Re: [NTLK] Quote of the day!

Grant Hutchinson wrote:

> Hwoever, I'm a firm believer that - once trained over time - HWR text
> input on the Newton is far superior to any keyboard-based input the
> iPhone has at this point - predictive or otherwise.
>

This statement is almost completely meaningless unless you specify what
metric you're using to judge superiority. Do you mean speed of input,
ease of use, intuitiveness, ease of learning, accuracy, comfort?
Different people--even the same person doing different tasks--will have
different priorities of the above.

For the person who has been successfully using Newt HWR recognition for
years and is set in his or her ways, no change will ever be
satisfactory. For a person wishing to use a device as a journal or a
platform for writing the Great American Novel, Newt HWR will probably
have a better match of attributes to the task. For someone whose only
text input is SMS messages or brief emails, well, I'm not convinced (not
having used it) but I find it easy to believe that the iPhone's text
input would be better suited.

Having done fiction and technical manual writing on handheld platforms
for several years now, and having dated a world traveler with whom the
most commonly available form of communication was SMS, I can say from
experience that personally:

Using a miniature keyboard (like on a Treo) is the fastest way (short of
a real keyboard) to enter short text (like an SMS).

Using a stylus (Newt HWR or Graffiti) is the most comfortable way to do
extended writing. Although slower than a miniature keyboard, I can do it
all day whereas I can only operate a miniature keyboard for about three
minutes at a stretch maximum.

Using the iPhone's text input system is an unknown quantity, but it
seems like it could be a good replacement for a miniature keyboard but
probably a lousy replacement for a stylus.

Just my $0.02

BTW, if and when the iPhone gets a word processor, a command shell, and
a compatible bluetooth keyboard, I'll get one.

Steve

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