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Submitted: March 24th, 2008
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Designed by... Dana Suess
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   (32 votes, average: 2.72 out of 5) Loading ...The user Mobile phone users prefer a speedy and pleasant typing experience on their desirably small single-hand operation mobile phones. However current mobile phone keypads all suffer from one or more of the following problems: generally slow and tedious typing tiny buttons placed too close together for comfort or speed bulky (too wide) form factors forced stylus use non-QWERTY button layouts forced two-handed operation complex operation with instructions needed to operate long learning curves multiple letters per button causing uncertain results forced decision making and extra keystrokes. These problems discourage many consumers from upgrading to high profit smartphones while costing service providers plenty -- for example: 69% of mobile phone users don't use text messaging because they dislike typing text on their mobile phone keypads (Roper 2005.) The experience The Delta II tm integrated mobile phone keypad solves everything that is wrong with today’s mobile phone keypads. It allows average people to immediately type fast, accurately, and comfortably on small, single-hand operation mobile phones, straight-out-of-the-box, with no instructions needed. At the heart of a Delta II equipped mobile phone is a patented, modified QWERTY button layout that is simple, elegant, and brutally effective. The buttons are large enough to easily read and far enough apart to comfortably press, even for people with large hands. The ingenious button layout takes advantage of the user’s motor memory and PC (QWERTY) keyboard typing experience. The result is new users typing a speedy 20 to 30+ WPM in less than 5 minutes; on single-hand operation mobile phones no larger than a business card - previously this was unheard of. Over 200 users tested, 4 out of 5 chose Delta II for their next phone. Try our simulator online at www.chicagologic.com. In less than 5 minutes of typing, you will see why Delta II will endure as the mobile phone keypad of choice for as long as people choose to type. View
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Comments | 9 comments - join the debate below (32 votes, average: 2.72 out of 5) Loading ...Explore more entries « Motionized(TM) – using the phone’s camera to enable a new UI | A Radical New Architecture For Design And Fabrication of Handheld Devices » |
9 Responses to “Finest Mobile Phone Keypad in the World”
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This keypad represents the next logial step in the evolution of cellhone technology.
After having used this keypad, I was left wondering why no manufacturers have had enough foresight to realize that this is a must have in todays competitive market.
It is quite simple, this keypad is an amazingly easy to use, quick to master, idea that leaves all others in the dust.
Texting will become easy for those who cannt stand it.
Texting will become an enhancement, rather than a cumbersome exercise in futility.
Although, it might be a good solution for typing faster.
I think something in the prototype that can be improved are the hang up and pick up keys, that shall be clearly differenciated by form (bigger),color (red an green) and separated enouth.
As well, the 5-way direction keys shall be bigger. They are used very commonly, as well.
Anyway, searching new ways of improving typing speed is a great idea.
Regards.
I remember when I first tried typing a word on an alphabetic keypad and I couldn’t understand why is was so awkward finding the letters when I knew the alphabet perfectly well and the letters were all in alphabetic order. It wasn’t until I used a Delta II keypad that the answer became glaringly obvious to me.
The key concept that Delta II takes advantage of is our motor memory where our experience and instinct developed by typing on QWERTY keyboards determines where we expect letters of the alphabet to be on a certain area of the keypad. For example, our instinct to find Q is “upper left” and B is “lower middle”. Delta II keeps the keys located in alignment with our instincts but shifts the form factor to adapt to the tall narrow shape of cell phones. It’s really brilliant in it’s simplicity.
In addition to testing this keypad layout on the ChicagoLogic.com website, I have had the good fortune to hold one of the prototypes in my hand and use it. What I found was that not only was it easy to type on it one-handed, but the more I used it the less I wanted to put it down because it just kept getting easier and easier to type on it. It became fun proving to myself how easy to use it is rather than the struggle I’ve experience with other keypads.
The other big benefit I saw besides the QWERTY arrangement was that each letter of the alphabet has it’s own key. This eliminates the necessity for guessing software that’s trying to figure out what I’m intending to type on keypads where one key has multiple letters on it. This guessing software doesn’t have a chance with words that are not standard words in the dictionary. It also eliminates the necessity for me to keep checking in with the software’s current guess as to what it thinks I’m trying to type.
I don’t use the texting capabilities of my cell phone because of the difficulty of text entry. I would if I had a cell phone with a Delta II keypad.
The world needs this!
[...] Link: Finest Mobile Phone Keypad in the World [...]
checked with interest Dana’s entry to the MEX design competition with the “Finest Mobile Phone Keypad in the World”.
Not bad, but please check my alternative, “Helvedial”, which might then be called the “Finest Mobile Phone Keypad in the Universe”.
“Helvedial” is a new alpha-numeric keyboard/dial allowing an easier and faster data capture than on existing portable electronic devices, such as keypads, watches or mobile phones.
Below are 50+ comments from people who experienced the Delta II keypad matrix:
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And finally, I found the website ChicagoLogic.com. Is there a keyboard layout for mobile devices that’s better than a QWERTY layout? These guys think so. I took their typing challenge and I must say that their layout works very nicely for a small handheld device.
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this is my first time texting and i really like it but i hate this keypad on my phone and it’s even harder for me because i know there is something better out there and i just cant have it i wish i had a delta ii keypad
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The one on the left (Delta II) is for sure the fastest.
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I am not inclined at all to go back and use that horrible ABC keypad.
Delta II: 20 WPM
Alphabetical: 11 WPM
Standard: 7 WPM
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It was like my finger knew where the letters were even though I had never used the interface. Since everyone uses QWERTY keyboards, it’s almost like an instinct!
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That’s actually quite excellent. I tried it only twice and managed to be typing at a respectable pace – not as fast as I would on a standard cellphone keypad, but I’m a very quick texter and I’ve been doing it for a fair amount of time now. I think this is definitely the future. With two fingers it would be even faster than my ordinary texting, despite the fact that it’s all new to me.
Just tried it again (this time I used two fingers pressing the “buttons” on my monitor), and it was fractionally faster than my ordinary texting.
This is definitely the way of the future. Bravo!
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The delta II was slower on my first attempt than the numeric keypad (I assumed it would do T9words). But on my second attempt on the Delta II, I was almost twice as fast.
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can’t wait to see a phone with this keypad. good job!!!
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Excellent. 9 years in product design, 10 years as a programmer, Delta II is INSPIRED.
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I tried the keyboard and was able to get close to your stated times after just a few minutes.
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I haven’t used a T9 keyboard so I had a similar familiarity with both. The Delta II seemed
more “intuitive” & I think it’ll take off.
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I was able to use it immediately with good results, however after a full day of usage it was a huge
improvement over anything else.
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Wow! I like the setup and how it looks like a real keyboard – it makes it a lot easier to type with.
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This is awesome. The kids took to it like ducks to water.
….
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I’ve been to your web site and it is an ingenious keyboard. Anybody who types will pick it up fast.
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I love the way this feels – I want one!
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I tried the test and I can see why folks like it. Great job!
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Intuitive.
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Fascinating.
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I recently came across your website and found the details about the ‘Delta-II’ keypad. I am overwhelmed by
the sophistication and innovation of the design and I am keen to know more information. But, first accept my
sincere appreciation for the great innovation.
….
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wow
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Here’s the deal… I haven’t found anything to top your keypad out there and I have been LOOKING.
….
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I don’t use text much on my current cell phone because it is so slow. I would most likely use it quite a bit if I
could use the Delta II format, since I have typed for over 30 years.
My starting time was 29.6 (seconds) and my ending time, after 4 attempts, was 22.7 (Delta II).
With the current cell phone set up, my starting time was 80.2 and my ending time, after 4 attempts, was 64.6.
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Delta II is really quick!
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It may look a little odd, but the cool thing is that it fits a QWERTY keyboard into a regular sized handset. I tried the speed tests found on the first link in my above post, and I did do quite well with the Delta II. I imagine with a little practice it would be very speedy.
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The Delta II keypad is a special kind of QWERTY keypad that’s supposed to be very comfortable to type
on (I did a typing test on the site, and I’m amazed I can already type nearly as fast as a Blackberry keyboard
in less than 5 minutes of practice). Now I believe that if there is ever a miniaturized Blackberry, it must use
this keypad. Formerly I thought that it might be sacrilege, but now that I did some typing tests on Delta II, I am
now a believer.
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I can’t imagine typing emails on a Treo 600. The Delta keypad looks promising. The fact that it’s not an exact QWERTY layout won’t matter to most people I think … it’s a different ergonomic anyway on a handheld where you are typing with your thumbs vs. a regular keyboard where you are using anywhere from 1 to 10 fingers to type.
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Nice idea, the simplest are always the best.
just had to say so. good luck, hope the product makes it to market.
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it’s way more logical than the alphabetic layout. Good work, can’t wait to have this on my phone.
It works
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very cool
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Get this on the market NOW!!!
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ya that rocks
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Subject: Style parallels function
To Whom It May Concern:
I was completely excited by the news (found on http://www.mobile9.com) of the
Delta II keyboard.
I am just a consumer out there… of no real importance in the grand
industry scheme of things. But I pride myself on being astute enough to
recognize a breakthrough when I see one…
….
BTW, the subject of this note references your website, the style of
which parallels the functionality of your groundbreaking keyboard
design; in a word — elegant!
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Brilliant idea! Ergonomics is the key though as Mr. Suess mentioned.
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Amazing how well I have seemed to pick it up. It seems so natural after just a few trys!
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looked at it and thought it was kinda weird, like how can people get used to it? its so different, well i tried
it and felt kinda like i knew where the keys were, (like on a normal keyboard) still needs getting used to
though. very very good though.
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I was surprised how much searching I did on the alphabet keyboard. Still faster than the usual cell keypad that
requires multiple taps to get to the letter you want, but the Delta II seemed very natural, only a limited amount
of hunting, and over twice as fast as the cell keypad. I want one!
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Looks Good! I am a fair typist. I simulated typing the text using only my right hand. The results were
excellent. Congratulations on an excellent design.
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even using predictive text input with the standard mobile phone keyboard i am over twice as fast on the delta 2.
although my friends that send 20+ text messages per day i think would be as fast with standard keypad
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you are right on…please make one for my GSM phone! I ‘d buy!
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Hello, I recently visited your site and am interested in your Delta II keypad.
Can you give me any examples where the pad is in use, I have a product in
development and your pad configuration is quite nice.
…
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Faster – I like it alot.
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I was surprised to find myself interacting with the layout fairly easily even
given the every-other-letter wrapping pattern.
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Is your company public? Your product and vision is simple yet brilliant. I
would purchase stock in this idea in a heartbeat. I sure hope you are able
to convince the industry to see your way.
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Sounds crazy, and I didn’t do the “air typing” demo properly, but I was definitely
quicker and more relaxed with the qwerty (Delta II) arrangement.
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I have good news. My typing times are 12 (Standard), 13 (Alphabetic)
and 21 (Delta II).
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Standard: 6 WPM
Alphabetic: 8 WPM
Delta II: 15 WPM
Amazing, I would have thought the Alpha would be more “natural” to type with.
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Cool. It was very intuitive. Here are my scores (doing it one-handed).
1st pad: 81.4 6wpm (Standard)
2nd pad: 60.8 8wpm (Alphabetic)
3rd pad: 36.7 14wpm (Delta II)
Let me know when I can expect to see Delta II on a device.
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My scores were 16 (Standard) – 16 (Alphabetic) – 36 (Delta II)
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I was very surprised to see me moving around the keypad (Delta II) – i could get
used to that – i think – easier than the first (Standard) and second (Alphabetic) pad.
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ok, my 3 scores were: 10 for the first (Standard), 15 for the second (Alphabetic)
and 21 for the third (Delta II). that was one handed….if that matters!
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The above comments read like manufacturer-posted artificial comments.
This kind of post is the reason that the web is considered such an unreliable source of information.
Cut the hype please!
No hype. All comments are genuine, from individuals who either tried a Delta II keypad prototype, or the Delta II online simulator. You can try it yourself – http://www.chicagologic.com
Read this article on Delta II by senior tech editor Wolfgang Gruener:
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/25568/113/
this is brilliant i would love one of these.