As much as I dig the Cadillac's fancy-pants infotainment system there is one aspect of it that I just cant get used to: The alphabetic layout on the destination entry screen.
Now, I'm sure a lot of you are going to ask "what's the problem? Everyone knows where the letters of the alphabet are!", but if you ask this via our blogs, and you aren't using a Maltron or a speech-to-type system, then you've just proved my point. QWERTY makes sense in a keyboard layout, we all use it every day...
Just think how awkward typing would be if tomorrow you came into work and instead of your tried and true layout that you know blind, the keys had been rearranged alphabetically. It's tricky, and that's why a lot of navigation systems offer users the choice of alphabetical or QWERTY. Sorry Dvorak users, still no love for you on any system.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 7262 miles
estreka says:
04:02 PM, 06/19/08
QWERTY was actually designed to slow typing speeds because the hammers would stick once a typist began typing at high speeds. While I doubt QWERTY will ever be replaced, it is an inefficient design.
SnakeDoctor says:
04:58 PM, 06/19/08
There is much discussion in the vehicle development HMI (human machine interface) community on the superiority of QWERTY or Alpha input for Navi.
estreka is correct on QWERTY on the history for mechanical typwriters. Also you use QWERTY on a keyboard with both hands typing, which would be difficult to do on a Navi screen.
roar02ram says:
08:22 PM, 06/19/08
You could also argue that it's the safer choice given that there's a greater chance of someone being able to "type" without looking.
Hence the point of the post.
deadmansale says:
12:53 AM, 06/20/08
loving the song reference
dougtheeng says:
05:55 AM, 06/20/08
I find qwerty easier to use even one handed. shame the system doesnt let you choose in an options menu or something.
1487 says:
07:09 AM, 06/20/08
my garmin nav has the same setup as the CTS.
boxermike says:
08:32 AM, 06/20/08
1487, due to complaints, Garmin has added QWERTY to most of their units. I hope GM will follow.
jriz says:
09:37 AM, 06/20/08
Although I'm one hell of a typist, I actually prefer the Alpha lay-out. Not sure why, perhaps it has something to do with typing with one hand rather than two. I should keep this in mind if I should ever contract flesh-easting disease.
tjbeck says:
12:09 PM, 08/ 2/08
estreka on June 19, 2008 4:02 PM - "QWERTY was actually designed to slow typing speeds"
So... what typing speed was the alphabet designed for? Qwerty's dumb, but alphabet layouts, because they all have different numbers of lines, and because people really only search the alphabet quickly in one direction, are probably more dumb, on balance.
But here's the think - that's a software screen, right? It would take a programmer probably 10 minutes to put in an optional querty layout. This is basically a zero-cost feature for Cadillac to add.
isabel_z says:
04:10 AM, 04/14/09
I’m sure you’ve already heard of QWERTY, the standard layout for a lot of Roman alphabet computer keyboards, although they mostly pertain to English language countries. At any rate, cell phone keypads are starting to head that way. Phones that featured the QWERTY keypad (look over at the Q, and proceed to the right) used to require an online cash advance to get, but now they are becoming commonplace. In the era of text messaging, demand is for full service keypads instead of numerical (regular phone) keypads. If you're more of a mobile e-mail and text message person, you might look into an online cash advance for a QWERTY phone.