Imaginary keys? Blind typing? These are the terms Snap Keys is using to describe its new technology that could revolutionize the way we put words on screen. I first learned about Snap Keys at the CTIA Wireless Show earlier this year where they invested in large monitors throughout the expo to showcase this new technology.
The basic ideas is this – instead of using a traditional QWERTY keyboard, Snap Keys consists of four “keys” that each represent a group of letters with common shapes.
Pink Key: Letters that include a complete circle in its shape – R, O, P, B, D, Q
Yellow Key: Letters that stand on one point – T, Y, I, F, J, V
Green Key: Letters that stand on two points – W, H, A, K, X, N, M
Blue Key: Letters that stand on a wide base – E, G, U, S, L, Z, C
When you first learn the keys they appear on your screen, but soon after they disappear and you can literally blind type. You can find more information about how it works and a tutorial here: http://www.snapkeys.com/en/2i/howworks
Tablets were all the rage at this year’s CTIA show and with the explosive growth of smartphones and talk of tablets replacing the PC, it’s no wonder that these devices are going to evolve in ways that make it easier for us to interact.
People are always complaining about typing with their thumbs or the incredibly small keyboards that are currently available with these devices. Snap Keys appears to be a technology developed specifically to solve this problem.
I haven’t tested this first-hand, but I think it has a lot of potential as the keyboard is always the challenge for these types of devices. The only question I have is what about symbols and punctuation? Is there a snap key for those? There doesn’t appear to be.
Snap Keys is not yet available, but according to its website, the company is in negotiations with major smartphone and table manufacturers as well as large carriers.
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