QWERTY requires spatial memory (where is the H?) and visual scanning . T9 requires sequential memory (4663 = Good, 967 = Word).
However, if you are a professional who types 100+ emails a week, a journalist, a student taking lecture notes, or someone with large hands/fingers, t9 keyboard emulator better
In the mid-2000s, a technological marvel lived in the palm of your hand. It wasn't a touchscreen; it was a physical plastic keypad. Before the rise of QWERTY BlackBerries and the eventual dominance of glass slabs from Apple and Samsung, there was T9 . QWERTY requires spatial memory (where is the H
And the question on everyone’s mind is: It wasn't a touchscreen; it was a physical plastic keypad
Today, a niche but passionate community is rediscovering this input method. However, they aren't digging old Nokia bricks out of landfills. They are using on their iPhones and Android devices.
The "Phablet" era is here to stay. Your thumb cannot reach the "Q" and the "P" without dropping the phone. On a T9 emulator, everything is in a 3x3 grid. Your thumb never leaves the lower-right quadrant of the screen. The Psychological Advantage: Reduced Cognitive Load This is the deepest reason a T9 emulator is "better."
For the uninitiated, T9 (Text on 9 keys) allowed users to type entire sentences using just the number keys 2 through 9. To the modern smartphone user, the idea of pressing "4-6-6-3" to spell "Good" sounds archaic. But for those who mastered it, T9 was not a compromise; it was a speed machine.