Disqus
Israel-based Dasur has released two on-screen virtual keyboard applications for Windows Mobile – SlideIt and ThumbKey. The idea is to enhance on-screen typing experience with two different approaches, each suited for different kind of users. Let’s briefly go through both apps, shall we?
SlideIt, is an intuitive method to input text on touch screen enabled devices that combines three methods – sliding, prediction and graffiti. Instead of tapping each letter, with SlideIt users simply point to first letter of a word and slide the stylus to the subsequent letters. Spacing is achieved by just lifting the stylus. According to Dasur — as we still have to test this — “speeds of more than 50 words per minute are easily achievable.”
On the other hand, ThumbKey’s technology bring the touchscreen method familiar to BlackBerry users to a more accurate and easier level of operation with the capability of using but one hand. Dasur’s ThumbKey uses a unique algorithm that allows users to just press in the general vicinity of the required key for the intended word to appear on the screen. The algorithm processes the typed letters and its disambiguation features suggests the intended word and “conveniently displays additional possibilities next to the keyboard.”
SlideIt and ThumbKey support all versions of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile and similarly support three languages: English, French and Hebrew. The company will make the keyboards available soon in the others operating systems and in many other languages… More information is available from here.
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
