Have just tried out a touch screen, having always had a traditional keypad (old Nokia N95) and found texting near on impossible!

Do I just need to give it time or should I try a qwerty instead?

Thanks!

You need to give it time. I had the same problem when upgrading from my old phone to a desire. I was very used to a qwerty keyboard and at first it seemed weird not having the tactile feedback that you get from the keys. However I'm now almost as fast as I was with the qwerty!

As to whether or not I'd upgrade to a qwerty enabled phone, maybe! I could live with a little (2.26mm) extra thickness in return for one (Desire Z). Right now, I'm happy as I am though.

What phone have you upgraded to? If it's Android or Symbian you could try out one of the alternative keyboards like Swype where you just drag your finger between the letters you want to press - it takes some getting used to but a lot of people find it the quickest and most accurate way of typing on a touchscreen.

Of course, if it's an iPhone, I guess you'll just have to get used to it.

I have a Desire and a BB Bold. I prefer the Bold's keyboard for typing on, but the Desire for the internet. If the BB6 browser is better, I will stick with just Blackberry. On the Desire I find it easier to type with the keyboard sound on, which sounds like a typewriter.

Been using an iphone for 2 and a half years now and gave no issues with a touch screen, it does take a bit of getting used to though.

Or buy a bluetooth keyboard.

i perfer BLACKBERRY quertys or whatever there called

one of my mates even wrote back jaysus slow down your txting loads

he only has a shitty screen so it was probly like as essay on his phone

had touch phones and found them all just taking a bit of time but never beat actuall buttons

for touch i think probly apple will remain the best i dunno

Reminds me but can someone recommend a free keyboard program for the San Francisco?
The bog standard screen keyboard is a bit too small for my fingers.

Good capacitive touchscreens are much better than hideous little phone keyboards.

Obviously if you're using a Samsung Tocco it'll be rubbish. But an iPhone is a dream.

I can type faster than ever before on my iPhone. No need to push down anything as you just touch the screen.

You get used to it. My phone is a touch screen with a qwerty keyboard on screen.

I had a touch screen (Nokia 5230) for ages and ages, and never quite got used to it. I got up to a decent speed with the Swype on screen keyboard software, but it still wasn't the same as a real keypad and it took a lot of concentration to type the right words! Having to look at the screen constantly was irritating.

Now, I'm using a cheap Android, an Alcatel OT-980. It has an awful unresponsive touch screen, but it also has a slide-out QWERTY keypad and despite it being a bit of a cheapie no-make cell phone, it's possibly the best phone I've had for my needs, which are mainly messaging. I can tap out quite long messages really quickly.

It's horses for courses - lots of people love their touchscreen iPhones and Desires, but for me personally, a real keypad can't be beaten.

Blackberry Bold 9700 keypad for me wins hands down. Do not like touch screen AT ALL.

I have the Desire Z which is the best of both worlds! A full qwerty keyboard with dedicated tab, full stop, comma and @ keys amongst others, and also a reasonable on-screen qwerty for when it's something quick!

You shouldn't have to 'get used to something' for it to be good. you could say 'it's good once you're used to it' about absolutely anything no matter how crap it is.

Or a keyboard case

The iphone is a dream to text with compared to my old Samsung Galaxy Portal, where you needed the fingers of a five year old to text. I used to have to turn the phone on its side to type which worked ok but then you lost the ability of being able to text with one hand - good luck with the touch screen!