Smartphones Heart QWERTY, Click Off Users

iPhones, Blackberrys ignore alternative keyboard, to enthusiasts' chagrin
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 28, 2009 1:57 AM CDT
Smartphones Heart QWERTY, Click Off Users
The more traditional Dvorak keyboard layout, which is found on most computers.   (Wikimedia Commons)

Smartphone users are baffled that the the commonly used QWERTY keyboard is dominating their text-typing world. Many would prefer the little-know Dvorak keyboard, which was designed to be easy to use, placing the most common letters on the home row. QWERTY, used on computers, was designed to overcome a technical glitch on early typewriters. But Dvorak enthusiasts say the alternative keyboard allows lightning-fast typing.

Handsets by Apple, Palm and Research in Motion are all QWERTY-only. The bias has kept many away from smartphones: "I thought it would hurt my brain using QWERTY," said a Dvorak fan.
(More Dvorak Simplified Keyboard stories.)

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