HTC Touch Diamond soft keyboard comes to other WinMo phones

We weren't too thrilled with the Touch Diamond's resistive touchscreen when we got a chance to play with HTC's new hotness, but if you're envious of that updated soft keyboard, you're in luck: the Diamond's ROMs have already been pulled apart and the .cab files are just a click away. Installation is said to be slow and you'll have to jump through some hoops to switch the default language from Italian, but things will eventually work out for you -- although we doubt anyone's going to be nearly as impressed as if you had a real Touch Diamond.

[Via MobilitySite]

[Goofy Footr @ May 13th 2008 10:48PM]

Yea... ive had it on my mogul for 2-3 days now.

Oh, its nice btw.

[V.I. @ May 13th 2008 10:55PM]

Good to know. If I get lazy I'll install the .cab's so I won't have to let my slideout keyboard out.

[Goofy Footr @ May 13th 2008 11:02PM]

Eh, it still doesn't replace the slide out QWERTY. Heck, thats the main reason i bought the phone. Oh, and it can emulate almost any other handset out there.

Only time i see myself using this touchscreen keyboard is if i'm driving and cant use two hands.

Yea, safe, i know.

[Chris G @ May 13th 2008 10:58PM]

Beats the hell out of my XV6700 WM6 on-screen keyboard that requires a stylus to use...

[Ray @ May 13th 2008 11:04PM]

This cuts off your word completion when you install it. The only way to cut it back on is to hardreset.

[AndrewNeo @ May 13th 2008 11:28PM]

Maybe you can tell me, on WinMo devices how you do you select the word completion without tapping the word from the list? I know it's possible, I've done it on accident before.

[Ray @ May 13th 2008 11:30PM]

Wish i could say right now, i installed the keyboard and cant test to remember lol

I thought you could just hit enter or middle button on the dpad to do so

[Namarrgon @ May 14th 2008 12:03AM]

Arrow keys do that for me, and enter/space/punctuation etc to select.

[roflercopterer @ May 13th 2008 11:15PM]

iz dat sum T9?

[av8or @ May 14th 2008 1:15AM]

HA HA!

yes

[lao.soup @ May 13th 2008 11:27PM]

I think i prefer tactile buttons... perhaps shape shifting tactile buttons sometime in the distant future?

[BrokenMonkey @ May 13th 2008 11:36PM]

WTF is that chrome:// link? I can't get it to do anything. It's the first link that says Touch Diamond's.

[Danny @ May 13th 2008 11:46PM]

I think its supposed to say:

http://www.engadget.com/tag/TouchDiamond/

[Sean @ May 13th 2008 11:41PM]

if 3G iphone doesn't have that, it fails. it's a torture every time i type on iphone. touch screen definitely needs T9, no matter how large the screen, it just makes life easier.

[Ryan Trevisol @ May 14th 2008 8:43PM]

So why is it I want to kill myself typing a short text on my Nokia 6061 with T9 (Interim phone now that my iPhone is sold)?

I guess t9 as an option for people woudl be good, but I don't find it superior to any kind of qwerty. That two-letter qwerty is nice looking though, wouldn't mind having that on the iPhone 3G.

But am I the only one who thinks the Left-alignments sucks?

[Derek @ May 13th 2008 11:51PM]

Where can the rest of the ROM be found?

[Taylor @ May 14th 2008 1:39AM]

xda-developers.com i'm sure. everything for this stuff is there.

[Seth A @ May 14th 2008 12:40AM]

I seem to remember when the iPhone came out people saying that nobody in their right mind would ever use a Soft QWERTY Keyboard, that it would never catch on or work correctly and would fail miserably. Yes Windows Mobile and Blackberry are picking it up. Humm.

[John @ May 14th 2008 1:03AM]

Depends on the situation.. for one handed operation, a soft keypad is ideal.. its quick and easy to use especially if the letters are large enough. If im going to be using an IM program, typing an email, or anything lenthy and substatial beyond a quick text message, i will use my slide out keyboard.

[Quikboy @ May 14th 2008 1:09AM]

Uh, that's some people. People have varying opinions.

Some people like touch-enabled, some like tactile.

If I remember correctly, those people mostly said that they themselves wouldn't use a phone without tactile controls. Not that "everybody" wanted tactile phones themselves. And some of the first iPhone adopters said themselves that the keyboard didn't happen to align with their fingers right, so it didn't work correctly, at least for a while until an update came.

Personally, I want to see an option of having BOTH tactile and touch, on a WinMo phone. But that's me.

[iofthestorm @ May 14th 2008 1:14AM]

WinMo has had touchscreen keyboards before the iPhone, it's just that the power users who use WinMo phones prefer the increased reliability of a physical keyboard.

[iofthestorm @ May 14th 2008 1:15AM]

@Quikboy: With WinMo, you can have both. See the first commenter who's got it on his Mogul, which has a slide-out keyboard.

[Steffen Jobbs @ May 14th 2008 1:53AM]

I also remember that many had said that touchscreen keyboards would fail because NOBODY could type fast or accurately on them. But as you can see, now that WinMobile has it, suddenly touchscreen keyboards are much better than the iPhone's keyboard. Mmmm.

Those people were the descendents of those that believed the Earth was flat and man was never meant to fly. Let's try to be more forgiving of those that are not blind but still cannot see. Of course, we could just ignore them and maybe they'll go away.

[MMaster23 @ May 14th 2008 5:35AM]

Again .. the iPhone isn't new. WinMo has had virtual keyboards for ages, 3rd party companies make them and HTC has made some of the best the last few year (see screenshots).

Most WinMo devices have keyboards (123 or QWERTY or 20-key QWERTY) but some people prefer not to use it and there are some devies that are all touchscreen.

So, please, shut your iPhone yap. It's a great device and it innovates but some things have beein the market for ages and ages and ages.

[bondsbw @ May 14th 2008 7:41AM]

Ah, but the IMPLEMENTATION counts. WinMo onscreen keyboards suck (if they didn't, this article would never have been posted).

The iPhone and HTC Diamond keyboards are good, and to many people, they are worth the reduction in bulk and moving parts. And to some, they are not worth it... see, that's why we live in a world of choice... just because you prefer one over the other doesn't mean everyone agrees with you or has to agree with you.

[craig @ May 14th 2008 10:17AM]

"...now that WinMobile has it, suddenly touchscreen keyboards are much better than the iPhone's keyboard. Mmmm."

Really? Who is saying that, Steffen?

FYI, Windows Mobile has had soft keyboards far longer than the iPhone has existed. The entire iPhone form factor existed as a Windows Mobile device first.

"Let's try to be more forgiving of those that are not blind but still cannot see."

Only if you'll try harder to open your eyes.

"Of course, we could just ignore them and maybe they'll go away."

You haven't yet, Steffen.

[YouFaceTheTick @ May 14th 2008 1:38AM]

"We weren't too thrilled with the Touch Diamond's resistive touchscreen when we got a chance to play..."

Would you prefer absolute garbage that is capacitive touchscreens (ala the Touch/iPhone)? Resistive is the proper choice for a touch device as capacitive cannot be used with a tool, side of finger, fingernail. Capacitive, sadly, requires one create a current with their finger, thus, meaning more surface area must touch the screen...

[Kizorblade @ May 14th 2008 2:24AM]

Hardly, have you ever used an iPod touch/iPhone? You only need to use a tiny bit of your finger. And I mean DAMN tiny.

[Taylor @ May 14th 2008 3:35AM]

Umm... I'd RATHER use my finger... I always have it with me... It's faster than bringing out a stylus, as long as the interface is designed for it. A stylus is lame. Besides, they make styli that work with cap. screens if you want to use them. I used an HTC Apache and then the Tilt for a total of 3 years, and i switched to an iPhone (jailbroken, definitely) and i have decided without a doubt never to buy a resistive touch screen phone again. Capacitive fucking rocks the shit out of resistive for a mobile device as far as i'm concerned... You would never need to use a stylus or your fingernail if the interface is designed properly for a finger, and the benefits of multitouch in browsing far outweigh any supposed benefits you get from resistive screens for everything i use my phone for.

Saying things like "resistive is the proper choice" is stupid. You can't use absolutes because it really boils down to preference. You may like pulling out a stylus just to dial a phone number (memories of trying to dial with my finger on my old phones still haunt me), but i prefer to use a device that responds well to my fingers. Also, taking down a girl's number at a bar with a stylus = no callback.

-Taylor

[FH @ May 14th 2008 4:58AM]

YouFaceTheTick is right. You are wrong.

The 'finger touching' of a capacitive screen can EASILY be implemented in resistive screens (ever heard of touchflo, slide-to-unlock,etc??)... but not the other way around.

Try handwriting on the screen and then using the 'recognize' feature to turn them into text. Can a capacitive screen ie, iPhone do that?!

About "taking down a girl's number at a bar with a stylus = no callback", sure that's probably true if you keep tapping on those numbers - which is no different from using a physical keypad. For us more seasoned WM users, we use a more creative approach - writing it down, or ask her to write her number, on the screen - and most of the time, they'll be shocked yet impressed 'you mean I can just write it here? [points at screen]' = callback, now THAT'S SEXY. Btw, that's speaking from experience, a LOT of experience ;)

[Taylor @ May 14th 2008 6:27AM]

@FH:

Wow. I'm an apple fanboy of sorts (I'll get an iPhone when they come out) but that's pretty darn cool an idea.

[bondsbw @ May 14th 2008 7:57AM]

Capacitive is great because it requires only a very light touch compared to resistive, and resistive has clarity issues. Because of the light touches necessary, capacitive is considered more ergonomic. Of course, you may just prefer resistive, and that's fine.

You can get a stylus for a capacitive screen, so I'm not sure what the big deal is here.

[craig @ May 14th 2008 10:22AM]

"Capacitive is great because it requires only a very light touch compared to resistive, and resistive has clarity issues."

Do you have references for this?

"Because of the light touches necessary, capacitive is considered more ergonomic."

Who considers capacitive "more ergonomic"? References please.

"You can get a stylus for a capacitive screen, so I'm not sure what the big deal is here."

Where is an example of a capacitive touchscreen with a stylus?

[YouFaceTheTick @ May 14th 2008 12:38PM]

1. I own a touch
2. Many friends with iPhones
3. Ton of experience working with touchscreens - installing, supporting, designing software for them
4. Resistive allows you to use a fingernail, side of finger, etc. A woman with long nails cannot use an iphone unless she twists her fingers to use the pad of her finger. She should be able to use her nail but capacitive sucks and will not allow this.

[N3VURMYND @ May 14th 2008 1:40AM]

Just installed it. Works great on my HTC Touch. In fact, it's almost as responsive as the IPhone's in My opinion. If not, at least it's better than the original Touch version. A lot better.

[Jeffery @ May 14th 2008 2:00AM]

There was once I have doubt on whether I use to those touch screen phone input interface. Since this baby has few input method, it should be a problem for me anymore. Btw, it's a very nice phone over there ^^

[Cephas @ May 14th 2008 4:25AM]

PCM touchscreen keyboard FTW

[rush0 @ May 14th 2008 9:47AM]

what does a "resisitive" touch screen mean?

[John @ May 14th 2008 12:10PM]

resistive touchscreen uses pressure to force thin layers to contact. Capacitive touch screens use the distortion in the current running through the screen caused by the touch of a human finger to activate.

I've used both, and the difference really isnt enormous.. its a myth that you have to press really hard on a resistive. The resistive isnt going to pick it up very well if you touch it ever so lightly, but its a TOUCH screen.. dont be timid, any normal press on a resistive screen will do just fine, plus a resistive is much better for hand writing recognition unless you have a stylus with a capacitive, but most of the phones with that dont come with one.

[Phoenix @ May 14th 2008 12:10PM]

Where it senses pressure, it's "resisting" what you're touching it with.

[Whtrbt7 @ May 14th 2008 9:48AM]

What does Engadget have against resistive touch screens??? Resistive is definitely the way to go for pen input. Try that on your iPhone and you'll end up frustrated. The point is to join pet input with finger touch controls so everything works. 90% of Windows Mobile users in China use pen input for chinese. Chinese make up a fifth of the world's population so that's a huge market to sacrifice by having a non-resistive touch screen.

[SmartMarc @ May 14th 2008 4:33PM]

Ever tried a Wacom tablet?

[K-Canuck @ May 14th 2008 12:31PM]

I've used TopKey for years now:

http://www.pocketgear.com/en_US/html/display_product.jsp?id=prod5700935

Fully customizable, and able to switch effortlessly between languages (handy for those of us who speak/type more than just one language)

[ghettoblaster422 @ May 16th 2008 2:22AM]

great idea...

[Gregg @ May 16th 2008 8:40PM]

Works like a champ on my O2 Orbit (HTC Artemis/P3300)