Graffiti > thumb keyboard

[hedgeborn]

Thumb keyboards stink and have NO place on a Palm OS device. Sure, sure you can type a little faster, but switching between thumbs and stylus is just lame. It goes against the whole flow of the Palm OS to have this stupid little keyboard.

It's not THAT hard to learn Graffiti people.

Thank GOD for the 180g... at least Handspring didn't completely abandon true Palm enthusiasts in their fervent desire to appeal to yuppies who want the latest new toy and can't be bothered to learn Graffiti and wouldn't know the Palm OS from the OS than runs their Braun toaster oven and cappucino machine. :rolleyes:

Please Handspring, don't give up on REAL Palm power-users. I think it would be incredibly sad if they discontinued the 180g or the next range of Treo's came out with no graffiti option, but I am afraid that may happen given they only offer Graffiti on the lowest model (gee thanks!) and hardly lift a finger to promote it.

A Palm with a keyboard instead of a Graffiti area is like 1/2 a Palm. A neutered eunuch Palm for novices and mental defectives that can't take 45 minutes to become proficient at Graffiti.

Don't do it Handspring, don't abandon your true roots. :mad:

Surprise us and give us a Graffiti option across the WHOLE line!

[nzmoko]

They don't promote the G that much and will probably discontinue it and haven't made a 270G or a 300G for one simple reason... sales! No one will buy it. The K has simply outsold the G - by about a zillion units (see Amazon top sellers).

Remember, the Treo is not a Palm device, in the true sense. It is a wireless data device with a phone running PalmOS. This must be considered when designing the method of data input.

[jkevinwolfe]

The 180 G was outsold by the 180K 3 to 1. I have a 90, which is a PDA and really enjoy the KB. Unless I'm drawing a picture I really don't have much for a need for the stylus. A recent winner of the fitally competition typed on the thumbboard at over 80wpm. Face it: they're efficient.

Palm has put a thumbboard on their new Tungsten communicator. Sony has thumboards on their hi-end units. Face it: they're the future.

[mmaxton]

I have been a Handspring user for over 2 years, and am very proficient with Graffiti. I got a Treo 300 this month as an early X-mas present. I was dubious about the keyboard, and for about the first day was a bit thrown by using the keyboard rather than Graffiti. Very quickly, however, I have discovered that it is quicker to type using the keyboard than it was using Graffiti. As I have used it a bit more, I have learned the shortcuts that allow me to keep the stylus in its holder most of the time. Perhaps you should try one for a while before you decide. I am very happy with my Treo 300.
I am also quite happy with my Treo as a phone. It is so simple, and I don't have to look something up in my PDA, and then key in the number in my phone. If you have been carrying both, you won't ever want to go back when you get this device.

[imageone]

simply put, KB one hand, Graffiti two hands

[mmaxton]

I have been a Handspring user for over 2 years, and am very proficient with Graffiti. I got a Treo 300 this month as an early X-mas present. I was dubious about the keyboard, and for about the first day was a bit thrown by using the keyboard rather than Graffiti. Very quickly, however, I have discovered that it is quicker to type using the keyboard than it was using Graffiti. As I have used it a bit more, I have learned the shortcuts that allow me to keep the stylus in its holder most of the time. Perhaps you should try one for a while before you decide. I am very happy with my Treo 300.
I am also quite happy with my Treo as a phone. It is so simple, and I don't have to look something up in my PDA, and then key in the number in my phone. If you have been carrying both, you won't ever want to go back when you get this device.

[mulligan]

For those of you (hedgehog) who like grafitti....god bless you. Stick with it. But don't whine about a built in keyboard that makes alot more sense. The size and keyboard of the Treo is the next generation of PDA. Either you want a laptop or a pad of paper. But for an organizer.....the Treo is ideal. Lightweight, small and quick to input data. To each their own, Hoss.

[GadgetFreak]

This type of dogmatism really is quite useless. The Treos are true Palm devices no matter what anyone says because they use the Palm OS. The fact that they provide an alternate data entry path is nothing more than appealing to people who might like that. Other devices use Grafitti allowing those that prefer it to have it. Thats so wrong?

The comments about yuppies are quite pointless. Im probably too old to be a yuppie. I have used Palms since US Robotics and am quite proficient at Grafitti, thank you. I still use the Grafitti equivalent on my IPAQ, but I also have a Treo 90 and I love it. And I like the keyboard. Thank goodness people are still willing to try new things. Anyone want some stone tablets and a hammer and chisel?

[jkevinwolfe]

And I guess it should be pointed out that NewPen and RechEcho gives the Treos graffiti for those who want it.

[bitkahuna]

hedgeborn is just an elitist who doesn't like the fact that Palm-OS devices are becoming usable by more people by adding a keyboard.

I have a Treo 90. Initially I found it annoying because I thought I had to use the stylus AND the keyboard to do many things. Slowly I've learned I can do almost everything without the stylus at all. It's MUCH quicker. That little 'blue' key and the 'menu' key get a workout. It's neat to do menu key then x to cut, menu key then p to paste, etc. I realize there's graffiti strokes to do these things, but I want to stay on the keys. I also learned recently that holding the blue key and pressing scroll up or down quickly moves the cursor through a doc (e.g., to fix a typo a word or two back and then scroll forward to get back to where I was typing).

Bravo to Handspring on the Treo design - it's awesome.

[surfdriver]

I agree. That's the onlyreason I have for not getting the Treo.

[rikizzy]

RechEcho is now availlable at Handspring.com for free and works great.