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One-Thumb Keyboard

Posted by timothy on from the thumbs-don't-clap dept.

pagercam2 writes "As Japanese teens are so used to typing one another messages on their cellphones, they are now more comfortable with one thumb typing than the old two handed QWERTY. So a Japanese company has come out with a one-thumb keypad that allows a user to enter alphanumberic text and control the mouse with only one thumb. Sort of a cross between a TV remote and a phone keypad, with a USB connection, although wireless seems to be an obvious next step. Maybe not a revolution for the desktop, but this could advance data input on handhelds." Pictures transcend language barriers.

8 of 310 comments (clear)

  1. Also featured in Wired this month by Das+Kamikaze · · Score: 2, Informative

    Although they didn't say much more about it...

    Wired blurb

  2. Re:Medical Applications by aridhol · · Score: 5, Informative
    For those who have lost a single hand, there's always the one-handed Dvorak keyboard.

    For those who have lost both hands, I think we need to look at new technology...

    --
    I can't say that I don't give a fuck. I've just run out of fuck to give.
  3. Re:I don't get it. by TheCrazyFinn · · Score: 3, Informative

    No You don't.

    Kawaii=cute

    Along with Sugoi (Great/Incredible), it's one of the two generic exclamations in anime.

    --
    "You've got an invalid haircut" -Warren Zevon - Life'll Kill Ya
  4. Another, similar project by beatniklew · · Score: 2, Informative

    This site features a goos system for one handed data imput. It makes more sense to me than the pictures from the japanese sight did anyway.

  5. Re:Typing speed? by dhovis · · Score: 2, Informative
    Graffitti for Palm lets me do about 15 wpm and that's after 3 years of practice.

    There are other options out there. One is the fitaly keyboard, which is supposed to be optimized for use with a stylus. They claim you can get 50 wpm. I've never tried it, but it certainly looks easier than Graffitti to me. Anybody out there tried it?

    --

    --
    The internet is the greatest source of biased information in the history of mankind.

  6. Not a new thougt by phre4k · · Score: 2, Informative

    Thinkgeek also has a one hand keyboard. Works a bit different though.

    --
    "Nobody really checks their email any more. They just delete their spam"
  7. Re:Nice... by BJH · · Score: 2, Informative

    Boy, where to start with a post like that...

    1) There's around 50,000 Chinese characters used in the Japanese language. Of those, around 2000 are used regularly.

    2) Entering Japanese requires only that you type in the phonetic reading. You can then convert that (wholly or in part) to a mixture of Kanji (the Chinese characters), hiragana (the standard Japanese phonetic 'alphabet') and katakana (which is almost exactly equivalent to hiragana, but is usually used for writing terms imported from foreign languages and for emphasis, among other things).

    3) A Japanese typist can do a lot more than 10wpm. Shit, a schoolgirl on her mobile phone can do more than that one-handed (there was a survey recently conducted by a Japanese university professor that showed that young people who regularly use a mobile phone for mail can type at up to half the speed of a person using a full keyboard).

  8. Meaning of "keiboard" by misterplow · · Score: 2, Informative
    This is not a big deal, but non-Japanese speakers won't appreciate the play on words in the naming of the product.

    KEITAI = portable
    DENWA = telephone

    (most people refer to their "keitai denwa" simply as their "keitai")

    So the word "keiboard" is a mix of "keyboard" in the shape of a "keitai"

    Just a little Japanese trivia for ya.