In this SIP shootout, we take an in-depth look at the various SIP options available to users and see how they fare. Every SIP was created with a different user in mind but for which one exactly? With SIP’s taking up the Main Memory, finding one that you can always use and removing the rest can save you precious Main Memory space that can be put to better use. If you have to read Part I of SIP Shootout, we urge you to do so. Another point is that we have added another SIP to the list based on a request by our readers: PocketCM’s Keyboard.

Final List Of SIPs In Shootout

• Keyboard
• Block/Letter Recognizer
• Transcriber
• Easy Keyboard (Eten)
• Phone Pad (HTC)
• TouchPal (Cootek)
• TenGO (TenGO)
• Keyboard (PocketCM)

Scoring In Shootout

A score will be given to each SIP based on the rank they get in that category. As there are 8 SIPs, the one rank the highest will be given 8 points, the second given 7 points and so forth with the last ranked given 1 point.

In the even of a tie for any position, the average of the summed points will be given to those in the tie. So if 2 SIPs ranked 1st and 2nd, they will each be given 7.5 points. If 3 SIPs ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd, they will each be given 7 points.

If a SIP is not ranked in that category, such as not having the feature, it will not be given any points.

Availibility of SIPs

Not all of these SIPs cost money and some of them, you can’t even attain (legally). Then there are those that are currently in development and are free for you to use until it’s launch. Based on this, the SIPs have been ranked accordingly

1. Keyboard - 7
1. Block/Letter Recognizer - 7
1. Transcriber - 7
4. Keyboard (PocketCM)- 5
5. TouchPal (Cootek) - 4
6. TenGO (TenGO) - 3
7. Easy Keyboard (Eten) - 1.5
7. Phone Pad (HTC) - 1.5

Reasons

The first 3 were ranked as such because they each come with every version of Windows Mobile so you would not have to spend any money on them. Thus they were the easiest available. Keyboard (PocketCM) was ranked next because it is still free with no pricing being announced. While it may go commercial one day, there was no mention of this and thus is considered free at this time. TouchPal ranked below Keyboard (PocketCM) because, while it is still free at this time, it will no longer be the case come next month. TenGO is a commercial product and needs to be purchased if you plan on using it after the trial period. Easy Keyboard and Phone Pad by Eten and HTC respectively were ranked the lowest because they both are only available (legally) on the manufacturer’s device.

Storage Space Uptake

Besides availability, I would say that this has to be a big consideration when considering a SIP. If it takes a lot of space, chances are it might not be as responsive as a smaller version. And even if it was responsive, Main Memory would be compromised.

1. Keyboard (PocketCM)- 497.7 KB - 8
2. Easy Keyboard (Eten) - 803.6 KB - 7
3. Phone Pad (HTC) - 1.41 MB - 6
4. TouchPal (Cootek) - 1.80 MB - 5
5. TenGO (TenGO) - 2.11 MB - 4
-. Keyboard - 0
-. Block/Letter Recognizer - 0
-. Transcriber - 0

Reasons

Keyboard (PocketCM) takes the crown in this round with the smallest footprint in the Main Memory. At only 497.7 KB, installing it on your device would the least impact among all the SIPs. The rest of the SIPs were ranked in the order of the amount of Main Memory they took up, the lesser, the higher their rank. Keyboard, Block/Letter Recognizer and Transcriber were not ranked because they could not be removed from the system (you can disable them but they will still be in the system). As such, they were not given any points.

Screen Coverage

The next feature of a SIP that you want to consider is how much screen space does it cover when activated. This means, when you call up the SIP, will it cover half the screen or just a small portion of it? Covering a smaller area makes some tasks such as drafting an email or surfing the web with shortcuts a lot easier because you have a lot more viewable screen. Compare this to a screen where the SIP takes up majority of the space.

1. Transcriber - 8
2. Keyboard - 6.5
2. Block/Letter Recognizer - 6.5
4. Keyboard (PocketCM) - 5
5. TenGO (TenGO) - 4
6. Phone Pad (HTC) - 3
7. TouchPal (Cootek) - 2
8. Easy Keyboard (Eten) - 1

Reasons

I guess the screen shot above speaks for itself. The percentage given is the area covered by the SIP, not taking into account the top and bottom bars. It should be noted that TenGO (TenGO) does have a smaller (called nano) keyboard together with the installation but for this test, we were using the most largest possible. Also, to use Transcriber, you will need to write on the screen and while this takes up real estate, it does not cover anything on the screen and was thus given the highest rank.

Predictive Text Input

In a world where people are trying to get things done as quickly as possible, having a SIP that can predict the words you want to enter can be a real time-saver. Instead of typing the whole word, you just need to type the first few letters and choose from a list that pops up. Adding words to the dictionary is also important, especially when you are always typing the same word (your name for example) over and over again.

1. Phone Pad (HTC) - 6.5
1. TouchPal (Cootek) - 6.5
1. TenGO (TenGO) - 6.5
1. Keyboard (PocketCM) - 6.5
-. Keyboard - 0
-. Block/Letter Recognizer - 0
-. Transcriber - 0
-. Easy Keyboard (Eten) - 0

Reasons

When we initially had this category, we were trying to look into how useful the predictive test of each SIP was. However, usefulness is very relative in this area because some might be using the SIP with words that may not be in the dictionary. Then we were looking at how SIPs handled new words and it appeared that those that had predictive text also had the ability to add new words. While some SIPs were better at this, the bottom line was that they were all capable of doing so.

So why not remove this category? We also considered that but felt it better to keep it for reference. Having predictive text is definitely useful and can make text input even faster than typing letter by letter. Thus the points given above were based on SIPs having predictive text capability and those that did not.

End Of Round II

We have come to the end of round II. Do come back next week where we will cover more in depth reviews of the SIPs and see how they stand up to one another in various tests.

Saturday Series is where we take a component of Windows Mobile and look at it in further detail. It’s reviews and comparisons combined into a series of posts that are published for a month. For the month of November 2007, we look at Soft Input Panels (SIPs) which is how users enter data into their Windows Mobile phone. If you have a suggestion for a series, let us know about it.

Tags: Series