T9

T9

(Text on 9 Keys) A text input system from Nuance Communications, Inc., Burlington, MA (www.nuance.com/t9) that adds intelligence to multi-tapping cellphone keypads. For example, instead of pressing 8-4-4-3-3 for "the," only pressing 8-4-3 is required. For words with several meanings, the default word is displayed first, followed by a list of other words. To enter a proprietary name, the user switches back to conventional multi-tapping mode.

AOL Tapped the Potential
T9 was developed by start-up Tegic Communications, which was acquired by AOL in 1999. Heavily promoted for faster messaging, T9 was embedded in millions of handsets worldwide. In 2007, Nuance acquired the technology. See multi-tapping and cellphone keyboard.

A Telephone Keypad
Multi-tapping requires pressing 8-4-4-3-3 for the word "t-h-e," but T9 only needs 8-4-3.