Notices

Hi everybody,

I've just discovered a interesting new input method form a Slashdot topic: 8pen

As I've used an Android-phone before N900, I had a chance to try various input methods (T9,Qwertz (I'm from Austria) etc) but none of them is usefull enough to type without looking at it.

Has anybody some spare time to implement this 8pen-method? I saw a portrait-mode keyboard somewhere in extras-devel, so it must be possible to replace the default hildon keyboard.

Be warned: I did not check if there are any patents or something other that wouldn't allow someone to implement it too.

Thanks in advance
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Srdjan

Looks complicated. oO

Do you mean complicated to use or complicated to program?

The idea is fun, but the reason that we have qwerty keybords is that we are used to it, and would be confused when adding another. Thus, I don't see a big advantage over 1-9 oldschool texting. Although that is a different approach to the qwerty one that most people are formiliar with, it is more logical than the 8pen method IMHO. I think that if you can picture the 1-9 keys on an old cell, you'd be able to text without looking. But can you picture this imput method easily?

It does use more gestures, but if you have big fingers this method could probably improve your typing experience. It still could be a problem with our non-capacitive screen, since swiping a finger works better on capacitive screens. We've got more accuracy though, virtual portrait qwerty works well with opera on N900. I know, that takes a little bit of getting used to, as well!

But on an n900, honestly? We already have 2 typing methods from witch the HW keyboard is the fastest (for most). Also, in landscape mode with virtual keyboard it is not hard to hit the right key with one or 2 taps of your finger, wich are less gestures than the 8pen in theory.

Don't want to be sceptical, I just think if reinventing a keyboard was a really good idea it should have already been done..

I think it's a bit complicated to use... It's sth new and probably worth to try... On other hand I don't bother to flip the phone to landscape and use the keaybord But maybe it's only me

I just got used to typing on the landscape mode keyboard in portrait mode. But I'm willing to try new things!

Mh, I think even if you can picture a 1-9 keyboard you'll (or to say it better - I'll) have some problems to tap the right place on the screen if you don't look at it, because of the missing orientation (on a old school phone you had e.g. a mark on 5 (like on "f" or "j") so it was lots easier to find the right key).

Ok - to tell you the truth - I've never tried Opera so I don't know how it is.

Sure, the HW keyboard is the fastest but only if you have both hands free.

Reinventing a keyboard isn't maybe that bad, because the keyboard as we know is a typewriter-keyboard with a goal to minimize typewriter clashes. So maybe it is better to try a new solution for a new problem instead of adapting old solutions.

Let me go a little off-topic: I'm using the Neo2-layout for 2 years and it feels lot nicer than the Qwertz-layout and I can recommend it to anyone who writes in German. But, the problem is, the time you lern it, your typing speed suffers A LOT. Yeah, I had the chance because I was going to school and had lots of time, but someone who has to be productive can't afford this. This is IMO one of the main reasons we still use querty.

I'll try it out as soon as its released for Android and let you know.

It reminds me of Ring Writer for the Nokia 7710

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPbnBQcFS_U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2CLk8rh_i8

This falls under one of those projects I would actually get behind (and code if I could, but I can't, so oh well) - though I believe it would be best to make it an optional input method among many - portrait qwerty, portrait T9-like, and portrait this wheel thing being options you can switch between in settings (or ideally on the fly).

I honestly don't agree with the claims above about this being harder to learn. It's harder for US to learn, because we already grew up with T9 and QWERTY. But this isn't about just us. This is about usable interfaces for years to come. And this little wheel idea is actually, I feel, very much visionary, in so far as you can use that word on input methods.

The only thing is, I think that the central wheel has to be bigger for it to truly be easy and intuitive to guide your finger inside the wheel. And eventually you WILL memorize the locations of the symbols, just like you eventually learn to remember where the keys are on the keyboard. Indeed, I think that's easier, because your mind can remember key/symbol positions in clusters, which are then broken down into numbers of quarters of rotation around the center.

I think that this would be fun to play with, but I doubt it would improve anything on the n900.

I find text entry pretty fast already.