Repetitive patterns in the locations of touch errors for two-thumb text entry on a smartphone

Abstract

This study investigated repetitive patterns in the locations of touch errors as a function of the shapes and positions of soft buttons on a smartphone for two-thumb text entry. Forty-three right-handed college students with smartphone-use experience were recruited for testing. An experimental application was developed, and the locations and frequencies of touch errors were measured for the button combinations of seven shapes and eight positions. More than 70.0 % of touch errors occurred within 2 mm from the boundaries of the buttons. In terms of direction, touch errors were primarily observed below the buttons, across all the button shapes and positions. Simultaneously, touch errors often appeared on the lateral sides of the buttons: (1) close to the proximal phalange of the thumbs when the buttons were placed near the initial positions of the thumbs and (2) close to the initial positions of the thumbs when the buttons were placed near the top and bottom ends of the keyboard.