Don't get me wrong. I love my iPad. The only thing I don't like is that is "corrects" words - substitutes what I wanted to say with a word that is total rubbish.

One example -- I was writing to a friend "... it was making scratches on the table and I didn't notice."

When I finished the email, I looked back and the stupid iPad had typed "It was making scratches on the tablecloth and I didn't notice."

It does that ALL the time. If you turn autocorrect off, then you get dont instead of don't -- and I hate that too!

The above is just one example.

I still have a Blackberry. My BB NEVER EVER changes words to rubbish. In many ways I would like an iPhone. So I have to decide which do I want: big pictures and lots of apps - but texts and emails that contain rubbish - with the iPhone. Or small pics and few apps but texts and emails that come out how you want them to.

I don't suppose there is a way to have both. I wonder what the new Blackberry without the physical keyboard is like. Anyone got one? I looked at Android and the new ones are so ENORMOUS. Most of them are just about the size of my Playbook Tablet!!

You may be talking about the newest form factor - the Phablet. Phone/Tablet. Very big screen. But there are regular size Android smartphones too. As to your main question, I have the same issue with my Android, and I haven't found a way to turn it off. But you're right, if I did, I wouldn't get the word contractions and so forth. So I've just learned to watch it more closely - which doesn't mean I don't miss now and then.

_________________
Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock

I don't really know mobiles at all but can you 'add' to the dictionary? In your example add 'table' to the dictionary although it is hard to image that table would not already be there.

Just curious, again with your example, if you typed "... it was making scratches on the table but I didn't notice." or "... it was making scratches on the table, I didn't notice." instead of "... it was making scratches on the table and I didn't notice." would the change still be made?

_________________

Not sure about that!! I think these smart phones are not quite as smart as they think they are!! My old regular cell phone had a dictionary in it and you could add words, but I am not sure if the iPad does. I think it's a common problem. My dil has an iPhone and she says she often sends rubbish if she doesn't check first, but usually the word the iphone chooses is enough for the recipient to figure out what you are saying.

I am more fussy about apostrophes than I am with capitals. if i am in a hurry i will send messages without capitals!

I wonder if the new Blackberry Z10 without the physical keyboard does the same thing? Probably. I think its a feature of those virtual keyboards. I guess we should be happy that they are not as smart as humans!

Don't have any answers to that as I don't have an iPhone or iPad. I've just got an HTC Wildfire S and an LG GT540, I switch between the 2. I'm waiting for a new phone, my carrier is upgrading me for a small increase on what I pay a month now and sending me a Nokia Lumia 520 for free. I'm really looking forward to getting it, at least I'm used to the system it runs, Windows 8, I would have had it by now if they hadn't run out of supplies.

_________________
Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

You can add to the dictionary on my phone. Not terribly intuitive, but you can. Not that smart? Heck, my phone is just about as smart as my desktop pc. If I lost my desktop pc and didn't have the funds to replace it, I could live with my smartphone and even run my business on it. And it does lots of things my desktop does not do - like anything related to GPS or being mobile. And I can hold it in my hand. Imagine that!

Just an aside, I was reading something the other day, I think it was on the Microsoft Research site - and it was talking about translation applications and how, in the future, you may be able to say something to your phone in English, and hear it speak what you said in another language, while you are speaking; and, get this... in your voice! Star Trek again!

_________________
Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock

No need to wait: http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=22626 or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.translate

_________________
Best regards,
Manny Carvalho
MS-MVP since 2002

Awesome... I wonder how well it works. Of course that's not in your own voice.

_________________
Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock

Yes. I think maybe the fact that some phones are smarter than your desktop would be the reason I would not get an iPhone. Someone on my local used website was selling an iPad for that very reason. He said he does everything on his iPhone. Seeing I don't work - having the iPad is useful because it's big. But if I got an iPhone, the iPad might sit unused. So when I get a new phone, I might very well get the Blackberry Q10 with the physical keyboard - so long as I can text and take reasonable photos on it - I can transfer the photos to to iPad and see them bigger there.

I can see why, if you work, it would be much more convenient to have a phone that does everything than various devices that do some of the things.

In IOS 7 (currently beta testing) the predictive text is much more "clever" for example if you spell. "Tonight i'm giong otu back laeter it" will auto correct the whole sentence to the correct spelling once you've finished typing.

I do find it annoying when you type a word and it auto corrects it to something else but I've grown used to this now!

_________________
Michael
Senior Infrastructure Engineer (Wintel) - Infrastructure Management
Degree: Computer Systems - BSc (Hons)
Certs: CCNA, CCNA:Security, MCP, MCTS, MCSA, MCITP:SA,
MCITP:EMA 2010, MCSE:Server 2008, VTSP5, ITIL V3 Foundation
http://www.michaelriccioni.com

I love the way the spelling works on my Lumia, start a text and along the top are words that begin with the letter you just put and you can just click on a word if it's the one you want, I've been able to nearly write a whole sentence just clicking on the suggested words. The input is a keyboard layout rather than phone pad with Predictive Text.
I love it.

_________________
Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

I blew out a keyboard when I was in Ohio and had to use Windows on-screen board for about a week. While it was a pain I liked the 'suggested words' function that was thrown up. As long as I remembered to keep an eye on the suggested words it did not take any longer to type something then with a real keyboard.

_________________