"HTC Can't Disguise Windows Mobile Flaws" -Katherine Boehret

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://solution.allthingsd.com/20080903/htc-cant-disguise-windows-mobile-flaws/' target='_blank'>http://solution.allthingsd.com/2008...s-mobile-flaws/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"New iPhone competitors continue to crop up, though most are mobile devices from companies that simply slap on a touch screen in hopes of fooling consumers. The real key to the iPhone's success is its software, and finally, signs indicate that other companies are starting to pay more attention to making good software to go along with their hardware. One welcome sign is an effort by companies trying to improve Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows Mobile operating system, which has a reputation for confusing navigation and hasn't had a major update recently."<br /></em><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/spt/auto/1220625668.usr1.jpg" /><br />This is an interesting article, not because it's the Walt Mossberg crew's typical skewering of anything Microsoft and the typical slavish praising of anything Apple, but because it highlights a problem that seems to have Boehret thinking that this device is less capable than it really is. The big issue was the keyboard: Boehret describes the keyboard as "...small and cramped. Using just your fingertips was next to impossible." She's obviously talking about the standard Windows Mobile keyboard, the one designed for stylus use, not the HTC keyboard, the one designed for finger-tip use. The HTC keyboard looks very much like the iPhone keyboard, and while it's not quite as big due to the screen size differences between the iPhone and the HTC Diamond (3.5 inches vs. 2.8 inches) it's still quite finger friendly.</p><p>So the question is, should Microsoft continue (presumably) forcing HTC to include the stylus-based keyboard if it means that people who don't know any better (which includes Boehret) think that's the only keyboard there is to use? The ability to toggle between various input methods isn't terribly discoverable - everyone reading this site knows how to do it, but a user who's never picked up a Windows Mobile Professional smartphone might think that whatever keyboard pops up is the only one they can use. What do you think - would the usability of the HTC Touch Diamond go up or down if, by default, there was only one input method? And yes, I'm suggesting turfing not only the tiny stylus-based keyboard, but also the block recognizer, the letter recognizer, and even Transcriber. The stylus on the HTC Touch Diamond is so small I find Transcriber almost impossible to use. If you own an HTC Touch Diamond, do you use one input more than another? And do you swap between input methods?</p>

[geordieboy]

I agree, the Diamond's stylus is too small. It needs a telescopic version like the Palm Tungsten T of old. It works ok to peck away at the HTC keyboard but I use a separate stylus when I'm at work (an old Ipaq 2215 one) and use the letter Recogniser. Never have got to grips with Transcriber.
I do tend to switch between the HTC keyboard (fingers or stylus) and letter Recogniser. I don't use the other options so wouldn't miss the Windows keyboard at all.
If I'm sending SMS messages I'll tend to use the HTC keyboard. Office based work ie Pocket Informant, I switch between the HTC keyboard for quick notes or use the letter recogniser for longer note taking.

[alese]

I don't think anyone would miss the standard keyboard or even block/letter recognizer and transcriber, especially in iPhone world.
But on the other hand I find the diamond's touch keyboard not all that usable. I'm not sure why, but when HTC copied the iPhone's keyboard they left out the indicator of which key/character is selected (the bubble above), which makes use confusing - at least for me as I'm never sure if I selected the correct character...

I'm actually a Fitaly user and I use it 90% of the time on all my devices, but in some cases the finger friendly keyboard comes in to play - then I use free PCM Keyboard - an iPhone keyboard clone that I can customize (local characters) that also shows the "bubble" with selected key.

[Rocco Augusto]

this isn't just a problem that plaques the HTC Touch, I know that I have own a few gadgets in the pass that have had the same problem. The only one I can remember though is the Nokia 770. The pecking of keys with the stylist was annoying and then one day I discovered a secret finger keyboard mode. I showed it to my friend that had a Nokia 770 as well and he was lik "No way! I didn't know that was there!"

Granted we both would have known if we read the instruction manual, but we're guys, we don't need instructions! *insert Tim the Tool Man grunt*

[Janak Parekh]

But on the other hand I find the diamond's touch keyboard not all that usable. I'm not sure why, but when HTC copied the iPhone's keyboard they left out the indicator of which key/character is selected (the bubble above), which makes use confusing - at least for me as I'm never sure if I selected the correct character... Exactly, I've heard the same thing about the "touch" keyboard on the Touch Diamond being still difficult to use. The screen on the Touch Diamond is quite small, and quite frankly, the iPhone keyboard, without its predictive correction, would barely be useable in the first place.

--janak

[Jorlin]

I need the standard Windows CE keyoard on my TouchPro. Simply because I still use quite a few applications that work best with standard stylus/WindowsCE keybord input (e.g. medical software for your PPC). That is the reason why I installed some neat software to auto-change to the windowsCE keyboard once I take out the stylus.

I am not using transcriber or block recognizer... their days are due... in my opinion. T9 just works so much quicker than transcriber...

[ianl]

"So the question is, should Microsoft continue (presumably) forcing HTC to include the stylus-based keyboard if it means that people who don't know any better (which includes Boehret) think that's the only keyboard there is to use? The ability to toggle between various input methods isn't terribly discoverable"

Unhappily, what this question really asks is:

Should the rest of us dumb down to Boehret's level ?

The answer to that is clearly NO WAY!! These devices are both computers and phones - fight to the death to retain this. Idiots like Boehret are well suited to dumbphones.

The key is contained in the phrase "... isn't terribly discoverable". Changing this to "immediately and clearly pointed out" is simply a matter of better-designed manuals or help files.

[JPD6825]

abso-freakin-lutely, HTC ought to be able to disable the stylus based keyboard and make their finger friendly keyboard the default input method.

I REALLY HOPE the next version of WM does make some SIGNIFICANT changes and improvements.

[Rob Alexander]

I don't care what they put in it from the factory, since I use a combination of Fitaly and Touchpal, but I wouldn't buy a device that locked me into whatever keyboard they did include. So if they just included their own, leaving out the MS keyboards, but still let me add mine, then I would be perfectly happy. That said, they should only do that if they believe there is genuine value in it, not to keep a bunch of Apple fan-boys happy.

[randalllewis]

First of all, Mossberg's people frequently give the impression they don't spend much time with the devices they review. I can still remember how Walt claimed the old Moto Mpx didn't have a speakerphone, when it was rather obvious just by looking at the phone, even when folded, that it did. So to read that his outfit couldn't figure out how to change the input option on the Diamond is no surprise.

Second, how the heck did she get the WinMo standard keyboard anyway? On my Diamond, the HTC two-character keypad was the default choice when I turned on the phone. I switched to the HTC qwerty version and use that exclusively. I owned the HTC Cruise prior to the Diamond and it too opened to an HTC keypad, and not WinMo, when I first used it. If she knew enough to find the WinMo keypad, she should have known enough how to use something else as well. But, again....

Third, have all of you critics actually used the HTC keyboard? It may not produce a "bubble" to indicate which key was pressed, but a key press does result in an enlarged and contrasted key to clearly indicate which key was pressed. And the Diamond does include predictive entry as well, which I use and find speeds things up quite nicely.

Fourth, I wouldn't miss the WinMo keypad if it went away. I think HTC was probably trying to be helpful by making so many input style choices available. Personally, I wouldn't care if all the others went away, but choice is a good thing. Perhaps the choice could be made under Settings instead of on the keypad itself, but to me that is not a big deal.

[alese]

...
Third, have all of you critics actually used the HTC keyboard? It may not produce a "bubble" to indicate which key was pressed, but a key press does result in an enlarged and contrasted key to clearly indicate which key was pressed. And the Diamond does include predictive entry as well, which I use and find speeds things up quite nicely.

Fourth, I wouldn't miss the WinMo keypad if it went away. I think HTC was probably trying to be helpful by making so many input style choices available. Personally, I wouldn't care if all the others went away, but choice is a good thing. Perhaps the choice could be made under Settings instead of on the keypad itself, but to me that is not a big deal.

Yes I have used the keyboard and the fact that the selected key is enlarged doesn't really help (at least to me) - normally I have a finger on/over that key so I still don't see which key is selected. Maybe it's good enough for others, but if I want finger friendly input I don't find it particularly friendly...

I agree about the fourth - it's good to have a choice, although the switching is sometimes quite slow so maybe it would be a good idea to select the input methods in settings.