Skip to main content

Snapkeys aims to replace QWERTY keyboards on mobile devices


Snapkeys 2i is a four-key typing system app for mobile devices, that is said to be much more efficient than the standard QWERTY virtual keyboard

At next month's Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2012) in Las Vegas, tech start-up Snapkeys will be attempting to break the Guinness World Record for fastest typing speed. The company will be making its record attempt using volunteers (who it is currently in the process of recruiting), and its new 2i typing system for mobile devices. Unlike traditional systems that utilize a full QWERTY virtual keyboard that takes up much of the screen, 2i incorporates just four onscreen keys ... and they're all invisible.

The system divides up the letters of the alphabet between the four keys - or Snapkeys, specifically - based on their shape. These groupings consist of letters that stand on one point (such as F and I), letters that stand on two points (N, A, etc.), letters that stand on a wide base (L, E, etc.) and letters that include a complete circle in their shape (R, O, etc.). Basic punctuation marks and shapes are also included.


Snapkeys 2i divides the letters of the alphabet up by their shapes




To use the 2i system, users simply thumb the spots on their device's touchscreen that correspond to the regions where the different letters are located within each Snapkey. Although the keys themselves aren't displayed onscreen, a translucent outline of each one does flash up when it's touched, to help guide users.

According to its designers, 2i not only frees up the screen from the clutter of a visual QWERTY keyboard, but it also allows for faster, more intuitive typing. To that end, they have put out an invitation for interested parties to download a trial version of the app from the company website - those people who demonstrate the fastest Snapkeys typing speeds will be invited on an all-expenses paid trip to CES, to make an attempt at the world record.

A commercial version of Snapkeys 2i should be available "soon," via the App Store and Android Market. It will work in a number of different languages, with US English as its default setting.
 
The system can be seen in use in the video below.
Source:Newatlas

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Modular housing concept boasts 64 possible combinations

Italian Designer Gabriel Aramu has conceptualized a modular housing system that seems to offer endless possibilities. Dubbed "Sliding Hub," these prefabricated cubes join together to create a temporary housing solution for multiple situations. In the event that emergency shelters are required, the modules can be packed and transported to any destination. On arrival, the modules are easily joined together, with the flexibility to house individuals, small groups or large numbers without limitation. Each module incorporates an insulation system suitable for all kinds of weather conditions. In addition, the temporary accommodation units provide a comfortable standard of living, important to natural disaster victims. Constructed with steel reinforcements, numerous modules can be assembled together to create various sizes and shapes, whilst sliding them open creates large internal spaces. According to Aramu, the system can be configured 64 different ways, wh...
Post a Comment
Read more

How Lasers Can Preserve History

C leopatra’s Needle is an ancient Egyptian obelisk , but right now it looks like a construction project. Scaffolding snakes up the 69-foot spire as conservancy crews clear away 3500 years of soot and grime. Originally built in honor of Pharaoh Thutmose III, the obelisk has black streaks that mark its time spent buried near the Nile, its travel across the Atlantic, and near 130 years facing the pollution-filled elements in New York City. Now it’s getting a long overdue cleaning—using high-powered lasers. The Central Park Conservancy, the organization tasked with the upkeep of all monuments and works of art in Central Park, has had the needle’s cleaning on its to-do list since 2011. The Conservancy and personnel at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s photo studio began documenting the obelisk and assessing exactly what the monument needed. Soon conservators came in to test different types of cleaning techniques. “The typical ways of cleaning are using chemicals or micro-ab...
Post a Comment
Read more

If Tears Had Color

This is something that recently crossed my mind. If the reason we are crying would be connected to the color of our tears – what would it be? We all cry and not just for one reason, so how would it be if we could know the reason someone’s crying by the color of the tears? There is also a symbolic description of what each and every color presents, and it is proved that colors have influence of peoples feelings and emotions. There was an experiment on this – they put a man into the room with red walls (and everything else inside was red) and after a while when they let him out, he became noticeably more aggressive than he was before. And what do you think, why the hospital’s and other medical institution’s walls are green? It is said that the olive green color represents peace, which is especially needed in hospitals where everyone is sick and in panic for his/her own life and health. So, let’s go back to the subject, we know that our emotions as well as our tears are ...
Post a Comment
Read more