SnapKeys 2i: Invisible Keyboard for Touch Devices
Hello, Habr!
I have no doubt that many of you, dear readers, today have at least one device with a touch screen, text input with your fingers on which is not the last function. Established programs cope with this work relatively well. But for those who do not like standard solutions, third-party developers offer their own.
Among the most popular can be identified, for example:
')
Swype is well known to all for its convenience.
SlideIT - Swype's twin brother, not much inferior to the competitor.
8pen - created in an attempt to distinguish the product from Google ʻa.
BlindType - a fresh look at the input method acquired by the same Google.
Many other programs of this kind have already been previously reviewed on Habré in one of the articles .
Today I would like to squeeze in the ranks of another player, whose name SnapKeys 2i or ii ( imaginary interface - an imaginary interface).
First, let's watch a video demonstration.
Impressive, isn't it?
In fact, everything works according to a fairly simple method. At the bottom of the screen, there are four input buttons, two for each finger.
Each of them is an area designated in a rather interesting way. The developers studied in detail each character of the alphabet and identified 4 features, namely: F, T, Y, V, I and, quite controversial, J - are in contact with the string at one point; X, H, W, A, N, M and K - in two; R, P, Q, D, B, O - are based on a closed circle; C, L, Z, U, G, S, E - in contact with a straight or curved line.
For convenience, words that pop up on the screen in the process of writing are confirmed by buttons located side by side from the input keys.
Thus, the divided English alphabet of 12 letters for the left and 14 letters for the right fingers, including the main auxiliary characters ("@", "-", "` "), the use of a competent predictive method, colored buttons (mnemonic memory) gives excellent the possibility of developing fine motor skills of the thumbs, which in turn has a positive effect on the speed of learning. As you memorize the keys, you can completely disable the hint and use a single invisible layer to enter text, which gives a lot of advantages.
You can chat without being distracted from watching videos (TV-Game Texting),
or even blindly search and play music on your device (Music On Demand).
The creator of this miracle (in the past 4K) is the Israeli company with the same name SnapKeys, which has spent on the development of no less than 11 years. The company is now working with Philips and is trying to equip its program for commercially available devices with touchscreens.
Special characters are entered by holding the finger on the button and then sliding to the side necessary in the pop-up window. The internal dictionary contains about 100 thousand words. There is support for the Russian language.
Unfortunately, on the website in the FAQ section they write that negotiations are underway with the largest suppliers of tablets and smartphones, so while the application is not available. But claimed support for Android, iOS and Windows Mobile (?).
The working version was demonstrated this winter at CES, as well as at CTIA, where it received the Best of CTIA Wireless 2011 Finalist award.
Here, by the way, is a detailed demo video from the very CTIA:
As a bonus, the site has a demo in which you can try out the minimum features directly from the browser.
UPD: Along the way, they also read Habr =)
Short prologue
I have no doubt that many of you, dear readers, today have at least one device with a touch screen, text input with your fingers on which is not the last function. Established programs cope with this work relatively well. But for those who do not like standard solutions, third-party developers offer their own.
Among the most popular can be identified, for example:
')
Swype is well known to all for its convenience.
SlideIT - Swype's twin brother, not much inferior to the competitor.
8pen - created in an attempt to distinguish the product from Google ʻa.
BlindType - a fresh look at the input method acquired by the same Google.
Many other programs of this kind have already been previously reviewed on Habré in one of the articles .
"+1"
Today I would like to squeeze in the ranks of another player, whose name SnapKeys 2i or ii ( imaginary interface - an imaginary interface).
First, let's watch a video demonstration.
Impressive, isn't it?
In fact, everything works according to a fairly simple method. At the bottom of the screen, there are four input buttons, two for each finger.
Each of them is an area designated in a rather interesting way. The developers studied in detail each character of the alphabet and identified 4 features, namely: F, T, Y, V, I and, quite controversial, J - are in contact with the string at one point; X, H, W, A, N, M and K - in two; R, P, Q, D, B, O - are based on a closed circle; C, L, Z, U, G, S, E - in contact with a straight or curved line.
For convenience, words that pop up on the screen in the process of writing are confirmed by buttons located side by side from the input keys.
Thus, the divided English alphabet of 12 letters for the left and 14 letters for the right fingers, including the main auxiliary characters ("@", "-", "` "), the use of a competent predictive method, colored buttons (mnemonic memory) gives excellent the possibility of developing fine motor skills of the thumbs, which in turn has a positive effect on the speed of learning. As you memorize the keys, you can completely disable the hint and use a single invisible layer to enter text, which gives a lot of advantages.
You can chat without being distracted from watching videos (TV-Game Texting),
or even blindly search and play music on your device (Music On Demand).
Details
The creator of this miracle (in the past 4K) is the Israeli company with the same name SnapKeys, which has spent on the development of no less than 11 years. The company is now working with Philips and is trying to equip its program for commercially available devices with touchscreens.
Special characters are entered by holding the finger on the button and then sliding to the side necessary in the pop-up window. The internal dictionary contains about 100 thousand words. There is support for the Russian language.
Unfortunately, on the website in the FAQ section they write that negotiations are underway with the largest suppliers of tablets and smartphones, so while the application is not available. But claimed support for Android, iOS and Windows Mobile (?).
The working version was demonstrated this winter at CES, as well as at CTIA, where it received the Best of CTIA Wireless 2011 Finalist award.
Here, by the way, is a detailed demo video from the very CTIA:
As a bonus, the site has a demo in which you can try out the minimum features directly from the browser.
UPD: Along the way, they also read Habr =)
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/129958/
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