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Why is it that in the phone numbers start from 1 to 9 and in a calculator 9 to 1? I am using both and never had trouble hitting the right keys. Is there a logic behind this arrangement? This message was posted from a K500
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Posted: 2005-02-16 07:09:51
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good work einstein
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Posted: 2005-02-16 07:16:48
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I think they're just maintaining the standard for keyboards - celphone uses telephone keyboard layout, while calculator uses the same layout as any cash registers or computer numeric keypad. It's a matter of convention, not logic IMO.
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Posted: 2005-02-16 07:23:26
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Yes there is... it has everything to do with actual ergonomic use.

A calc is primarily used on a desk... lying down... and you use your 3 fingers (index, middle, ring) to hit the keys.

Arranged in reverse because your fingers natural sense of "ascending" is going AWAY from you... so the closest key is '1'.

On a phone held almost vertically, it's you're THUMB that does all the work. And instinctively, the 'closest' point that your thumb can reach it the upper left corner of a keypad...if you're right-handed. (Most ergonomics are based on righties)

-this by the way, holds true as well for the first push-button phones which were NOT used lying down... but almost vertical. So the first number on top is 1, 2, 3.

It's kinda like the road markings where it reads:
DOWN
SLOW

Simply because you're approaching it from an angle, and SLOW is the first word that will become visible, before DOWN.

So the arrangement of the keys on both devices is based on which finger is used FIRST... or where your thumb lands FIRST. Then that's where '1' is placed.

**added trivia... this is also why we have the QWERTY keyboard... the keys were arranged this way to actually SLOW DOWN typists back in the mechanical typewriter days to prevent the hammers from jamming. The original typewriters were actually arranged alphabetically. Today, they're trying to improve this with the Dvorak keyboards, but since everyone got used to QWERTY, it's still the standard today.

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[ This Message was edited by: jplacson on 2005-02-16 06:27 ]

[ This Message was edited by: jplacson on 2005-02-16 06:30 ]
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Posted: 2005-02-16 07:24:37
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nice explanation, thanks. What's the logic behind a non-mobile telephone keyboard layout then?



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[ This Message was edited by: blackspot on 2005-02-16 06:45 ]
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Posted: 2005-02-16 07:30:28
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Sorry, couldn't reply too soon... so I had to just edit... restating...

Earlier push button phones were angled... they weren't like our current "flat" desk phones.

Earlier payphones... home phones (think of the old black rotary phones... but replace the dial with a keypad) all had very steep angles... so the device wasn't used/held the same way as a calc. A calc is usually used in the same position as a mouse... your palm rests on the desk. With a phone, you hand is floating.

These were considerations back then... they just carry it over now to avoid confusion. To put it in perspective... some of the newer Nokia's have tried re-arranging the keys... and this breaks everyone's pattern. And slows them down.
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Posted: 2005-02-16 07:35:26
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@jplacson, Excellent! This info will be very handy in case somebody becomes curious.

So what's with the QWERTY keyboard? My guess would be that they made the most frequently used keys accessible to the strongest fingers.
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Posted: 2005-02-16 07:41:52
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You guys seem to have IQ's of 300!! This message was posted from a T230
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Posted: 2005-02-16 07:44:03
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I posted the reason above... it's actually the opposite.

Earlier TYPEWRITERS (those prehistoric things) used hammers to punch the letters onto paper. Since they were mechanical, typing too fast would cause them to get jammed.

For lack of engineering skills, early typewriter makers just jumbled up the keys randomly to slow down typists. And it worked... for a while. By the time a system was produced to type faster on QWERTY keyboards..er.. typewriters, the mechanisms were improved to deal with the incresed typing speeds.

Now, people are just so used to the QWERTY keyboard that it would be very difficult to introduce a better layout (The Dvorak layout is an example of the most used letters being positioned optimally)
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Posted: 2005-02-16 07:45:55
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Got it, thanks! sorry I missed your explanation above.

I have heard but haven't seen a DVORAK keyboard yet and would probably quit my job if I were to make programs using DVORAK keyboard
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Posted: 2005-02-16 07:51:31
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