Peer-reviewed research
Improving text entry performance on tablet devices
Élvio Rodrigues et al., Eurographics conference proceedings (Eurographics, DOI 10.2312/pt20131347), 2013 · DOI 10.2312/pt20131347
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- A 2013 paper from a Lisbon university that tested a virtual QWERTY keyboard for tablets and five variants with twenty young adults. It reports typing speed in words per minute and error types, and finds that adding word prediction slowed typing.
- How much weight it carries
- Peer-reviewed, but small: twenty young adults on one tablet setup, and tests run in the study's own conditions. The text we read gives the direction of the effects, not a typical tablet speed in words per minute.
Facts taken from this source
- The 2013 tablet study concluded that a virtual QWERTY keyboard without visual changes was the fastest method for text entry among the ones it tested.
“a virtual QWERTY keyboard without visual changes is the fastest method for text entry” (Abstract)
- The 2013 tablet study tested its virtual keyboards with twenty young adults.
“were tested by twenty young adults” (Abstract)
- The authors state that text entry on touch devices is slower and more error-prone than on a traditional computer keyboard.
“slower and more error -prone than on traditional computer keyboards” (Section 4 (QWERTY variants))
- In the 2013 tablet study, word prediction further decreased typing speed on a virtual QWERTY keyboard, without improving the error rate.
“further decreases typing speed, without improving the error rate” (Abstract)