T9, or Predictive text input in mobile phones

Almost all mobile phone users cannot do without SMS in their practice. This is a very convenient and inexpensive service, provided by virtually all operators in the standards where possible. However, it is inconvenient to type using ten buttons instead of a standard PC keyboard. The developers of the T9 program promise to help us by offering predictive (predictive) text input.

What is it? Using the T9 system, we press the key where the required letter is located only once. After typing a few letters in this way, we wait until T9 itself tries to create a word from them. If it matches what you typed, then press the space bar and move on to the next word. And if not, then T9 will offer a choice of several word options made up of the letters you entered. To select the desired word, press the “0” key several times and then enter it by pressing the space or any punctuation mark.

Let's try to consider the principle of operation of T9 and similar systems using the example of the iTAP system, which is used in some models of Motorola phones. The description says that while typing, the phone predicts or predicts the word you are trying to enter. How does the system work?

After pressing the key with the desired letter, the phone will display one of the three or four letters (written on the button), which, in its opinion, occurs more often, and at the bottom of the screen it will offer other options. If he did not “guess” the letter, then he will have to use “<*» и «#>» keys (instead of «0» in the classic T9) to select the desired option in the lower list. At first, this dialing system seems very unusual. For example, we are used to typing the letter “c” by pressing the 2-abc button three times, but here it is typed like this: 2-abc is pressed, then “#>” twice. If, as usual, we press 2-abc three times, we will get three letters, because the “sorting” is done with the help of arrows, and each keystroke, even the same one, is a new letter.

It is quite difficult to explain this right away, so I will try to do it with an example:

Suppose we need to enter the word "abandon":

Again, a small nuance: in the classic T9, we would have to press the spacebar “#>” instead of “OK”.

I am sure that some of you have not yet understood everything, since I myself did not immediately and did not understand everything. In fact, everything is simple! There is no need to click on the button several times in order for it to change its value, this is done using the arrows "<*» и «#>« in the process of choosing an option from the options below on the screen.

Once you understand, you might think:

And what does it give us? It's easier to habitually sort through the buttons than to look for the options offered by this "reasonable" phone with the arrows!

But you will be wrong. By typing this word in the usual way, we would press the buttons 15 times (trust me), and in this way - only 11, which, you see, is already a little faster. When I typed this word a second time, iTAP substituted its third letter immediately, which means , there is also a self-learning system.

But that's not all! If in the process of writing a word you do not use arrows, then the last letters (sometimes all) iTAP will try to rearrange at its discretion, that is, do exactly what is indicated by the developer. Here's an example: we type "motorola", do not use the arrows and do not look at the options at the bottom of the screen. We look only at the typed word.

• 6-mno-m,
• 6-mno-on,
• 8-tuv - not,
• 6-mno - onto, (it seems to be rubbish starting, but we'll see further)
• 7-pqrs - motor,
• 6-mno-motoro,
• 5-jkl - motorol,
• 2-abc - motorola.

Or the word "rules":

• 7-pqrs-p,
• 8-tuv-st,
• 5-jkl - rul,
• 3-def-rule,
• 7-pqrs - rules.

In both cases, a complete success!

Unfortunately, some difficulties still exist. A lot of words are so simple, without using the arrows, you won’t type. Let's try, for example, to enter "mainboard".

• 6-mno-m,
• 2-abc-na,
• 4-ghi-nag
• 6-mno - main,
• 2-abc - maina,
• 6-mno - mainam,
• 2-abc - mainama,
• 7-pqrs - mainamap,
• 3-def - mainamard.

It did not work out L. This happens not infrequently. And still, this word is typed in 14 clicks using the arrows instead of 18 in normal mode. Moreover, “>” is pressed 6 times - to speed up the process, you can put your finger on this button and not remove it.

After entering the word, you need to press "OK", a space automatically appears in the text (also "saving" one click), and if you want to put any punctuation mark, then iTAP will automatically return to the end of the word!

Another feature: when typing a word of 2-4 letters, several options from combinations of these letters will be offered at the bottom of the screen (classic T9). For example:

we type the word "pony",

the phone dials snow,

and below will offer options:

snow pony sony sonw sonx sonz son9,

move the arrow one position to the right and get the desired word.

But if you use the arrows at least once or if the word contains more than 4 letters, the phone will only offer options with the last letters changed.

For example, let's write "snowman":

And below are options for snown snowm snowo snow6.

That is, at this stage, we can replace only the last letter with the help of arrows.

To the question of the number of clicks in normal mode. To type a letter that is on the same button as the one I just typed, I (on my cell phone) need to move the cursor. For example, to type "cba", I would do the following: type "c" (three presses), move the cursor (otherwise, pressing the same key would replace the letter "c" with the letter "a"), then type "b" (2 pressing), move the cursor again and finally type "a". I know that on some models, to dial a character located on the same button as the previous one, you just need to wait, and it will not be replaced, but this will not speed up the process, since you can dial several characters during the waiting time. It can be called pleasant that at any time when typing, by pressing two or three buttons, you can switch to normal or numeric input. (Menu - iTAP - Numeric - Tap right in the editing process).

But ... the most unpleasant thing for many of us: as often happens, the Russian language turned out to be “in flight”. If you type Russian words in Latin, the effect will disappear: it is unlikely that in the iTAP or T9 dictionary we will find such a set of words as in the sentence “Pozvoni mne domoi pogalysta, ya yge gdu.Tvoi zaichik!” :). I think it will be easier to enter words in the usual way.

Of course, we are waiting for the beginning of the "total" Russification of mobile phones, but ... The Russian language is undoubtedly more difficult than English: more letters in the alphabet, richer vocabulary, more difficult grammar. Russian cases and conjugations will make the developers of this system work hard, but we will also improve our English !

Conclusions. The considered system certainly deserves attention. Thanks to iTAP, typing and editing text on a mobile phone is much easier. Some words are entered three times faster than in the usual way! So far, the T9 and iTAP have not become an alternative to small portable keyboards, but this is already a big step forward. Unfortunately, the Russian language is not supported, and transliteration is ineffective. We are waiting for the arrival of the Russian language and similar T9 systems in every mobile phone!

I think that with similar systems we will "live" to voice typing in mobile devices.

The iOS keyboard has a lot of advantages, but not everything that is useful and actively used by one group of users is convenient for another.

Predictive set - what is it

Whenever, while typing, a mobile device offers you options for ending words or even entire phrases, you are dealing with predictive input. Predictive text input allows you to speed up the process of transforming users' thoughts into text due to such tips, as well as correcting common mistakes.

Examples of predictive input systems are the legendary T9, iTAP or QuickType on iOS.

For some, the ability to enter entire sentences with just a few taps on the screen seems attractive, but there are also those users who are only distracted and annoyed by such a fast typing option. In this case, you can simply disable this feature and forget about the inconvenience.

How to Disable Keyboard Tips in iOS

Open any application on your mobile device that allows you to call the keyboard. It can be "Messages", "Notes", "Mail" or something else.

Then look for a key on the keyboard to switch between languages ​​or a key with a smiley image that appears in its place. Click on it and hold your finger on the screen until a menu appears. Then just drag the slider next to the "Predictive Dial" line to the "off" position.

You can also turn off predictive typing in your iPhone or iPad settings: Settings > General > Keyboard > Predictive Typing.

If you did not find an answer to your question or something did not work out for you, and there is no suitable solution in the comment below, ask a question through our . It's fast, simple, convenient and doesn't require registration. You will find answers to your and other questions in the section.

It happens that you come up with something, but you don’t know what it should be called. There seems to be an understanding of the essence, but it’s impossible to find the same on the Internet for seemingly sane requests. In this case, I was lucky - I accidentally came across a phone that can do exactly what is needed, so I managed to find out what this function is called “predictive number entry”. For those who use the phone to make calls rather than throwing birds at pigs, this functionality should be a huge time and nerve saver.

How do we usually call, for example, Alexei Ivanov? Something like this:
1) Unlocked the phone,
2) Clicked "Notebook",
3) Pressed "2444433" to see a shortened list of contacts with the substring "ale" (i.e. Alexei and Alexandra mostly),
4) We appreciated that typing his popular name in its entirety in order to proceed to entering an equally popular surname is a rather long matter (you would have to dial the following sequence: “444663344”), so we decide to move up and down with the arrows in order to get to the desired contact as soon as possible.

In total, in about a dozen button presses, we made the desired call. This is not too much, and you can endure if there are no normal alternatives. But they do exist! So how do we accomplish the same task given a predictive set of numbers?
1) Unlocked the phone,
2) We immediately typed a short “243” (this is to instantly get to the state after point (3) from the previous approach) - after all, a list of all the lines of the notebook that contain a substring that can be assembled from the letters on the second one was formed especially for us, fourth and third buttons, respectively.
3) And in this list, you can use the same buttons up and down to run to the desired Alexei Ivanov, and if the list is still too long, then just dial a few more numbers (“463”) to weed out Aleksandrov from the resulting list.

It seems that we saved only one point (opening a notebook), but in fact we really unloaded our fingers and head: we don’t need to dial a long sequence of numbers, we don’t need to remember which letter “l” comes in order on the “4” button - everything is much faster and easier. By the way, in the case of touch screens, this is also sometimes used (a smartphone dialer often turns out to be more convenient than an honest notebook keyboard, since it is easier to hit large buttons with numbers than small buttons with letters, see the beginning of the explanatory video about RapDialer).

But for some reason, almost nothing is written about this functionality in the network, neither in Russian nor in English. I could not even find an explanatory video about a push-button telephone, but with it this text would be much clearer. I don’t even know how to find out if this feature is built into the candidate phone (almost all models write about predictive input, but usually this means T9 support when entering text messages), so everything has to be checked in the salon, which takes time . That's why let's get in

Almost all mobile devices today have a smart keyboard that suggests words for super-fast typing. However, it is not ideal and sometimes it may not produce the best combinations of letters. How does it work?

This technology is called predictive set. What it is? Android users have had such smart keyboards (post-T9) for several years now. However, even before the official Google app added predictive typing, Swype and SwiftKey created a keyboard that featured the most commonly used words.

Subtleties of application

Let's consider some nuances, saying that this is a predictive set. iPhone and iPad, for example, with the advent of iOS 8 also have this functionality. But unlike Android, predictive typing on Apple devices isn't as perfect. At first, word autocorrect can be very unfortunate, and it takes time for the device to “learn”. Also, you need to develop a good typing skill for smart keyboards to work well. If you type words with typos or errors, the system may not recognize them correctly.

How does the predictive set work?

What is it in practice? In its main form, the predictive keyboard uses text that you enter regularly. All the words you type are remembered by the system to create a user-defined local dictionary of words and phrases that you repeat frequently. The device then suggests these words to you if you are likely to use them or need them again.

For example, if you type a certain word and your keyboard has never seen it before, it will suggest correcting it for another that it thinks is more likely. You have three options:

• you can accept one of the proposed fixes;
• ignore offers and leave everything as it is;
• add it to your personal dictionary so that the system doesn't bother you when you type it again.

How is the user dictionary populated?

If you use the correction and select one of the options already suggested, it is obvious that the keyboard will continue to consider the word incorrect and suggest replacing it in the future. If you add it to your dictionary, the keyboard will immediately "recognize" it and suggest it the next time you type a similar combination of letters or use similar words before and after this word, but skip it.

Also, the keyboard still enables this functionality if you ignore predictive typing. What does it mean? The first or second time you skip correcting or saving a word, it's assumed that it's not a spelling mistake, but it's also not a word you use often enough to be represented in similar usage patterns. If you ignore it a third or fourth time (it depends on the specific keyboard), the system will mark it as a future likely choice and will still start suggesting it as you type similar words or offers.

Thus, you don't have to worry about how to enable predictive dialing - most modern devices have it by default.

How do smart keyboards differ?

Almost every modern keyboard uses the technology mentioned above. However, there are clear differences between the prompts that your phone system makes by default and those received from the virtual keyboards of SwiftKey, Fleksy or Swype services.

What do they do differently? The only thing these products have in common is that they try to suggest words. This is where the comparisons end. Tips can be as simple as the old T9 Nuance keyboards. They concern values ​​based on keys that have been used previously. Such devices typically use lists or dictionaries of words.

Modern technologies

And what is predictive dialing in iPhone and Android? Today, more advanced smart keyboards take a different approach to tooltips. It is based on natural language processing and machine learning. Language modeling is exactly what the described function gives, i.e. it allows you to "recognize" certain words. As a rule, they are combined into a whole in the language used. Thus, the accuracy of such keyboards is usually much higher than that of older push-button keyboards.

How to enable predictive dialing on iPhone? As a rule, it is enabled by default, but if this option is inactive, just go to the keyboard settings and select the appropriate menu item. You can disable this option in the same way, but this is not recommended.

The experts explain that today's smarter keyboards use cloud services and reverse processing to improve their hints, sync user dictionaries across devices, and add new words to them without forcing users to download huge updates or retrain their devices.

They also offer cloud services that can perform many functions. Some of the most common include:

• entering the name of a contact from online services in a hint;
• analysis of your record in various online services for updating and thus personalization of the word store;
• saving and synchronizing your language model.

This allows the functionality to be used on multiple devices and not be lost if it is damaged or stolen. Also available today is to dynamically update your language model based on other information from real-time sites such as Twitter.

For example, Swype's Live Language feature allows your vocabulary to be updated with popular trends on the web and in in social networks. SwiftKey offers SwiftKey Cloud, additional service, which can connect to your Twitter, Google, or Facebook account to see what you've said on those networks or in your email.

Google's predictive keyboard is similar, except it uses what you type on Android device, as well as everything you enter in your Google accounts, web history, Google+, etc. In all cases, these features are optional, must be selected, and can be easily excluded.

How to improve your results?

Now that we understand how predictive typing works (what it is and how to use it), you can follow some simple steps to improve your keyboard. It's important to remember that good tips take time and preparation, so you won't be able to go from regular errors to high accuracy overnight, but each step will get you closer to comfort.

What can you do?

Add words to the dictionary. Many users don't and rely on the keyboard to simply look up words already in the dictionary. The system can learn on its own, but the process takes much longer, and depending on how often you use specific phrases, they may rank below their own keyboard prompts. If you're using a certain word that your keyboard tries to correct more than twice, add it.

Learn to edit a dictionary. Just as you regularly add words, you should remove from it those that he suggests using and which you do not need. If your keyboard simply insists that you type in a name or city name instead of a common word, your best bet is to simply remove it entirely from your user dictionary and enter it manually when you need to type it.

Turn on cloud features and make sure all your words are on all your devices and you don't have to repeat "learning". Connecting the keyboard to other applications, or selecting one of them using the system dictionary instead of application dictionaries, will make typing easier. However, in this case, you may run into a problem how to clear the predictive set if you mistakenly store many misspelled words.

Finally, using keys that always use up-to-date cloud dictionaries (like Swype's Living Language) means your keyboard will always have and understand new words if you choose to use them. For example, if you use google keyboard by default on Android, enable "personalized suggestions".

Often on different forums, users ask if there is a T9 on an iPhone? How does this feature work? How to turn it on or, conversely, turn it off? After all, it is more convenient and easier for someone with the auto-correction mode to type text, while someone, on the contrary, experiences discomfort. So let's figure it out together.

In fact, there is no T9 on the iPhone. This option was on old push-button smartphones, where you had to limit yourself to just 9 buttons, which were responsible for a set of numbers, letters and symbols. As for the iPhone, there is an auto-correction mode. But out of habit, they continue to call it T9.

What is its essence? AutoCorrect is based on controlling what the user writes in a text message field. In addition to this, the program automatically corrects what is written if it suddenly sees an unfamiliar word.

Autocorrect tries to predict your actions and suggests from its dictionary the options that it thinks you would like to type. Moreover, if the user does not react in any way to the pop-up window, that is, does not click on the cross, refusing this word, then an automatic replacement occurs. It is enough to press the spacebar and move on to typing another word.

In some cases, such a replacement turns out to be logical. But sometimes, as a result, instead of an understandable message in viber, vk or vatsap, it turns out sheer nonsense.

Much here depends on the user. Some owners of iOS gadgets quickly adapt to this style of typing when you need to keep track of what the program has to offer. As a result, they manage to quickly write SMS from a smartphone. But there are those to whom the so-called T9 only interferes. Due to automatic word substitutions, they get incomprehensible and even strange messages.

Therefore, if auto-correct does not improve your message typing speed, then it is best to turn it off. How to do this - find out further.

For reference! The Auto-Correct feature is enabled by default on the iPhone.

How to disable and enable t9 on iphone?

Removing autocorrect words from the list of active options is easy. This procedure will take you no more than a couple of minutes. And it doesn’t matter what iPhone you have - 4, 4s, 5s, 6, SE, 7, 8 or X. Everything is done in just a couple of steps:

1. Go to the "Settings" menu on the iPhone.
2. Go to the "Basic" section.
3. Next, scroll down the page a little and tap on the "Keyboard" subsection.
4. Disable the "Autocorrect" option by moving the slider to the inactive position.
5. We are glad that T9 will no longer interfere with the process of writing SMS or messages in instant messengers.

How, on the contrary, to enable auto-correction, we think it's understandable. Just activate the switch so that it lights up green.

For reference! Try to get used to typing with the word autocorrect option turned on. After all, this feature is very useful. Especially if you sometimes have to write cumbersome terms and various long words.

Customize for yourself

We recommend that you try setting up "Autocorrection" and generally speed dialing for yourself, so that these options really help you when typing and chatting. What's more, it's easy to do. Open the “General” section in the settings of the iOS device and select the “Keyboard” item there, and then “Autocorrect”. Here you can:

1. Teach her new words. For example, in the "Keyboard" subsection, tap on the "Abbreviations" block. Then click on New Abbreviation. Write the full phrase and its abbreviated version - the same abbreviation. Click save. Now try to create a message and write an abbreviation. The system will offer you the full version - it will be enough to tap on it or press the space bar.
2. Ask them to highlight misspelled words. To do this, simply activate the "Spelling" option.
3. Activate the mode in which you will be offered options for continuing the phrase(the system takes into account your previous conversations, writing style and the most frequent words). You can do this in the "Keyboard" subsection by enabling the option called "Predictive typing".
4. Set the default spelling of words with capital letters if they come first in the sentence. Just turn on the "Autocaps" feature.

Finally, we will discuss one more important point. Does it concern how to clear the T9 dictionary on an iPhone? After all, as you use it accumulates here a large number of accidentally added or misspelled words that interfere with speed dialing. Therefore, the iOS auto-correct dictionary needs to be reset periodically. To do this, in the settings, go to the "General" section, tap on the "Reset" item and select "Reset Keyboard Dictionary". By doing so, you will delete words (including erroneous variants - for example, "spy" instead of "sleep") added during your use of the device.