iPhone not sweet on 'neat'
If you have an iPhone 3G configured for use in English, open up a new Note or Mail message and type the word "neat."
Your finger missed the "t"--didn't it? You typed "r" instead, for "near." That's OK. Backspace over the word and try again.
Oops. Missed it again, didn't you? Never mind, try again.
Apple's iPhone 3G
(Credit: Apple)That "t" sure is difficult to hit, isn't it? Well, you can always try the tap-hold-drag method of typing. Backspace over the word again, type "nea", then tap the T and as soon as you see the letter appear above your finger (it'll probably be an "R" again), drag your finger around the keyboard.
Pretty amazing, huh? Any letter but "t" can be typed in. That's right. Some iPhones simply won't let you type the word "neat" without using the backspace.
The problem isn't limited to this word or this character. I discovered the problem for myself recently when trying to enter the name of a restaurant ("Quattro") into a new calendar event. Further experimentation revealed many other impossible sequences.
I'm used to mistyping things on my iPhone; errors are inevitable with such a small keyboard and no physical feedback, and I tend to just blaze along as fast as my fingers will go. But occasionally, it seems to me that I hit the key I wanted but get something else instead.
I knew I hadn't missed the "t" because I was typing "Quattro" relatively slowly. I backed up, typed the word again even more carefully, and suddenly realized that some of my typing errors aren't my errors at all!
After fiddling around with my phone for a while, I realized that the iPhone virtual keyboard code attempts to predict what key(s) you'll type next and prefers the more likely keys over the less likely keys.
In extreme cases, when the code thinks a certain letter is pretty much impossible, it'll block that letter entirely.
This works well when you're typing a word like "fish" and you type "fisj" instead. Nobody likes getting fisj when they are hoping for fish, right?
I don't really understand all of the decisions built into the code. For example, "abcf" is not allowed, but any other final letter is fine. Is this because "abc" is most commonly followed by "d" and, thus, "f" is just too close for comfort? But then why isn't "abcs" blocked?
But the real problem is that sometimes--as with the word "neat"--this code doesn't anticipate all the legitimate letter choices.
Oddly, it isn't that the iPhone doesn't like the word "neat." If you accidentally type "neay," it'll suggest that you really meant "neat." So the character-predicting code must be separate from the dictionary.
I also established that there are some places where this character prediction routine doesn't operate, such as when you're typing into password dialogs and short text boxes in Web pages. But when typing into large text boxes, like the Comment boxes on these blog posts, the "neat" problem returns.
I looked around online after discovering the problem with "Quattro" and found very few references to the problem. However, one page on the Mobile Computer magazine site ("Is the iPhone's predictive text too clever for its own good?") has not only an explanation but a video of the problem. That's also where I learned about "neat," which is the worst case I've seen so far--a perfectly good, common word that you just can't type into an iPhone.
I figure this issue deserves wider attention, hence this post. I've also asked a few people I know with iPhones to test the problem. Two people with 3G models saw exactly the same behavior. One person with a first-generation model didn't. If your phone doesn't behave as I've described here, add a comment below to let me know.
Peter N. Glaskowsky is a computer architect in Silicon Valley and a technology analyst for the Envisioneering Group. He has designed chip- and board-level products in the defense and computer industries, managed design teams, and served as editor in chief of the industry newsletter "Microprocessor Report." He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
It's also a pain to try to click that tiny X when it "predicts" a word for you. I've tried to cancel Apple's spelling correction on the fly a number of times, and the vast majority of that time I seem to be missing the X, which makes the iPod replace the word as it normally does. Meaning I have to start all over.
Backspace OR predictive text. Pick one! I'm more than comfortable with my Katana's T9 predictive text, but if they put a dedicated backspace button on the keyboard I'm much more likely to use it instead of predictive.
OpenOffice uses predictive text as I type, and it is even more annoying than Microsoft Word's AutoCorrect feature. But that is another matter?
As for cell phone operation, I had cell phones that used the T9 interface. I can't count the number of times I've typed "I'm good" and I meant to say "I'm home." With T9, the default word for 4663 is "good" and not "home".
I'm still waiting on IBM to develop thought recognition software which would know to type "neat" when you mean "neat," and to not launch an application when you click on the icon next to the one you really wanted to open instead.
I typed it 5 times on my First GEN iPod Touch (jailbroken 2.2) into mail and it worked fine? Apparently the keys resize depending on how much you use them. Maybe its because a lot of people don't use the letter 'T'?
I dunno. You can see a lot of other people here reproduced the problem. I wonder if something in the jailbreaking process disables this feature? Can't imagine how or why, though.
Trying to type 'neat' always results in 'nea' without the ability to type 't'.
I've also noticed I have the same behavior when trying to type my friend's name with possessive-s:
' Alex' ' will then only allow me to type 'r' and not 's' until after I backspace.
"neay " becomes "neat" because the "y" is so close to the "t"
Me, I can't tell the difference between the iPhone's misspellings and my own.
But seriously, folks, if we can prevent just ONE other consumer product from making the same mistake in its predictive typing code, it'll all be worth it.
Settings - General - Keyboard
Any interest on making bad publicity on Apple?
Of course I don't have any interest in bad publicity for Apple. Shame on you for even asking.
- by Hellcat May 20, 2009 4:53 PM PDT
- Wow someone who actually seems to understand the way I think about Apple. "we'll do what WE think the people want and tell them its the best and they'll believe it" Seems to work for them, but then again I don't have a mac or iphone and neither do any of my friends.
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- by montex66 May 27, 2009 7:33 PM PDT
- That is the saddest thing I've heard all day. No Mac? No iPhone? I weep for you.
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