TECHNOLOGY
Goodbye QWERTY
1889. Perhaps most famously,
Dr August Dvorak invented an
alternate layout in the 1930s
with the aim of making the
keyboard significantly faster
and more accurate to type on.
Unfortunately, these claims were
never conclusively proven and
by then, the QWERTY layout
was simply too deeply embedded
as a standard. Dvorak does have
a dedicated user base to this
day though, mostly because the
smaller range of motion while
typing is said to result in fewer
repetitive strain injuries.
There have also been attempts
to change the shape and
mechanics of the keyboard - such
as the chorded keyboard invented
by Douglas Engelbart in the mid
1960s. Some of these are still used
by the Braille community, but
have otherwise failed to take off.
Fast forward to today, and we
still find the QWERTY layout in
use across all of our interfaces,
and it’s even being crammed onto
our smallest device yet, the smart
watch. Although most of the first
generation of smart watches have
no input mechanism whatsoever,
this closes off so many potential
use cases in the emergent
wearables category.
Research shows that the
current text input systems
are the Achilles’ heel of
mobile touchscreen devices.
Smartphone users are frustrated
by so many small keys crammed
on to the screen, making typos
a frequent hazard, and taking
up too much space on the
screen. These frustrations will
be intolerable on the newly
emergent wearable devices. It is
simply time to start from scratch,
and invent a keyboard for the
modern age.
Enter 5-TILES, the radical
re-invention of text entry for
modern day touchscreen devices,
including the smart watch.
The 5-TILES keyboard is the
outcome of my own frustrations
with typing on the mobile
phone. As a creative writer
trying to capture my thoughts
while working on construction
sites in the mountains of Italy,
I was desperate to replicate the
sensation of typing, where the
technology gets out of the way of
the flow of words. The QWERTY
keyboard that was jammed onto
my phone simply did not cut it,
and so I started to dream of an
entirely new text input system
that would be suitable for the next
generation of digital devices.
The result is five simple keys
that take up 70% less of the screen,
are comfortably sized for all
fingers, and are compact enough
to fit on smart watches and other
wearable devices. Typing works by
tapping or swiping across the five
keys in simple combinations for
an almost infinite range of letters,
symbols, emoticons, and editing
commands. The layout is based on
the alphabet, slightly re-ordered to
be optimised for speed.
People tell us they love using
the 5-TILES keyboard over the
QWERTY system, and I strongly
Smartphone
believe that this patent-pending
users are
invention is ready to take us into
frustrated
the next 150 years. Unlike the
by so many
sub-optimal QWERTY system,
small keys
5-TILES is designed specifically
crammed on
for screen devices, smart watches,
to the screen,
wearable computers, and the
making typos
internet of things.
a frequent
The Android version of
hazard
the keyboard has been in live
prototype mode on the Google
Play store since June 2011,
where it has gone through a
number of iterations with a
dedicated group of early users,
and will soon be re-released
as a formal Beta product.
Do you agree
The way we type is
with Michael that
well overdue for a major
change - it’s time to let go
QWERTY keyboards
of our legacy QWERTY
are due for an
keyboard that can’t
overhaul?
follow us any further.
We need a text entry
system that is suitable for our
Tweet us
modern touch screen devices, as
your opinion
well as the portable and wearable
@TalkBusiness
computing devices that have yet
to be invented. Is it finally time to
mag
move on? I think so.
Contact:
www.fivetiles.com
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