One-Thumb Keyboard

Posted by timothy on Wednesday June 11, 2003 @08:57AM 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.

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Typing speed? by GoatEnigma · 2003-06-11 09:07 · Score: 4, Insightful

I wonder how proficient anyone could ever get on this thing. It clearly is not a solution for desktop, but it seems doubtful as a handheld replacement either. Typing speed is the major problem with handhelds these days anyway - Graffitti for Palm lets me do about 15 wpm and that's after 3 years of practice.
I would bet on voice recognition or blackberry-style data input for handhelds before I bet on thumb-only input.
[aside]It kind of reminds me of those old Colecovision controllers....[/aside]