Effects of Keyboard Background on Mobile Text Entry

This paper presents results of a comparative study that investigated the effects of different types of keyboard backgrounds (themes) on actual and perceived text entry performance, in terms of speed and accuracy. Two color and two image backgrounds were compared with the default Google Android keyboard. Results revealed that keyboard background does not affect actual performance, however has a significant effect on perceived performance. Most participants felt that image backgrounds, regardless of whether they were pre or self-selected, affected their speed and accuracy. This suggests that it may be possible to enhance one's text entry experience simply by designing an effective keyboard theme. This paper concludes with reflections on how these findings could benefit text entry researchers and keyboard developers.