Tablet screen keyboards

Madhias · 27 Aug 2015, 23:17

Why are tablet keyboards so shitty and not like James T. Kirk would imagine how they should behave? I am typing these words on an iPad, and I have fear not to chance something I have already written because the selecting of text is horrible, and never works right when being in a message board text entry field.

There are no arrow symbols, and I have to use that shitty magnifying glass to select text I want to edit or delete. If I managed to select the text I want to select, instantly the selection changes to the complete block or wall of text.

Why are tablet keyboards - or there editing options - so bad 2015? Not speaking of the iOS keyboard only, I am also using a Nexus 7 and Android smartphones, but typing on all of them is suboptimal (nicely said).

Muirium · 27 Aug 2015, 23:34

Yeah, text selection is something touchscreens really suck at compared to hardware keyboards. Apple's finally getting some clues in iOS 9 by letting swipes on the onscreen keyboard bring up a text cursor you can manipulate from the keyboard area. I've seen similar tricks in text editors like Textastic, which also feature a cursor.

When iOS lets you rapidly extend and shrink text selections word by word — which I don't expect to see any time soon — I'll be much happier doing lengthy work on it. I do really dig the form factors of iOS hardware (got my eyes on the upcoming Plus sized iPhone to replace my 4S and iPad 1!) and I do quite a lot of typing on it already. Including many of my posts on DT. But editing is where it sucks. I'm always back to the Mac for that. But we'll see.

bhtooefr · 28 Aug 2015, 01:14

It's worth noting that Microsoft's experimenting with better text selection in Windows 10 Mobile (but not full Windows 10... then again, I think shift and arrow keys (the REALLY old school way) works...): http://www.windowscentral.com/keyboard- ... ting-stick

Muirium · 28 Aug 2015, 03:09

Here's a thought: who invented Shift + Arrows text selection? Because it's so second nature to me, and surely all of us, that I can't bear to edit without it. Especially with a handful of extra mods for selecting by words, lines and paragraphs too.

bhtooefr · 28 Aug 2015, 04:17

On the Microsoft side of things, it's present in Windows 1.01, and I have to assume it predated that. It's not, however, in the Word 1.00 demo, it appears.

I'm guessing the UI convention came from somewhere else, though.

SL89 · 28 Aug 2015, 04:23

You know what, I havent typed on a tablet in forever in my personal life. All my android tablets have Swype or the Android stock keyboard with swype like gestures and its super fast, esp after it learns how you type. Even the FOSS (free as in freedom, and beer) version can be dialed in better. It's so much faster.

The Ipads we are forced to use at work are atrocious.

sth · 28 Aug 2015, 09:36

i've become used to the iOS keyboard on my iphone - but it definitely did not behave as I expected it to when i first started using it. i'm not sure if they changed much with the UI change between (uhhh between 6 and 7 i think, when things got all white and bright) but i perceived a difference in the input that i had to get over after the upgrade as well.

Muirium · 28 Aug 2015, 11:53

Pro tip: never upgrade iOS. Always buy a new iPhone. Or Android, or whatever. So long as you chuck that old shit out ASAP. The hardware's still getting too much faster. Google and Apple forever make things slower on old hardware because: 1. Planned obsolescence, which really is just a restatement of 2. New hardware pays. Develop for it.

Note how we haven't mentioned blackberry and the other old cronies yet…

bhtooefr · 28 Aug 2015, 12:11

Except Google also explicitly targets low-end devices (see Android One). Yes, the vendor and carrier bloatware means that OS upgrades often slow down existing devices, but that's what Nexus devices are for. No vendor bloatware and very little (I think just carrier name in the default e-mail signature?) to no carrier bloatware on carrier devices.

Honestly, the only reasons I want to replace my almost 2 year old Nexus 5 are the camera and battery, both of which were mediocre when it was new, and they're still just mediocre.

Muirium · 28 Aug 2015, 12:23

Apple's meant to be targeting the iPhone 4S as the performance baseline with iOS 9. I'm running the beta on one here right now. Sure, it's no slower than iOS 8. But the S stands for something else than Speed with this hardware! No matter their intent.

Moore's Law destroys practical performance on old gear in sectors where hardware innovation is fierce. Things like UI don't scale well over 8-16X hardware performance gradients. And as you said, the cameras etc. are getting rapidly better too. Always for the next device!

sth · 31 Aug 2015, 15:14

Muirium wrote: ↑Pro tip: never upgrade iOS. Always buy a new iPhone. Or Android, or whatever. So long as you chuck that old shit out ASAP.

uuuh... no. the day my iphone stops working, i'm getting a dumbphone with an SD slot for MP3s.