New chording text entry methods combining physical and virtual buttons on a mobile phone

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Mobile Computing
• Usability Engineering

Background:

• Traditional mobile phone text entry methods like MultiTap and QWERTY keyboards suffer from low input performance, high error rates, and poor feedback.
• Chording keyboards offer potential for improved input but face challenges due to low learning efficiency and user adoption.
• Existing methods necessitate a balance between input efficiency and ease of learning for widespread mobile use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate novel chording input methods that overcome the limitations of traditional mobile text entry.
• To assess the impact of combined physical and virtual keys on text entry performance and user learning.
• To enhance user motivation and willingness to adopt new input techniques on mobile devices.

Main Methods:

• Development of two innovative chording input methods: MagArea and MemoryTap, integrating physical and virtual key characteristics.
• An experimental study involving fourteen participants over three days to evaluate the proposed methods.
• Comparative analysis of error rates, input speed, and learning efficiency between the developed methods and potentially baseline methods.

Main Results:

• Participants demonstrated a significant reduction in error rates when using the MagArea method.
• A notable enhancement in text entry speed was observed with the MemoryTap method.
• Both MagArea and MemoryTap exhibited excellent learning efficiency, indicating high user adaptability and motivation.

Conclusions:

• The developed chording input methods, MagArea and MemoryTap, offer a promising alternative to traditional mobile text entry systems.
• Combining physical and virtual keys in chording designs can effectively address performance and usability challenges.
• These methods show potential for increased user satisfaction and adoption in mobile computing environments.