Thread: Nokia N950 vs Nokia N9
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kanishou is offline kanishou
2011-07-27 , 09:00
Posts: 341 | Thanked: 607 times | Joined on Dec 2008
#55
Originally Posted by rm_you View Post
Before I even knew about the N9 or N950, I was using the N900 for my phone and was looking around for other possible options (was honestly assuming the N900 was the end of the line from Nokia). My *one non-negotiable requirement* was hardware keyboard. My first smartphone was a G1, and I switched to N900 from that (and I also had an N800, with which I *always* carried my bluetooth travel keyboard). I type on my G1 and N900 with two thumbs at 60WPM. I have only managed to get to about 20WPM on N950 because the keyboard is a bit weird, and I'm still adjusting, but I know I will speed up.
How do you measure this? All I know is that I am about as fast on the N9 VKB in portrait as my fingers can travel. I am unable to type that fast with the N900 keyboard, because my fingers cannot physically travel and press down the buttons equally fast.

I've used the VKBD on just about every iPhone model and several Android devices, including the ones by HTC that have Swype (or whatever they call their special inputmethod). After using so many, I've realized that there is no way I could ever be nearly as fast or accurate on a VKBD, especially on a capacative screen (so inaccurate compared to the N900's resistive...) simply because they don't let me hit the keys quickly enough. There is an innate delay that is caused when you hit one key, because it waits for you to lift up your finger before taking more input.
This is not how multitouch VKBs work (certainly not the N9). You do not have to raise the finger from one key before you can type the next. I have tried very hard to type letters faster than the input method would accept, it's not possible.


As I said in one of my paragraphs above, the resistive screen is actually FAR EASIER to use, because it is far more accurate. I can place my finger directly on a key on a capacative VKBD and it wobbles around between three or so keys because it just doesn't understand where I'm actually trying to *apply* my finger, all it knows is where my finger *is*. There's a dramatic difference when the finger is a thumb and has a huge capacative surface, while actually applying pressure in a very small area.
This may sound right in theory, but it's not right in practice. A resistive screen sends a multitude of contact events when you press down your thumb, causing all kinds of whackiness (the software tries to filter out the worst of this, but it's far from perfect). Most of you have probably encountered this problem on the N900, when e.g. a page would scroll when you just intended to remove your finger from the screen. Resistive screens may be more accurate with styluses, but with fingers they are are horrible mess.

The capacitive screen correctly detects that you put down only one finger, and will activate the element at the center of the surface. The result is that I can put down my thumb as flat as I like, and even on the tiny portrait keyboard, it always activates the button that I would intuitively expect it to activate. There is no wobbling, unless I significantly shift the center of contact. Of course normally I would never type by putting my thumbs completely flat on the surface anyway.

Perhaps you are used to activating buttons by applying pressure rather than contact alone, and perhaps that leads to some weird results. But that would be a matter of practice, not precision.

I have looked for a sample video of what can be accomplished on a capacitive VKB with a bit of practice, and this seems quite accurate (though it seems extra hard to read the words at the same time, the typing speed is definitely possible on the N9):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNcTE5WJGdw