text input on t610

Hi,

had a quick play with a t610 in a store today but didn't get much time and
the moron who was serving me was rushing me. My question is...

The predicitive text input writing sms - it appears only to be possible to
cycle through word matches using the joystick. Is this true? # key appeared
to change the case of the word, the * key created a space. The 0(+) key made
a dialogue flash up saying "not in dictionary", even for simple words like
HAVE to HATE etc (these words could be cycled through using the joystick).
The kid serving me didn't know what i was on about and was keen to get rid
of me anyway when i asked him. If this is the case, if it enough to drive an
experienced nokia user round the bend in frustration or do you get used to
it?

also, how fast is the phone to react? can it produce say 1.5 to 2 words per
second or would i have to write the message then come back 10 minutes later
to find it on the screen like i did with my t68m?

any clues guys? thanks.

--
-Dave