PC I fell in love with what I considered to be the best input tool in existance; Transcriber! It let me write entire sentences and even paragraphs all at once and would "recognize" my handwriting as I wrote along.

Recently I was looking for a new PDA and I found myself eyeing some of Palm products, but almost immediately upon picking the device up and playing with it I realized I'd have to say goodbye to transcriber. I am not a fan of writing one letter at a time, picking the stylis up off the screen, writing a second letter, etc. It seems to me that even with much practice this method would still be much slower than Transcriber. What are your thoughts on this?

What form of input do you find yourself using most frequently; Letter Recognizer, Block Recognizer, on-screen keyboard, or an external thumb board or full size keyboard?

[SteveHoward999]

Most often I use the on-screen keyboard, but that's because

1, I rarely write large amounts when using the PDA
2, Transcriber does not like my awful handwriting


But if I have a lot to write I use Transcriber, or Calligrapher which I bought just recently. Calligrapher is a vastly updated version of Transcriber - Microsoft licensed the software, but the makers of Calligrapher retained ownership and have continued to improve it. Among other things you can create your own macros that you can give keywords .. write teh keyword and draw a circle around it and the macro runs. Something simple like writing

all (circle it)
copy (circle it)
(open second app)
paste (circle it)


is so cool! Way quicker than than messing around with menu options or on-screen keyboard.

On my E830, with screen set to true VGA, Calligrapher and Transcriber both recognise my handwriting much more reliably (more pixels, more reference points).

Oh - one more thing. Often I will just write the notes using the Pen tool in Word or Notes and ask the PDA to recognise it later or (more often) translate my own scrawl myslef. I do this most often when I am in a hurry and don't have time to worry about whether or not the PDA will recognise the mess that I have to admit is my version of handwriting.

Did I mention my handwriting is awful? Should have been a doctor!!!

[Darius Wey]

Another vote for CalliGrapher - more so, Version 8 which is in public beta at the moment (if you're interested, I also posted on this not too long ago - check the SOFTWARE forum for more details). Anyway, the included Write Pad and Write Anywhere SIPs are fantastic. Aside from that, I'm also a heavy Fitaly user. I used to get good input rates using the onscreen keyboard, but once I used Fitaly, my efficiency levels rose. It takes a while to learn, but once you get the hang of it, you'll probably like it. :-)

So, if you like tapping, try Fitaly. If you like writing, give the new CalliGrapher 8 a go.

[emuelle1]

So far I've found the on screen keyboard easiest to use. Every now and again (like when I'm trying to stay awake in long winded staff meetings), I'll play with Transcriber, which has gotten better since PPC 2002, but still doesn't work with my handwriting. I can type quicker with the keyboard than I can with all the corrections I have to make with Transcriber.

[surur]

Another vote for Calligrapher.

Surur

[Stephen Beesley]

As the Apple Newton and its still unsurpassed HWR was my introduction to the PDA world I almost solely rely on Transcriber (actually Calligrapher) as my input method of choice.

Recently I was looking for a new PDA and I found myself eyeing some of Palm products, but almost immediately upon picking the device up and playing with it I realized I'd have to say goodbye to transcriber. I am not a fan of writing one letter at a time, picking the stylis up off the screen, writing a second letter, etc.

It is this very same reason that has been one of the main things keeping me in the PPC world when ever I have been tempted by another OS (such as the Sharp's line of linux powered handhelds or some of the more recent palms.

[Janak Parekh]

Another Fitaly user here. :) I type lots of unusual data into my PDA, so Transcriber/Calligrapher, which is best suited to English words, is less useful. Fitaly is not only fast, but extremely accurate.

--janak

[ipaq_wannabe]

im BOTH a Fitaly or a MessagEase user...

basically depending on my mood on a specific moment, i would either choose Fitaly or MessagEase...

on the average, i get at least 40 WPM - much much faster than when i was using Graffiti1 on my ol' PalmOS handhelds (at around 25 to 30 WPM)

as i would see, however, i find that im more accurate in using MessagEase than Fitaly - however, accuracy aside, I achieve higher speeds with Fitaly....

the cool thing about MessagEase though is that you can use with "big mode" on wherein you can thumb-type...

cheers!!!

------- edit -------

with either Fitaly or MessagEase, and a handheld ----> i guess there is no more need for me to use a paper notebook during meetings, lectures, presentations, brainstorming-sessions, etc.

[Kowalski]

letter recognizer, transcribber and sometimes on screen keyboard.
i use letter recognizer for accurate input like phone numbers, http adresses etc. on screen keyboard for symbols, and transcribber for quick notes

[G M Fude]

For short input -- which is most of it -- I use Block Recogniser. Having owned Palms and enjoyed Graffiti for 6 years I'm really fast. I've tried and failed with Transcriber; it looks to be a great method but struggles with my handwriting which almost has the appearance of alien hieroglyphics.

For paragraphs or more, then the Dell BT keyboard.

[Glint]

Fitaly for me.

[encece]

Another vote for graffiti. Even though I havnt used a palm for years and years...I am fast at it and have continued to use it. I even used a smartphone for a couple of years and when I went back to the ppc, grafitti was second nature...just like riding a bike. Downside is...I write on paper in that format sometimes when I'm in a rush.

[marcm]

I've been using the latest beta of Calligrapher. I will definitely buy it when it comes out of beta! I also like to use my Stowaway Keyboard when I don't feel like writing on the screen! :wink: