# phone with QT Keyboard vs normal phone lay out

Category: accessible Devices

## Post 1 by season (the invisible soul) on Tuesday, 14-Jul-2009 5:33:14

hi. what sort of phone will you go to if there is a choice of QT keyboard phone who you can use to do emailling and IM, and text easier, or the normal ordinnary phone key lay out.

## Post 2 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Tuesday, 14-Jul-2009 13:43:26

Well personally i think i may be able to type faster with a phone number pad than with a phone's QWERTY keyboard, since at the most i will be limited to using just my two thums instead of touch typing like i would do on a full size keyboard. However you can find a few phones that give you a separate number pad and Qwerty keyboard, that way you would have the best of both worlds. I will be honest i haven't tried typing on a phone with a QWERTY keyboard for any extended period of time so who knows maybe if i did and got used to it it could be quicker.

## Post 3 by kelly (Zone BBS Addict) on Tuesday, 14-Jul-2009 16:51:06

i like the keyboard because its set up like a regular computer so as far as the keys go there is nothing to figure out but thats just me

## Post 4 by Harmony (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Sunday, 19-Jul-2009 7:50:57

i would say the qerty keyboard would be quicker, but i am getting faster at using this normal phone layout. The n9s apparently has both phone and qerty keyboard, so you got a choice.

## Post 5 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Sunday, 19-Jul-2009 14:08:38

the n9s? which phone is that ?

## Post 6 by Harmony (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Sunday, 19-Jul-2009 16:03:33

sorry. N97.

## Post 7 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Monday, 20-Jul-2009 15:46:26

Yeah but if i am not mistaken the N97 is a touch screen with a slide out QWERTY keyboard. The number pad is part of the touch screen. And actually when texting it does give you the choice of the number pad or QWERTY keyboard on screen so you can use predictive text or not. The E75 has a physical number pad and and seperate QWERTY keyboard.

## Post 8 by JerseyGirl1989 (Zone BBS is my Life) on Saturday, 25-Jul-2009 4:51:20

Hey! Well I wouldn't be able to use a QWERTY keyboard, for one the buttons are to small. (I have little hands, and small fingers, so there for trying to type on a QWERTY keyboard would be like murder!) so I just use a number pad, which isn't that bad. (if you know what all the numbers and letters are like 2 is A, B, C) you should be fine, but it definitely does take some time getting use to. Although I'd much rather the number pad then the keyboard, though. (I've used one cause at this confrince I was at in March they were displaying different phones) and I saw a phone with the QWERTY keyboard, and yes it's a keyboard, but the buttons were to small, and+ it was using mobile speak, of which I'm not a fan of cause I can't understand the screenreader for, which is why I use talks on my phone that I have now. (BTW I have the N75) and it works just fine for me when texting without the keyboard!!! So if I were you I'd go with the number pad, and not the keyboard, but that's just me.
Amber.

## Post 9 by Brooke (I just keep on posting!) on Saturday, 25-Jul-2009 8:56:58

I like typing on a Qwerty keyboard. I've used both a number keypad (on my old 6682) and now the Qwerty (on the Motorola Q). It took me a while to get used to this keyboard, but now that I've been using it for a while, I don't think I'd want to go back to just using the number keypad.

## Post 10 by bozmagic (The rottie's your best friend if you want him/her to be, lol.) on Saturday, 25-Jul-2009 9:43:17

Well, I'd go for the normal phone keypad for quickness, but if I did want to use a qwerty keyboard, I also have one of those Igo Stowaway bluetooth keyboards, so I'd connect that up and use it if I were on IM Plus or the internet where it's kind of easier to use that than the phone's keypad, not to mention, a hell of a lot quicker depending on your typing speed. I reckon mine's somewhere between 30 and 35 words per minute, about average speed, however, bear in mind, should you go down the bluetooth keyboard route, the layout and number of keys is smaller and a fraction more complicated than your average qwerty keyboard, since the device is designed to fit in a pocket, purse, handbag Etc just as your standard mobile phone is, so you make up for not having the top two rows of keys for example, with two FN left and right keys, plus you have a left and right spacebar. I've never understood why that should be on these keyboards, why not just replace that with a row of function keys in their own right? Might save you having to hit left FN when you want to punch numbers in, or even, a tab key. That's been replaced on these keyboards by what seems to be a combination of a caps lock and function key which changes your top row of letters to numbers when pressed and since you have left FN key plus a key on the top row to generate your 1 to 0, that key's somewhat useless, but apart from those minor flaws, well, it was money well spent when I got my keyboard.
Jen.

## Post 11 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Saturday, 25-Jul-2009 15:22:26

Yeah the numberpad does seem faster to me but its cuz of waht i am used to. Now that i am using a phone that has a qwerty i must say its not as much as a pain in the ass as i thought it would be especially considering how small the buttons are. Its a lot easier to type with accuracy on it than i thought it would be, now i just have to get used to it so i can get my speed up and then i'll know which one is quicker for me. I say if you can get a phone that has 2 seperate keypads, one for numbers and one for qwerty, the best of both worlds.

## Post 12 by Daenerys Targaryen (Enjoying Life) on Monday, 03-Aug-2009 2:36:01

Well I am getting used to typing on my Nokia e71x qwerty keyboard and I really like it. Before, I used a number keypad on my Nokia 6682 and I was pretty fast on that one.

## Post 13 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Monday, 03-Aug-2009 16:01:27

I have to say that i really did like the qwerty on the e71x it was actually easier to type on that i thought it would be. I am slowed down on my nokia 6650 a little bit as its one of those with the flat key pad and its a little harder to tell which number is which when going really fast.

## Post 14 by Striker (Consider your self warned, i'm creative and offensive like handicap porn.) on Monday, 03-Aug-2009 17:06:15

i've gotten used to the QWERTY on my Ace though now i really would like a better keyboard, cause the keyboard is smaller than one on lets say the Q or the E71 but still if i could go best of both worlds i probably would.
After a while people that use the keyboard learn how to hold the phone and double thumb it and i can go quite fast that way. i only doo that when i've got my headset though mostely

## Post 15 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Monday, 03-Aug-2009 21:21:55

yeah thats what i am trying to find myself is a phone with both .. so far nokia only makes one in the e 75, but while the qwerty keyboard is a little bigger on that one than the e71 it would still take a little getting used to as its somewhat of a flat keypad. but hey i got used to typing on the e 71 so i suppose its doable.

## Post 16 by purple penguin (Don't you hate it when someone answers their own questions? I do.) on Monday, 03-Aug-2009 21:35:07

I have a hard time typing anything out with my thumbs. I know it's what most people do, but it just seems awkward. On my N82, I use 2 or 3 fingers of my left hand because of the speaker location. I'd like to have a phone with a qwerty keyboard someday. Are they small, as in Franklin dictionary small, or smaller than that?

## Post 17 by bozmagic (The rottie's your best friend if you want him/her to be, lol.) on Tuesday, 04-Aug-2009 10:58:49

There are cheaper options than buying a new phone. You can get a Bluetooth keyboard for £10/around $24 online.
Jen.

## Post 18 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Tuesday, 04-Aug-2009 13:03:08

what blue thooth keyboards are this in expensive please give us a model name or something cuz all the one si have found are upwards of $100

## Post 19 by dave84 (Zone BBS Addict) on Wednesday, 05-Aug-2009 14:29:42

"Are they small, as in Franklin dictionary small, or smaller than that??"
well, on my LG ENV3 i would say it is a bit smaller that that. So, i would say phone keyboards are smaller than the Franklin keyboard i am not sure how much smaller but they are smaller. And it does take sometime getting used to but after some practice and getting used to it you should do good with it and like it.

## Post 20 by Harmony (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Sunday, 16-Aug-2009 16:02:41

I went to a couple of phone shops yesterday ad saw the e63 and n97. I found the e63 hard to use, but it does need mobile speak rather than talks. I thought the n97 was ok, but a totally blind person probably wouldn't be able to install talks on their own as they can with sa the n95 and n96, because the number keypad is a touch screen and the qwerty keypad is a physical thing with buttons.

## Post 21 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Sunday, 16-Aug-2009 16:11:14

Well the N97 is completely unusuable by someone who is blind as there is no menu button or ways to activate certain functions of the phone without using the touch screen. And as far as i heard talks has no plans to do touch sccreen support. I ended up considering the e71 over the e63 as the e63 doesn't support north american 3g networks, so if you have a data plan or intend u to use it for something like wayfinder things will be considerably slower on the edge network.

## Post 22 by bozmagic (The rottie's your best friend if you want him/her to be, lol.) on Sunday, 16-Aug-2009 17:13:03

God no, do not get the N97. As was mentioned in the last post, it is all, touch screen and bloody horrible. That's why I just got my 2nd N96, the 1st N96 having failed a firmware update which killed it completely. The bluetooth keyboards I mention are the Igo Stowaway keyboards, very good for use with most models of phones or PDAs. You can download the drivers for these from http//www.igo.com or Mobility Electronics. Or, for a full-size keyboard, you want the Logitech typeaway, which is also suitable for use with palmtops and pocket PCs as well as smart phones and PDAs. Either of these keyboards can be acquired for as little as $25 from all good online retailers.
Jen.

## Post 23 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Monday, 17-Aug-2009 3:18:25

Thanks i'll check those out. I personally wasn't crazy about the keypad on the n96 but other than that it seems like a cool phone. It came down to the e71 or the n86 for me and i think i may go with the n86 since it looks like a likely candidate for KNFB reader or Text Scout. If i can find a small keyboard like the ones mentioned above it'll be the best of both worlds.

## Post 24 by Harmony (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Thursday, 03-Sep-2009 10:51:12

I've seen the e63 in a shop and getting one soon which has a qwerty keypad. It'll take a while to get used to, but I'll let people know what I think. I also think those phones might be quicker for typing on the internet, but I don't know because the keys are so small. I also like the phones with the number keypad, so I think it depends what you want to use them for really.

## Post 25 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Thursday, 10-Sep-2009 20:42:55

thats a nice phone, i considered the e63 till i found out it didn't work on the US 3G networks. The e72 which is an update to the e71 is said to have the e63 keypad instead of the e71's.