The usability of the iPhone keyboard 6 Sep 2007

Lower-priced iPhones and the introduction of the iPod touch mean that more and more users will soon be exposed to the wonders of Apple's multi-touch, software keyboard. Here's Khoi Vinh's thoughts on its usability:

"For my part, I grew accustomed to the iPhone's keyboard very quickly, in a matter of days, I think. A lot of my initial frustration with the shortcomings of its purely visual feedback went away within the first week of use. In fact, in the first two weeks of use, my ability to coax my intended text from the keyboard improved markedly. I felt much, much better about it after a short amount of time.

"Here's the thing though: I haven't improved any further. Looking back at the past six weeks or so, I've been making the same errors, entering the same typos as I was in those early days. The level of concentration that I find myself applying to typing sessions seems to be no less than before. Which is to say, typing hasn't started to feel easier, and I haven't been able to type with a more relaxed mental posture than before.

"....[As such] there is an inherent learning plateau in Apple's software keyboard, and that plateau falls short of full accuracy. That is, the vast majority of people will never be able to type comfortably on the keyboard with anything close to one hundred percent fidelity. You can get good enough to type what you need, but no better."