Improving text input: N810 with its hardware keyboard
December 19, 2007
Continuing on the OS2008 and N810 improvements, we added a hardware keyboard on the device and tweaked our input methods to take advantage of this. Of course we are pleased if the on-screen input methods were already sufficient for some users – hey, they’re not so bad after all 
– but there are clear benefits of having tactile hardware keys. The N810 keyboard slideout mechanics are also quite impressive: to achieve an even thinner device with an additional keyboard is a nice feat. All the on-screen input methods are still available for the N800 upgraders. I personally find my N810 much more useful because of the hardware keyboard.
We also believe that the question of text input isn’t about 100% on-screen or hardware key use: that’s why we added the option of utilizing a part of the touch screen whilst using the hardware keyboard at the same time. You don’t have to use these features: feel free to type whole words, but right now you can also select word completions and next word predictions, quite conveniently without moving your hands too much. You can turn these on-screen features also off if you prefer to have all the space for the application.
An issue that has been quite often commented is the changed placement of the rocker key, from the front cover of the N800 to the keyboard part of the N810. It wasn’t an easy decision, but ultimately we feel that it was the right one. With that we could make the overall device width smaller – and that’s a definite advantage – and provide cursor key usage for actually inputting text. Otherwise we would have needed to duplicate this functionality on the keyboard. And it’s a part of the bigger development towards touch screen usability and finger usability. Not having the rocker there doesn’t give us or any developer an excuse to not to focus on improving the touch screen and finger usage.
Hey, we aren’t yet fully there, but the direction is certainly clear. We certainly appreciate all the positive comments as well as the criticisms and suggestions for future improvements. If you have any thoughts about the keyboard or the text input methods, feel free to comment here.
–
roope
Does N810 still uses the same combination to unlock screen? That would mean that users need to open the keyboard which doens’t make much sense. N800 firmware seems to work like that.
BTW, Can you also think about screen only unlocking, like the iPhone one?
Łukasz: The N810 has a dedicated switch on the top of the device for locking/unlocking.
When locked, opening the keyboard also immediately unlocks the device. It’s quite smart, if you close the keyboard without having entered anything it re-locks itself.
You should make a note to N800 users about text input improvements.
The “Launch finger keyboard with finger tap” is misleading. You should have written with “double-tap”, as this is the way it actually works now. Is it ?
Hello Aniello. No, it shouldn’t be “launch with double-tap”. Could you write a bit more details about this: what device are you using etc.?
At least here now with my N810 device the finger keyboard is launched just like before, with only one finger press. I’ll try to test this also with a N800, but it should be really similar…
Actually, I’ve haven’t been able to finger-tap launch the full-screen keyboard since OS2008 on the N800. I wonder, could a screen-protector be interfering with the function?
I have OS2008 final on a N800.
Tapping on the screen DOES NOT pops up the finger keyboard. Never (well very rarely).
In Notes I tested several ways of making it pop up, and only with double-tap it worked, but later I’ve figured out it was not the case
The only way to make it pop up is via the D-Pad.
I’ll file a bug. But does it work for you ?
Anyway almost everyone on the ITT forumis complaining about not being able to pop up the finger keyboard with the finger.
OS2008 on N800, too: Finger keyboard doesn’t pop up either and it’s very frustrating.
I just flashed OS2008 (w50) on my N800 device – clean flash, no backup/restore – and thumb keyboard is working fine. It’s interesting.
I have a couple of questions/requests:
- Do you have a screen protector on?
- Have you had any earlier problems with the touch screen?
- Did you restore a backup when upgrading? If so, would it be too much problem to try to flash it once again, this time not restoring the backup, and see if it makes any difference?
Roope:
- no I do not have a screen protector on
- no I did not have any issues with the touch screen.
- I did restore. The first time. Then I flashed it again and this time I did not restore anything. It still does not work. Thus, no difference.
It is really weird as many people are complaining and feel frustrating about this. I think someone has already filed a bug and as soon as I’ll discover it I’ll post my vote on it.
Hopefully we can all figure out what’s going on.
BTW I’ll also have to file two more bugs, but just for fun I’ll post them here too :p
- there are references of N810 in varius pieces:
a) Skype splash screen (need to tell them)
b) Clear device info (states that also the internal 2Gb memory will be cleaned) and help file (specifically names the N810 Internet Tablet)
I would like to see a continuation of the topic
That is weird indeed. I do believe you, of course, but I just can’t replicate this with my particular N800 and OS2008. But definitely file this to bugzilla, so we can get more guys looking into this.
I’ve commented it on bug #2595.
I will try to post a small video somewhere.
Hey, sorry guys, but I just did a brand new reflash on my N800 without restoring, and I *still* cannot get the finger press to work. I even took off the screen protector, just to be sure. Off to add to bugzilla
Actually it was bug #2597, but I should file a new one.
I went and opened #2621.
https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2621
you mentioned that you can turn off the on-screen word completion. How would one go about doing that?
Hi Gsruff, you can turn off the on-screen word completion by going to the control panel, text input settings, then selecting settings for the language you are you using (on the last tab), then just turning off word completion AND next word prediction. After you do that, then nothing appears on screen when you start typing.
Here’s a query about “the other” hardware keyboard. Any progress on the issue with OS2008 on N800 (with restore) of immediately rejecting bluetooth keyboard pairing (I am using SU-8W)? Lots of comments about this on various sites, including bugzilla (#2640). Cured it by removing the …/00:… bluetooth directory on the device, but this is surely not a solution for the average user…
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I believe that the solution to getting the finger keybord to pop up is the speed at which you tap the text field. You need to be very swift.
Please port the orca screenreader that’s already part of gnome to OS2008. The N810 with a bluetooth keyboard and a screenreader would make assistive technology available to many users. I’m a blind computer user myself (on OSX with VoiceOver and Ubuntu/Orca. A tts enabled N810 would be a wonderful solution!
The 810 is my first tablet ever (but I owned a couple of Palms before) and I must say things are a bit confusing. There was virtually no doc in the box and the introduction movie didn’t mention that the finger keyboard will only pop up if the hardware keyboard is inactive (behind the screen): it’s annoying that these two input methods are mutually exclusive. This is probably not the suggestion you expected but please, improve the doc!! I must be stupid but still haven’t figured out how to use word completion/prediction: it erases the suggestion when I tap it. Could you also try to make the response of the keys inform over the whole keyboard: some click well and some don’t. Oh, and I’d so much like to have the vertical bar in the first line of the Chr dialogue instead of the second: this would speed up the typing of shell commands. Overall, I think the N810 is a great device and I’d have other suggestions to make but which have nothing to do with input so I’ll abstain
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