Just like the never-ending "sweet and salty debate" in the food world, there is also a very "provocative" question in the mobile phone typing world: is it better to use 9 keys or 26 keys? The 9-key camp believes that the 9-key layout makes each key larger, the letters are more concentrated, and it is quick to press, making it easy to operate even with one hand.
9 keys. Image source: Author’s screenshot
The 26-key camp believes that the 26-key layout on mobile phones is similar to the computer keyboard layout, making it more comfortable to use, and the 26 letters are separated, making typing more accurate and less prone to errors.
26 keys. Image source: Author’s screenshot
The two camps refuse to give in to each other, and there is even a saying on the Internet that "only the elderly use 9 keys, and young people use 26 keys." Is this really the case? In fact, neither 9-key nor 26-key is the most efficient input method. They are just compromises on our input tools. Today, let’s talk about the mobile phone keyboard in detail~
Where did the 9 keys and 26 keys of the mobile phone keyboard come from?
The reason why there is a saying on the Internet that "old people use 9 keys and young people use 26 keys" may be related to the evolutionary history of mobile phone keyboards.
In fact, long before the advent of mobile phones, designs corresponding to numbers and letters had already appeared on rotary dial telephones. However, the arrangement of letters and numbers at that time was still somewhat different from what we are familiar with today. For example, the letters O and Q were placed on the number 0, and there was no letter Z. etc.
Rotary dial telephone. Image source: wikimedia
After the emergence of mobile phones, the earliest correspondence between numbers and letters still followed this set of rules. For example, the picture below is the E.161 standard released by the International Telecommunications Union in 1988. The letters O and Q are still on button 0, and there is no letter Z.
International Telecommunications Union 1988 version of the E.161 standard. Image source: International Telecommunication Union standards
The 9-button layout of mobile phones that we are familiar with was first established by the International Telecommunications Union in the updated E.161 standard in 1993, and it is still in use today.
Many people born in the 70s, 80s and 90s may have first come into contact with such mobile phone keyboards.
The familiar 9-key layout. Image source: wikimedia
The early 9-key input rules were relatively complicated, such as pressing "2" twice to represent "b" and pressing "7" four times to represent "s". However, as long as you use it more, you can master it, and many people have even developed the skill of "one-handed touch typing".
After getting familiar with this layout, switching to the current 9-key system is naturally very smooth. This is probably the reason why people born in the 70s, 80s and 90s are more accustomed to the 9-key input method. In contrast, the 26-key keyboard on mobile phones appeared much later than the 9-key keyboard. In 1996, Nokia 9000 Communicator was released. This mobile phone was equipped with a 26-key full keyboard, making it easier for people to use their mobile phones to reply to text messages and emails.
Later, the more familiar BlackBerry full keyboard mobile phone was also launched in 1999. But in the early days, the full keyboard design of BlackBerry phones attracted many people to complain, thinking that it was crowded and unsightly.
In 2007, the first generation iPhone was released. The earliest iPhone used a virtual keyboard, and the default keyboard layout was also 26 keys.
After 2007, mobile phone screens have gradually become larger, from 3 inches and 3.5 inches to today's 6 inches and 7 inches. The 26-key layout no longer seems so "crowded and cramped" and is more convenient to use.
Changes in the average size of mobile phone screens from 2007 to 2014. Photo credit: Alex Barredo, @somospostpc
When people born in 2000 came into contact with mobile phones, 26 keys were already very common. In addition, the 26-key layout is very similar to the layout of a computer keyboard, so people can "seamlessly switch" between computers and mobile phones.
These reasons may have led to the saying on the Internet that "old people use 9 keys and young people use 26 keys." Of course, the old and young here are only relative in age. And this statement is not absolute. After all, people can choose according to their own preferences.
Which one is better, 9 keys or 26 keys?
Although there are few authoritative documents studying the typing speed of two mobile phone keyboards, some people have still conducted tests and comparisons.
For example, a 2012 study compared the typing speed of two mobile phone keyboards. The results found that when the input content includes Chinese, English, and numbers at the same time, the total input time of 26 keys (i.e., full keyboard) is faster than that of 9 keys. But if you simply input Chinese, the completion time of 9 keys is slightly faster than that of a full keyboard.
This study also found that in terms of error rate, the 26-key key has a higher error rate when inputting Chinese content. The article speculates that this may be related to the limitation of mobile phone screen size.
BlackBerry released in 2012. Image source: wikimedia
Considering that this study was conducted in 2012, when mobile phone screens were relatively small, the arrangement of 26 buttons would indeed be slightly crowded.
In 2017, some netizens also asked 8 undergraduates to compare input between 9 keys and 26 keys. Although the sample is relatively small, it can serve as a reference. This experiment found that the number of errors with 26 keys is lower than that with 9 keys, and the input speed is also faster than that with 9 keys.
However, when inputting content in Chinese and mixed Chinese and English, the difference in input speed between the two keyboards is actually very small. It can be considered that from the perspective of daily typing speed, the difference between 9-key and 26-key is not very big, and there is no absolute way to say who is better than the other.
Neither 26 keys nor 9 keys are the fastest
Although people are "fighting" about which one is better, 9 keys or 26 keys. But in fact, neither 9 keys nor 26 keys are the most efficient keyboard layouts. First let’s talk about the 9-keys. It’s easy to understand that the 9-keys are not the most efficient keyboard for input. After all, the 9-key keyboard layout is not designed for typing, it just follows the keyboard layout from the dial-up era.
Although some people can type so fast with 9 keys, this is just people adapting to the 9-key layout. The 26 keys we are familiar with are actually not the most efficient keyboard layout for typing. The common 26-key keyboard has a name, called QWERTY keyboard (because the first few English letters of the keyboard are QWERTY).
Common QWERTY keyboard. Image source: wikimedia
Although the QWERTY keyboard has become the most widely used keyboard, this is not because its layout is best for fast typing.
There is a theory that the layout of the QWERTY keyboard is to reduce typing speed, because the mechanical structure of typewriters in the mid-19th century could not withstand too fast typing speeds, and typing too fast could easily cause key jamming problems.
However, researchers at Kyoto University also put forward a different view. They believe that the design of the QWERTY keyboard has nothing to do with whether the keys are stuck or not. The QWERTY keyboard is based on the keyboard design of early Morse code transmitters. The layout of the keyboards of early transmitters itself changed frequently, and the QWERTY keyboard is just one of the arrangements.
In fact, the popularity of the QWERTY keyboard was due to the "optimal" solution designed based on the mechanical design at the time, research on the frequency of English letters, and optimization of finger length. In the 1870s, inventor Shores applied for a patent for the QWERTY keyboard (the QWERTY layout at that time was slightly different from today's, but the overall layout is very similar).
Such a keyboard was also favored by Remington, the American weapons manufacturing giant at the time. At that time, shortly after the American Civil War, Remington, the American weapons manufacturing giant, began to look for new business outlets, and the production of typewriters was one of them.
Shores designed a typewriter with a QWERTY keyboard layout. Image source: wikimedia
Remington quickly signed a contract with Shores to begin producing typewriters with a QWERTY keyboard layout. In fact, the QWERTY keyboard was just one of many keyboard layouts at that time. But in 1983, the five largest typewriter manufacturers, including Remington, jointly established the United Typewriter Company and decided to adopt the QWERTY keyboard as the standard keyboard. In this way, the QWERTY keyboard almost monopolized the keyboard market.
In addition, Remington not only produces keyboards, but also provides low-cost training courses to train typists. This ties the typist to the typewriter. If a different keyboard is used, the typist's typing speed will be greatly reduced. This strategy is very similar to the product ecological logic created by many companies today.
In fact, after selling the QWERTY keyboard patent to Remington, Shores subsequently invented several keyboards, some of which were keyboard layouts specifically optimized for typing efficiency, but people's habits have been formed. Moreover, typists are almost always trained on the QWERTY keyboard, and it is difficult for other keyboards to have a chance to rise.
A new keyboard layout invented by Shores after the QWERTY keyboard (Image source: U.S. Patent No. 568630A)
In the following 100 years, various keyboard layouts have emerged in endlessly. The more famous ones are Dvorak and Colemak keyboards, and they are specially optimized for typing efficiency, but I believe that most people have never used them or even heard of them. After all, the cost of learning and adapting to changing to another keyboard and practicing typing again is too high.
Colemak keyboard layout. Image source: wikimedia
In short, from the development of 26-key keyboards and subsequent iterative updates of keyboards, it can be seen that QWERTY keyboards are not the most efficient keyboards today. Although we can type smoothly and smoothly with 9 keys or 26 keys today, they are not "people-centered" enough. In fact, they are a compromise between people and tools.
Man adapts to machine
Fortunately, with the advancement of technology, people have ways to make tools "adapt to people." Although 9-key and 26-key are not the most efficient keyboard layouts, current input methods can make typing more and more "smooth". Automatic error correction: For example, in order to solve the common problem of mispressing keys with thick fingers, many input methods have automatic error correction functions to automatically correct common wrong key presses.
There are also some input methods that take into account the problem of indistinguishability between flat and tilted words, and can automatically correct common flat and tilted phrases, which greatly improves people's typing efficiency. Adjust word sorting Most input methods will put our commonly used words first according to our input habits.
This can also improve our typing efficiency. Especially when you often use some unfamiliar industry terms, the input method will remember these terms, so you don't have to search page after page to find them. In addition to using the keyboard for speech-to-text input, many input methods now support speech-to-text input.
The typing speed of 100 Chinese characters per minute is already very fast for ordinary people, but when ordinary people speak, they can easily reach 240 to 300 Chinese characters per minute. Although early speech-to-text had problems such as low accuracy and the inability to recognize dialects, with the development of AI technology, the accuracy of speech recognition is getting higher and higher, which undoubtedly gives people more input method choices.
In general, behind the dispute between 9 keys and 26 keys is actually the adaptation of people of different eras to technical tools. It is believed that with the development of technology, this situation will improve, and new technologies and tools will be more "people-oriented" and better serve mankind.
References
[1] He Canqun; Wei Xiujie; Ge Liezhong. A review of research on mobile phone keyboard text input methods [J]., 2012, 30(1): 76-79. [2] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/fact-of-fiction-the-legend-of-the-qwerty-keyboard-49863249/
[3] https://www.cnblogs.com/ljq66/p/7777649.html
[4] International Telecommunication Union standards: https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-E.161-199303-S/en
[5]YasuokaK,YasuokaM.OnthePrehistoryofQWERTY[J].Zinbun,2011,42:161-174.
[6]WatsonI.Theuniversalmachine:Fromthedawnofcomputingtodigitalconsciousness[M].Copernicusbooks,2012.p45