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Try it Now

Note: do not use mouse to type -
please see
instructions
below

 
Also, best viewed full screen - Internet Explorer users:
 
1) click to align
2) hit F11 (full)
3) hit F5  (refresh)

 
To undo full screen, click here and
hit F11.

                         

           

     DO NOT type with mouse. See instructions below.      

DO NOT type with mouse. See instructions below.  

   DO NOT type with mouse. See instructions below.     

   
Which keypad would you
choose for typing? (optional)

       Delta II
       Alphabetic
       Standard

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 Next:  Dusty Keys™
  Smart Keypad Driver  

          Delta II

  Alphabetic 

     Standard 

                   


Delta II Typing Simulator
QWERTY version, click for AZERTY (European) version


Instructions

Important:   Try each keypad at least twice, ideally four times each.  It may take a minute or two of typing for your mind to "lock in" the Delta II matrix.   Think of Delta II as your PC keyboard -  the letter Q is toward the upper left, M is toward the lower right, etc.  The more you relax, the faster you will type.

Using the stopwatches above, determine your typing speed on the three different keypad types.  

Do not use your mouse to type!  Using your mouse results in unrealistically large target activation times.*

Instead, you can use your eyes, or better yet (faster), hold your hand anywhere between you and your computer screen and "air type" with your finger.  Rest your elbow on your desk or chair arm if you like.  Typing this way best approximates your real world, single-hand (finger, thumb or stylus) typing speed.  You can also use both hands (fingers) plus your thumb (for the space bar), to simulate typing on the keypad while it is lying on a desk.  Using both fingers best recruits your motor memory reflexes, yielding maximum typing speeds.

If you prefer to type on something, you can print the keypads and a test form to "type" on and record your typing speeds.

Familiarize yourself with the stopwatches, the sentence to type, and the three keypads.

  1. When ready, click Start below the cell phone you are timing.

  2. Using the typing method described above, "type" the sentence you see in the phone display onto the keypad.

  3. Click Stop when you are done typing the sentence (you can also use the space bar to stop, reset, start, etc.).  You will see your elapsed time, word-per-minute (WPM) typing speed and corresponding bar graph.

  4. Reset sets the timer back to zero and clears the bar graph for another try.

  5. To ensure an accurate comparison, you should try each keypad approximately the same number of times as the others before leaving a "good" speed up for comparison, and moving on to the next phone.

  6. Repeat steps 1 - 5 for the other two cell phones.

Notes:

It is normal for new users to stall (pause to search for letters) when first typing on the above keypads.  The stalling is caused by a reflex called motor memory, and disappears within minutes on the Delta II keypad, but is more pronounced and will persist on the alphabetical keypads.  Stalling causes all alphabetically ordered keypads, like the two on the right above, to be slow and uncomfortable to type on.

If possible, take this speed test again tomorrow.  Note how quickly you master the Delta II layout, whereas your typing speeds on the alphabetic keypads start out slow and stay slow.

The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" was selected because it uses every letter in the alphabet at least once.  You can use any 43 character long sentence (or sentence fragment) such as "i just want to type faster on my cell phone", which might be easier to remember.  Whichever 43 character long sentence you choose, use the same sentence on all three keypads.

Your results are displayed in elapsed seconds, calculated words per minute (WPM), and a bar chart color coded by the following typing speed ranges:

Typing Speed Ranges

Over 20 WPM

  Fast     

10 to 20 WPM

  Medium

0 to 10 WPM

  Slow

WPM = words per minute

 

* Target acquisition and activation times - why Delta II works:

Your typing speed depends on the following two time intervals:

  1. Target acquisition time - the time it takes you to locate (acquire) the next key you want to press (assuming you are not a touch typist on that keypad).

  2. Target activation time - the time it takes you to move your finger (thumb, stylus, etc.) to that next key and press (activate) it.


These two times added together is the time it takes to perform a "keystroke", which ultimately determines your typing speed in words per minute (WPM).  During high-speed typing, these two time intervals may partially overlap.

If you are not a touch-typist on a particular keypad, your average target acquisition speed mostly determines your typing speed because you spend the majority of each keystroke cycle locating (acquiring) the next button to press.  Because letters on the Delta II keypad are in proximity to where they exist on your PC keyboard, Delta II target acquisition speeds average twice as fast as alphabetic layouts, regardless of whether the alphabetic layout is linear, circular, or a matrix.

Also, the average distance between any two keys is shorter on the Delta II layout compared to a QWERTY layout that uses the same sized buttons and button spacing.  The result is faster target activation times for the Delta II layout than the QWERTY layout.  This aspect of user interfaces is documented under the subject of: "Fitt's Law".


Click to Align Keypads for Demo

 

  Delta II ™       people type faster on it

Patented and Patent Pending     Chicago Logic Incorporated     deltaii@chicagologic.com