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(Yet Another) Mobile Keypad
A reader wrote to us about Intel's newly unveiled mobile keypad, which, all things considered, doesn't look nearly as terrible as most mobile keypads. Still not exactly stirring, but not too bad either. Of course, there's getting it into production, licensing etc etc
Both pictures available in the article are too close-up to see the entire keypad...Here's a better pic:
http://www.futurebytes.ch/images/news/fastpad.jpg
:wq
The BBC covered this keypad in May last year and again in November .
If you read the article...
"Words can be typed by pressing the raised keys, and numbers by pressing the four keys that surround a particular number. " So ya...that kind of sucks.
It would be much better I would think if they DID leave the numeric funtions intact.
[I can picture a world without war, without hate. I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it]
I think the idea is that by pressing a number you are essentially pressing all four letters that surround that number at the same time and it interprets it as that number. That's how I see it it anyway. It does seem like a bit of a kludge no doubt, but I couldn't really say until I used it. It also seems to work under the assumption that everyone's fingers are the same size.
Everybody dies frustrated and sad and that is beautiful
The Fastap keypad does away with the need to press keys several times to scroll through the letters associated with each number.
There is a (partial) software solution. Try sending SMS messages from a Nokia 6210 or 6310 phone: there is this nifty dictionary that "knows" which word you are typing. As a result, you practically never need to press a key more than once to get the right letter.
This leaves inputting new telephone numbers, addresses, calendar entries, etc. Those usually contain names and other words that are not parts of the dictionary, so you do need to press the keys as many times as needed. This happens relatively infrequently (how often do you input a new phone number?) and is not a problem.
The hardware solution seems clunky to me. I don't SMS as often as European kids, but I do use the feature, and typing is fast and convenient.
I doubt anyone is going to have the dexterity to not hit those letter keys while meaning to just use the numeric part of the keypad.
This is just a wild guess but I think that this keypad depends on you "fat-fingering" it, meaning hitting more keys than you intended. I could imagine a keypad that takes into account the surrounding extra keys that are hit and averaging that into a center key. This is like a touch screen that localizes pressure in an area and translates that into a single point. If this keypad doesn't do that, how about someone putting one out that does? It would be cheaper than a real touch screen since the display would never change.
If this keypad works like I think it does, hitting one of the corner/letter keys outputs that letter, Hitting the center key and 2,3 or 4 letter keys simultaneously outputs the number key in the center. I am guessing that the center number key doesn't even depress, it could be just a picture. The average of the letter key gives the output. You fat finger the numbers when dialing, so you can be less careful in the most often used function and you are more precise when typing out a message with the text keys.
There have been several incorrect statements about how the input will work. Here's the facts that I found from a manufacturer of this device:
:).
:)
1) If you have small fingers you can press the inset button to get a number.
2) If you have large fingers you can press the four buttons surrounding the number.
But what happens when you hit 2 of the surrounding buttons? Or one alpabetic button and a one numeric button. This mistake could happen if you were trying to hit the letter or the number, so there is no real smarts that could be added to the device to make it "forgiving" to these types of mistakes. So, without using the device I will still have concerns about how easy it is to mash the wrong button combinations.
Also, full blown handwritting or speach recognition not panaceas, when you concider that it is not uncommon for a people to make mistakes reading their own handwritting, or listening to other people.
Although it would be interesting if hand printing and diction started being taught in school again to help with computer interfaces, I don't think that they will ever become the primary input method for a computer. Typing is faster than handwriting, and more accurate. And having cubicles full of people talking to computers all day would be too annoying (then again I've never worked in a call center
For cell phones, eatoni's WordWise is the best thing I have seen yet. It is a predictive method. And let me tell you I hate most predictive input methods, and usually end up switching back to multi-tap. But with wordwise you use a shift key to provide a little more info, which lets it do an incredably good job at guessing. The site has a bunch of research that shows how the number of keystrokes is smaller than both predictive and multitap methods. Plus, unlike predictive methods where your next keypress can dependant on what the current guess is, WordWise is non-modal, allowing your actions to become habituated, and thus even faster (ie you can touch type on it).
For PDA's Quick Writing is very cool. It requires you to learn the input method, just like you have to learn how to type, but is it damn fast. Faster than grafitti, and often even faster than handwriting. Think of it as cursive on amphetamines
- jackson
I think the solution to the mobile keyboard problem would be for everyone to learn stenography -- like court reporters use. The key boards on the stenography devices use a minimal key set. This would be perfect for moble devices. Check the the key pad lay out. Not only is the key board layout greatly simplifiet, but a court reporters can kick the the ass of the best typest on the plannet using a standard key board.
Here's the original Slashdot article from last year. It sounded like a brilliant idea to me at the time, I was wondering if they were getting anywhere...
From the article:
Words can be typed by pressing the raised keys, and numbers by pressing the four keys that surround a particular number.
If i'm reading that correctly, they solved the alpha problem rather elegantly but broke the numbers in the process. You have to push FOUR buttons SIMULTANEOUSLY to get a number out! Sounds like one step forward, two steps back. I think I'll pass.