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Comment by Axsuul | Hacker News Reader

The keyboard on mobile devices has the same layout as the computer's so shouldn't that translate somewhat to touch typing? At least they should have an advantage over those who never grew up with technology.

High school students still talk to their friends via iMessage or Facebook Messenger so they have plenty of exposure to this interface.

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But that is all thumb typing. Which is a very different notion then full hand typing.

In addition, on mobile you have on-screen keyboards, so you can never practice touch-typing (which entails being able to type without looking at the keyboard).

Years ago, I purchased a HP touchpad which has an on screen keyboard (big enough to use the traditional home key hand position). I'm a proficient touch typist, but I was never able to successfully touch type on it. Tactile feedback is a must and isn't something that you can get with touch interfaces.

Yes you are right, my definition of "touch typing" was incomplete because it didn't mention the tactile element. There have been some prototypes where the screen has a surface that can produce "bumps" in response to electrical impulse, which could lead to having on-screen keyboards with some sort of tactile feel[1], however this is not available on the consumer market just yet.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JelhR2iPuw0

Very different indeed!

I recently switched my phone's keyboard to Dvorak to learn the layout. Interestingly, my thumb typing speed has increased with no effect on my touch typing (using QWERTY).

It's as if touch typing and thumb typing use different parts of the brain.

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