[Big Mac]

Although I'm decent at iPhone virtual keyboard typing, I know I could be better. I wanted to get an app that would measure my virtual keyboard speed, so i downloaded TapTyping Typing Speed Test, a highly rated app for this purpose. This isn't a review yet; I'm just opening up the discussion.

On the first test I got 21 WPM. Not very good, especially for a person who types in the 80+ WPM range on a real keyboard. I don't like that this app doesn't use the iPhone convention of capitalizing the next letter after a period-that slowed me down, among other things. Then I looked at the leaderboard and found the best iPhone typists to be in the mid-70 WPM. One even got up to 80 WPM on a damn virtual keyboard. Wow. Pretty awesome if true. (I have my doubts.)

It's not the most important skill to me, but I'd like to improve. The problem I have what this is, it's not like touch typing. You can't build muscle memory. I don't understand how people can be as fast and accurate as those top scores suggest.

[subego]

28 WPM, one thumb, portrait mode.

I know I'd register as faster if I didn't need to shift focus back and forth. Likewise, you get in a zone where you just "trust the autocorrect", and let it fix the crazy non-words you end up typing when you go for speed. This isn't represented in the app at all, even with the basics. AFAIC, on an iPhone, the proper way to type "iPhone" is "iphone".

It's been awhile since I've taken a test on a full size keyboard. I'd guess I'm somewhere between 40-60 WPM.