502
Back in my day...
(lemmy.world)
T9word for the win
There was a significant period of time where I was faster with t9 than the physical keyboard on my original Droid.
T9 was eons better than trying to cram all 26 letters of the alphabet on a touchscreen
To this day I still feel superior for knowing how to use the T9 when everyone else was mashing buttons like plebs.
Plus you could keep the phone in you pocket while you texted in class, meaning the teacher couldn't see you
It wasn't necessarily unlimited texting either. Some plans had a fixed amount of texts per month.
This just unlocked a core memory of "prank me when you're here." As in, call me a hang up before I answer so it's free because texting or answering the call would cost money.
what's cool about t9 is that you can also cipher shit pretty easily and most people wouldn't bother to decipher it. 94281702665022688081047084280968022602576024743707448077388903274590263066780736753096853618026843708603324743704810
I never used the t9 text prediction crap. I multi-pressed every character into existence with >5wpm. With the phone still in my pocket.
Smashing the keys so fast the phone is still typing when you stop.
What a powerfully specific memory
That takes me back. Indeed that's what happened. Of course on a Nokia.
a man of culture right here. Salute!
And then the first time you learned about T9. Game changer.
It took some getting used to, but it was vastly superior to the new-age Morse Code OP is describing. Two words have the same numbers? "Next!"
I kinda miss being able to type under the table without looking. T9 was great
And limited letter too, that's why in that era everything can be shortened will be shortened.
K thx bye
Back when cell phones had physical buttons, I used to be able to type out entire sentences without even looking. Now get off my lawn!!
I want this for my tv remote so much! Navigating through an on screen keyboard with arrow keys is just horrible..
It's insane that manufacturers make smart TV remotes without a built in keyboard.
T9 texting also existed, with various levels of success. I remember trying it a bit and it did generally work but at least with the phone I had it was pretty annoying when it didn't. Should have used the 1 key to toggle T9 on/off and it would have been so much better.
I have a brick phone now actually and it doesn't even support T9 texting which is a shame, but I use it so rarely that it doesn't matter too much. It just exists so that I have a phone because our stupid society requires having a phone number.
I still have nightmares about dialing rotary phones. I miss old texting because I could do it without looking.
Well sure, gotta keep your eyes on the road and a knee on the wheel (because the other hand shoving a burger in your mouth)
You can do rotary phones without looking. The text messaging, though, not quite there yet.
I found it easier back then. The tactile nature meant that you didn't have to even glance at your phone to be able to type out whole sentences.
A was one press. B was two. C, that fella was three presses. D? Not five, back to one. Texting was tricky like that
this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2025
502 points (100.0% liked)
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