Talk Nerdy To Me: I Hope Touchscreens Aren't the Future
A couple of weeks ago, when I was reviewing the Slacker Portable music player, I noticed how much touchscreens had become the norm for today's gadgets. The Slacker player doesn't have a touchscreen, but people kept putting their fingers all over the device's huge 4-inch screen, expecting it to react.
Among the influences Apple's iPhone has had on the tech industry, the touchscreen is near--if not at--the top of the list. It even does a surprisingly good job at keeping its huge screen clear of my greasy fingerprints.
For some applications, the iPhone's touchscreen works brilliantly: resizing browser windows and photos, launching apps with one touch, and flipping through album art.
But in my mind, that usability breaks down significantly when you use the touchscreen to input text, especially a large amount of text. Smart phones are supposed to take care of the entire workforce, not just talkers, and a lot more work is done via written documents, e-mails, and even text messages in my world.
The iPhone has no cut-and-paste feature. The virtual keyboard doesn't flip lengthwise when you're writing lengthy e-mail messages or notes (which is an especially maddening oversight, given that it does flip lengthwise when you're using the iPhone's browser). You can't even turn the iPhone's "predictive text" feature off.
Predictive text helps cut down typing when it works, but it also means the iPhone always thinks it knows better than you, even when you really did mean "woot" instead of "wood" or "PC" instead of "of."
A full-on, hardware QWERTY keyboard is still the best input device for anyone who writes frequently. In fact, I even prefer the undersized QWERTY keyboards found on devices such as the T-Mobile Sidekick and LG eNv to the full-size keyboards I use every day with my desktop and laptop. If someone were to make a Sidekick-sized keyboard--preferably wireless--that I could use with my laptop or desktop, I'd buy it and use it every day. (And if it already exists, please tell me.)
If the next-gen iPhone is a slider phone that slides up lengthwise to reveal a full keyboard, most writers and texters would rejoice. Sure, that would make for a fatter iPhone, but the iPhone doesn't need to be any thinner. It does, however, need to be a bit more writer-friendly.
Does anyone else hate touchscreens, or am I alone? Do you find touchscreens work well for some apps and devices but not others? Would you rather have a combo touchscreen/hardware QWERTY keyboard device? Or are touchscreens just in their infancy and bound to get much better very quickly?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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You prefer a mobile phone size keyboard over a full size keyboard? What the hell? That's the stupidest argument I've ever heard.
Why is PC World so full of fanboys and haters? Especially whacked out ones who say ridiculous things like "Oh I'd rather have a sidekick sized keyboard on my PC HUR HUR HUR HUR!"
You prefer a mobile phone size keyboard over a full size keyboard? What the hell? That's the stupidest argument I've ever heard.
Why is PC World so full of fanboys and haters? Especially whacked out ones who say ridiculous things like "Oh I'd rather have a sidekick sized keyboard on my PC HUR HUR HUR HUR!"
Yes, I actually would prefer that. Gamers use handheld controllers for hours on end, and the same form factor for a keyboard would be something I'd like to try out. I think my thumbs are quicker than my hand-typing these days. A handheld keyboard might even cut down on RSI issues.
Look swatjester- While I agree that wanting to use a Sidekick sized keyboard on your PC sounds just plain awkward (sorry Tim), it still is Tim?s opinion. If that?s what works for him, what do you (or I) care?
PCW is full of fanboys (and fangirls) and haters. What's wrong with being a fan of a product or technology? In fact, I?m sure there?s at least one tech product out there that you?re a huge ?fanboy? about. And we clearly know that you?re a ?hater? because of all the hatin? in your post. PCW?s editorial department love technology, in fact we?re total geeks about it. Wouldn?t you want people who are passionate about covering technology? Not someone who doesn?t have an opinion at all?
How about getting back to the main topic -- what do you think of touch screens?
i don't have an iphone, but i do realize how annoying dirty screens get. my phone is clam shell style and the screen still manages to attract some sort of greasy residue when i open it up.
some of this new tech isn't going to appeal to most people, -unless you stay inside a building all day with clean environment and wash your hands every so often.
we are dirty people, along with the outside elements to make it worse. i don't think we will see touch screens everywhere we go as of yet.
the blind guy next to me wants a braille iphone too.
To add to my previous post, having a large Touch screen such as the iPhone's with multi-touch makes the fact that the keyboard is not QUITE (although very close) as good as a physical one negligible. This is because everything else becomes so much more useable. Using Google Maps or browsing the web or flipping through photos is actually easy and worth doing because of the extra screen real estate and implementation of solid touch controls.
I guess my point is that with a strong implementation of a touch screen, the benefits accorded more than outweigh the really minor negatives. Oh, and I rarely use the keyboard horizontally. Vertical works just fine once you've learned how to use it. :)
Throughout the article, there was NOTHING but mud-slinging criticisms @ the iPhone. Look at wireless technologies such as bluetooth; they prob were so buggy when they were first released...does that mean you have to go & throw the baby out with the bath water? Just cause it has a few things that you don't like, does that mean that the whole technology is to be shut out?
I also have NO IDEA why "I Hope Touchscreens Aren't the Future" is the heading...clearly, this is an extremely broad subject to claim you're commenting on. ALSO, touch screens AREN'T the future; they're the present. Look @ Palm - they invented the Pilot about 12 yrs ago...very futurish, is it not???
By the way, the iPhone uses MULTI-TOUCH technology which is very different to just plain "touch-screen" tech.
Cummon; I expected something better than this biased crap, PC world.
Hi dstechgeek -- thanks for your comments. I'm not sure why you think these are "mudslinging criticisms" of the iPhone or why you refer to the post as "biased crap."
I paid $400 out of pocket for the iPhone, and I wouldn't have done so if it wasn't an intriguing device. Regarding the "multi-touch" vs. "touchscreen" argument, it's moot in this context: I'm referring to devices that use touch input on a screen, and the iPhone fits that bill. "Multi-touch" is touchscreen technology.
The point of my post is this: the iPhone is the poster child of touchscreen devices and the "bar" against which all other handheld touchscreen devices are measured.
Apple bills it as a smart phone, but it doesn't address all the needs of the mobile workforce. If the iPhone and other touchscreen-only devices seriously want to be considered as productivity devices for the mobile workforce, then there's work to do in order to fit the needs of people with writing-intensive jobs.
I agree with the title. I foresee touchscreens being forced upon us simply because marketers have come to see them as the holy grail of phone features. I've observed a trend to ditch full keypads as the primary input (TS-/near TS-only handsets pop up daily), and there may come a time when it's nolonger economical for manufacturers to maintain perpiheral design paradigms (keyboards as primary input) for the sake of minority groups who don't want to be told what they like.
I have a Touch Dual and like the way the touchscreen augments the keyboard, but I rarely use the OSK. Having to 1) look at the screen, 2) use both hands, 3) correct frequent mistakes because there's no physical interaction with the targeted key just makes the experience frustrating.
Multitouch, haptic and acoustic feedback and smart interfaces all add positively to the touchscreen experience, but still can't equal a real keyboard. You still need to look at the screen!