Text entry of physical and virtual keyboards on tablets and the user perception

Abstract

We examined the text entry speed on a tablet for users using physical and software keyboards; a Bluetooth keyboard, a default software keyboard and a gesture based keyboard. We compared these to a laptop and measured adjusted words per minute and error rate. User perceptions were gathered to see if there was a noticeable difference between text entry speeds and how users viewed each keyboard's accuracy, frustration and ease of use. We found was that while there was a difference in entry speed between virtual and physical keyboards, there was no difference in speed between physical keyboards or between software keyboards. There was limited error difference between all keyboards. However despite the Bluetooth keyboard being closest to the laptop in results, user preference was greater for the gesture keyboard.