iPhone virtual keyboard leads to poor user experience

iPhone Virtual keyboard

Eventually, there is sound evidence validating my first impressions of the virtual keyboard of the iPhone:

Although iPhone users were able to text as quickly as QWERTY-keyboard owners, iPhone typists made more than twice as many errors. Even worse, many of these errors were left uncorrected, apparently due to (lack of) familiarity with the magnifying glass that lets you correct text. The study suggested that people new to the iPhone made about the same number of errors as regular iPhone owners, and also found that users of numeric keypads made far less errors on QWERTY keyboards than on the iPhone.

(from arstechnica.com)

Of course, some training greatly reduces the number of errors with the virtual keyboard. It’s very interesting to highlight how people in love with Apple overall accept to go through a long time of training before getting an acceptable experience with their keyboard.

A very good example of how user experience is not determined just by the usability but also by the visual enjoyment of using the iPhone…