Text Input Instructions

For typing accounts, passwords and messages, the available text input modes commonly include the following:

Multi-tap (usually indicated as alpha/ALPHA and abc/ABC)
T9® Text Input (often indicated as a T9 icon, Quick, Word, etc.)
SYMBOLS (often indicated as SYM)
NUMBERS (often indicated as NUM)

Select the appropriate input mode before you start typing. It is usually easiest to type accounts and passwords using "multi-tap" mode, which is often indicated as "alpha" or "abc" mode for lowercase letters. Uppercase letters are usually indicated as "ALPHA" or "ABC." You may have to press the "*" key to toggle between alpha, ALPHA, and sometimes +ALPHA, which includes accented characters.

Most phones default to the multi-tap mode. For typing text messages, T9 Text Input is nearly twice as fast as multi-tap.

TIP If your phone has T9 Text Input, on most phones you also can save your screen name and password in the T9 Text Input dictionary for quicker re-entry. Just start in T9 Text Input mode, then change to multi-tap (alpha or abc) mode. Type the name using multi-tap, then switch back to T9 Text Input mode.

Using Multi-tap Text Input
Prior to T9 Text Input technology, typing messages on a wireless phone was extremely tedious and required using the standard "multi-tap" method for entering text. Multi-tapping requires multiple key presses per letter (for example, 3 presses of the 6 key to get the letter "o"). To enter the letter "s", for example, press the 7 key 4 times; to enter the letter "x", press the 9 key twice.

Don't be afraid to experiment. To correct errors, press: CLEAR or BACK key. If successive letters employ the same key, pause a moment or two until the cursor moves to the right.

Numbers are entered by pressing the appropriate key 4 or 5 times (depending upon whether the key supports 3 or 4 letters). Just watch the screen. For basic symbols such as a period, keep pressing the 1 key until the desired symbol is displayed.

Using T9^® Text Input
For typing messages, T9 Text Input is nearly twice as fast as multi-tapping, and is the easiest way to enter text using the limited keypad on a mobile phone:

Just one key press per letter with no multi-tapping
Extensive dictionary including proper names
Ability to add words to the T9 Text Input dictionary
Available in many languages
Full punctuation and symbol capabilities

On wireless phones, T9 Text Input enables you to perform common tasks such as messages, Web access, notes, and lists easier than using the multi-tap method. By using the letters grouped on each of the phone keys and a highly compressed dictionary, T9 Text Input software requires just one key press per letter, and quickly recognizes the most commonly used word of a key sequence.

For example, to enter the word "how," you can spell out the word by pressing only three keys, 4-6-9. T9 Text Input knows that the most commonly used word with that numeric sequence is "how."

If more than one word share the same numeric sequence, T9 Text Input software provides the most commonly used word, with the ability to scroll to the next most commonly used word by pressing the 0 (NEXT) key.

On many phones with T9 Text Input, you can also add words to the T9 Text Input user dictionary. Start in T9 Text Input mode, then change to alpha or ABC mode. Type the word using multi-tap, then switch back to T9 mode. You are now able to type the word using T9 Text Input mode. You may need to press the 0 (NEXT) key if more than one word share the same key sequence. Use this feature to save your screen name and password for quicker re-entry.

T9 Text Input's award-winning technology has been licensed by nearly all of the major phone manufacturers, making it the global standard for mobile text input. Click the T9 icon for more help using T9 Text Input.