Mar 05
We may soon see a day when your iPhone and iPad physically deform at your touch and your MacBook has a disappearing keyboard, according to a patent Apple has been granted.
Mar 05
Gamers take their gaming sessions very seriously, and there are different kinds of gaming companies that offer various hardware configurations to cater for the vast diversity among humankind. After all, one man’s meat has been known to be another man’s poison, and this time around, we have Genius announcing what they call the Ultimate Gaming Combo, delivering the complete suite of gear required (at least, in Genius’ eyes) for smooth h PC gaming in a single package, and it comprises of the Genius GX Gaming Series Mouse, Keyboard and Headset.
This ”ideal toolset”, so to speak, is now available in the US and Canada. The 3 in 1 GX Gaming Series combo will merge together what Genius has classified as the elite products of the GX Gaming Series, where among them include the Maurus Black gaming mouse, Imperator gaming keyboard and Lychas gaming headset.
First of all, the Maurus Black Gaming Mouse will come with a bunch of customizable features, which has been touted to deliver a personalized experience. The Scorpion UI (User Interface) will enable you to save up to 21 macros, delivering a competitive edge even in the midst of a battle, while Maurus’ buttons, complete with default settings of left, right, middle with scroll, next page, and last page, can be programmed to offer gamers an even greater degree of customizable control. Apart from that, you can over-clock the SG Core engine, so that you can adjust the dpi to four different levels (450/900/1800/3500) directly from the mouse.
As for the Imperator Gaming Keyboard, it sports half a dozen programmable keys under 3 game profiles, letting you assign up to 18 macros. As for the included UI, it is a snap to manage and customize your macros. The Lychas Gaming Headset is perfect for LAN parties and competitions, thanks to its individual ear cup volume control. The asking price for this “combo”? $129.99 a pop, which is pretty decent actually.
Press Release (PDF Link)
[ Genius Ultimate Gaming Combo Introduced copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Mar 04
I’ve always thought that the computer keyboards you can buy at most stores are pretty dull. I’m really surprised that there aren’t more really custom keyboards available given the fact that each person really has their own style. Me, I’ve always been a fan of the Art Deco styles of the 1920s through 1940s, so this keyboard is perfect for me.
The Executive Keyboard was custom made by Richard “Datamancer” Nagy, and it is quite a lovely build. It’s got a sleek black and silver theme, along with round keys reminiscent of mechanical typewriters from days gone by. Though these keys are made with modern day mechanical switches, rated for millions of presses each.
No detail was spared in the construction of this keyboard, from the black leatherette background behind the keys to the perfectly retro-styled typeface on the keys themselves.
Of course, all of these good looks and elegant craftsmanship come at a price – the Executive Keyboard sells for $750(USD) – making it truly for executive geeks only.
Mar 01
When it comes to gesture based typing we often think of Android. Some of the apps for Android include Swype, TouchPal and now the default keyboard in Android 4.2. But on that note, it looks like TouchPal has recently released an app for another platform — Windows 8. The one catch, the keyboard is not yet available from the Windows Store.
You can however download TouchPal for Windows 8 directly from the TouchPal website.The keyboard is available for free and brings features including the ability to switch back and forth between swiping and typing. There is also something that you don’t get with the default keyboard — the ability to split the keyboard in two. You can get an idea of this in the video below, however it is just how it sounds with the keyboard splitting between the G and the H keys.
Those familiar with gesture based typing already have an understanding as to how this works. For those new to this concept, you basically just tap the first letter in the word and then without lifting your finger you just swipe through the remaining letters. This makes typing on a touchscreen a bit easier and in some cases a bit quicker. Plus, you can also worry a bit less about mistyping and misspellings as the app has predictions. We have not tested enough to back this up, however TouchPal is touted as being able to save about 60 percent of keystrokes.
All that said, there does appear to be some issues with the installation process at the moment. Reports coming from the xda-developers user forums note that the installer appears to be in Chinese. The good news is that if you click your way through the installation process, you will be able to adjust and set the default language back to English. Those interested can download the keyboard directly from the TouchPal website.
[via Liliputing]
TouchPal keyboard for Windows 8 brings gesture typing is written by Robert Nelson & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Feb 28
Fujitsu’s Future Phones And Tablets Could Skip The Physical Keyboard And Watch Your Fingers Instead
Posted in: Today's Chili
For better or worse, the advent of smartphones and tablets mean that we’re rapidly moving away from the more tactile user experiences that were the hallmark of a bygone era in computing. As it turns out, the folks at Fujitsu are eager to close the book on the days of the physical keyboard if what they were showing off here at MWC was any indication.
Tucked away in a corner of Fujitsu’s booth here in Barcelona’s Fira Gran Via was a gentleman typing out words onto a tablet via a keyboard for anyone who would watch him. It sounds like a completely mundane occurrence, except the keyboard he was typing on wasn’t actually there.
Here’s the idea: thanks to some clever software and the front-facing camera on a tablet, Fujitsu has worked up a way for users to type on just about any flat surface. The software is purely a prototype at this point, but it doesn’t need anything in the way of exotic gadgetry to work properly — it appeared to be running just fine on a generic Fujitsu Windows 8 tablet, albeit with a lamp of sorts to keep the user’s hands nice and bright.
Using the gesture keyboard seems so simple when you’re watching it live — a person calmly tapping on the surface of a table is actually typing out sentences — but the underlying tech is nothing to sneeze at. There’s some serious machine learning going on here, as the system gets a feel for the features and movements of a user’s hands to determine their placement on a keyboard that really isn’t there.
Sadly, that means there’s a fair amount of optimization that needs to happen before someone could actually start using it. The Japanese gentleman pecking out missives on top of a table was kind enough to let me try it anyway, and while the camera clearly noticed my hand it wouldn’t track any of my finger inputs.
Apparently, the software is capable of using skin color to figure who it should actually be accepting input from — at that moment the system was setup to only track his alabaster hands, so my brown mitts were promptly ignored. Certainly a bummer for me, but a still useful feature, especially since one can never tell how many alien hands they’ll encounter as they try to get some work done on the go.
Fujitsu is considering turning this into a working product for inclusion on some of its tablets and smartphones and has been at it for a while now — company researchers published a paper on the concept back in 2011. Still, the gesture keyboard strikes me as one of those things that may be too clever for its own good in that it’s a very neat solution to a problem that doesn’t really exist. Trying to get some work done on a tray table on a plane? There’s plenty of room for a physical keyboard. Stuck slaving away in close quarters? Just pound out some text on the touchscreen.
The gesture keyboard is clearly very cool (it hearkens back to those neat laser keyboards) and I’d certainly love to a take it for a long-term spin, but I doubt that Fujitsu’s keyboard-less keyboard approach is one that will take the world by storm — for now. Its value as a standalone typing solution is questionable, but if Fujitsu baked it into a tablet or a phone as a novel alternative? Or better yet, if Fujitsu found some willing, ambitious OEM to license it to? Sign me up.
Feb 28
Nokia may not have ruled out a QWERTY Windows Phone for its portfolio, but the chances of a device with a physical keyboard are shrinking, according to smartphone chief Jo Harlow. Speaking to SlashGear at Mobile World Congress this week, where Nokia took its Windows Phone 8 range to five devices with the addition of the Lumia 520 and Lumia 720, Harlow admitted that the company’s reluctance to revisit physical text entry options was down to a fear of being left on the wrong side of the mobile industry’s momentum – again.
“It’s really a question, “is there a large enough audience out there?” or “are the people who have QWERTY today intending to move in this direction?” and we really don’t want to be on the wrong side of that movement” Harlow, executive vice president of Smart Devices, told us. That’s despite a clear message from some users that a physical keyboard is high on their list of priorities.
“We still continue to evaluate because we do get the request a lot, and it’s funny that there are a lot of people that absolutely want to use a physical keyboard, they like the security of that” Harlow conceded. “Even though, I think the virtual keyboard of Windows Phone is phenomenal, especially the level of autocorrect, it’s really, really good.”
Unsurprisingly, Nokia isn’t ruling out any particular device, no matter how great the abundance of caution over QWERTY today. That means the market reception to BlackBerry’s upcoming Q10, the first BlackBerry 10 device to include one of the Canadian company’s legendary thumbboards, is likely to be of particular interest to Nokia as it figures out its next steps in Windows Phone.
“It’s something that we’re constantly looking at: next form-factors, what should we do next” Harlow told us, though pointed out that even those who really do want a physical ‘board are a dying breed. “One of the things that we see is that the number of people who are using, or are interested in using, a QWERTY continues to decline.”
A QWERTY Lumia? Don’t hold your breath says Nokia’s smartphone boss is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Feb 21
TouchPal Keyboard for Windows 8 brings Swype-like typing to your slate (update: not quite ready)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Android fans wanting to try a Windows 8 tablet haven’t really had the choice of a glide-based keyboard in the vein of SwiftKey Flow or Swype, in part because the OS isn’t designed for an easy replacement. After months of teasing, though, CooTek claims to have the remedy with the launch of TouchPal Keyboard for Windows 8. The software naturally centers on the sliding, predictive input method for those who’ve grown used to typing with one finger versus many. Thankfully, it’s not a one-trick pony: the Windows 8 adaptation also includes the components from TouchPal’s mobile editions, including an optional split keyboard and plugins. We most like that it’s free, which should make it that much easier to skip the Type Cover for many of those considering a Surface Pro.
Update: It turns out that the app hasn’t quite reached the Windows Store yet — check back in the near future.
Filed under: Tablets, Software, Microsoft
Source: CooTek
Feb 20
Today SwiftKey 4 has been revealed, integrating the abilities of what we’ve seen very recently with the beta of SwiftKey Flow and a collection of new features we’ve never seen before. What this app represents is a next-level Android-based on-screen keyboard experience, complete with word predictions, a multi-tiered learning interface, and now the ability to “flow” from key to key for typing without ever lifting a finger.
In the first big ad spot for this new version of SwiftKey, you’ll see each of the new amazing features available with the system. Here you’ll see examples of the 60 languages you can have active at once, you’ll see the several different keyboard skins you can use, and you’ll see the fabulous Flow of words being typed with a multi-colored trail of accuracy following your finger. This system continues to use an ever-upgrading award-winning prediction engine unique to SwiftKey to learn the language you use in a unique way.
We’ve also got a rather simple demonstration of flowing in-action on an Android device. At the moment this software is, yes, available only on Android devices, and most certainly does make your Android experience a much more readable one. While we don’t use the prediction engine as much as we could have in the demo, keep an eye on it – it’s smart! SwiftKey’s learning engine connects with Gmail, Facebook, SMS, and more to follow what you type, understanding and archiving it all away so it knows what you’ll type next – you type the same stuff all the time!
Again at this point you should note that there’s only one app, with SwiftKey Flow being a feature of SwifKey 4 – you’ll be downloading SwiftKey 4 soon! SwiftKey 4 offers several different ways to type with SwiftKey Flow – one of them being the three SwiftKey Flow Candidates you get when you hit backspace after you’ve completed a word – three options for alternate words are given. Candidates are also given if you tap any word you’ve completed in the past.
Another feature in SwiftKey Flow typing in SwiftKey 4 is mid-word completion, allowing you to see word predictions and let your finger up from the screen before you’ve completed the word – see what you need, just lift your finger! After you’ve typed (or had predicted) a word in a sentence, you’ll also see next-word predictions based on your language patterns. You can type whole sentences with just predictions based on what you’ve said in the past!
Berry flavor included – tasty!
The style you use to type is also automatically selected in this release. In the past with SwiftKey you were asked to select either “rapid” or “precise” – now all that’s done for you. The 60 languages mentioned above includes a selection of additions made new in this release: Sudanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Albanian, Bosnian, and Javanese. Layouts have also been improved on the keyboard for both Russian and Korean language sets.
You’ll be able to download SwiftKey 4 and SwiftKey Tablet 4 from the Google Play app store inside the SwiftKey section – apps developed by the official SwiftKey team. If you’re a legacy user, you’ll find that SwiftKey will upgrade to SwiftKey 4 for free. If you’re a new user, a promotional price of $1.99 USD has been placed on the app for a limited time – grab it right this minute!
SwiftKey 4 unleashed: Flow your way to next-level Android typing is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Feb 20
SwiftKey has been promising its own answer to Swype ever since it launched the SwiftKey Flow beta late last year, and the company’s retort is at last finished. The newly available SwiftKey 4 — Flow is just a component here — brings Android writers the promised gesture-based typing along with Flow Through Space, which lets users glide to the spacebar to keep typing rather than pause after every word. The upgrade also expands contextual word prediction to 60 languages, offers simpler corrections and watches for personal typing habits to adjust accordingly — it should learn whether you’re a hunt-and-peck newcomer or a seasoned pro blazing along with both thumbs. The update is free for existing users in both phone- and tablet-sized forms, and it’s temporarily priced at $2 (normally $4) to lure in anyone who isn’t happy with their existing input methods.
We gave the final version a spin on a Galaxy Nexus, and much of what we saw in the SwiftKey Flow beta holds true with SwiftKey 4. Anyone comfy with a gesture-based keyboard will be happy with the speed and accuracy here, especially when they don’t have to lift their finger between words. However, the previous quirks remain as well: Flow Through Space tends to melt down after a few words, so you’ll want to stop after “the quick brown fox” before you finish with “jumps over the lazy dog.” The style recognition is harder to gauge when this author is an an experienced user who’s only had a short while to teach the app any tricks, but the simplified corrections are handy for quickly polishing up a sentence. While we don’t feel that SwiftKey is orchestrating a revolution with version 4, it doesn’t have to — the appeal here is not having to give up SwiftKey’s generally well-regarded feel to get a feature previously reserved for competitors. It remains our go-to keyboard for those times we don’t like what Google or phone designers have to offer.
SwiftKey 4 Best-Selling Android App Revolutionized with Innovative ‘SwiftKey Flow’ Gesture Typing
SAN FRANCISCO — February 20, 2013 – SwiftKey 4 launches today on Google Play with smarter features that make typing on a touchscreen faster, easier and more accurate. Available now at the promo price of $1.99 and as a free upgrade for existing users, the new release features a unique take on gesture typing called SwiftKey Flow.
SwiftKey Flow combines the mind-reading capabilities of SwiftKey’s personalized autocorrect engine with the speed of gliding your fingers across the screen. This revolutionary approach to continuous input begins predicting words from the moment a user touches the screen and goes on to predict their next word when they let go. A unique feature called ‘Flow Through Space’ also makes gesture typing more powerful than ever before by allowing users to enter entire phrases simply by gliding to the space bar between words.
SwiftKey 4 adds to everything that has made the app a bestseller since first launching in 2010. Users can still tap to type, the app constantly learns a user’s style to ease the frustration of entering long words and users can further personalize predictions by granting access to their Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, SMS or blog posts.
“Everyone’s had embarrassing autocorrect moments,” said Ben Medlock, SwiftKey co-founder and CTO. “That’s why we built SwiftKey to understand the context of words, not just their spelling. It works from the word go to adjust to you – from the phrases you write to how you touch the screen. It means you don’t have to worry about typing, it does all the hard work for you.”
The new features in SwiftKey 4 include:
* SwiftKey Flow – blending SwiftKey’s mind-reading next-word prediction and autocorrect with the speed of gesture typing
* Flow Through Space – lets users write entire sentences in one motion without ever having to lift their finger to add a space
* Support for contextual prediction across 60 languages – with new support for Albanian, Bosnian, Javanese, Sundanese, Thai and Vietnamese, all with dynamic auto-correction and next word prediction
* Easier corrections – tap on a word and SwiftKey 4 will move the cursor to the end of the word and offer two alternatives
* Personalized typing style – whether you write inaccurately with two thumbs or more carefully using a single finger, SwiftKey 4 now automatically adapts to how users type to provide more insightful corrections and prediction
Beta versions of the app have been tested by more than 200,000 SwiftKey fans over the last 11 weeks, with more than 2.4 billion characters flowed. A No.1 best-selling app on Google Play in 38 countries, SwiftKey is available in 60 languages and counting. For more information about SwiftKey, visit www.swiftkey.net.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile
Source: SwiftKey
Feb 19
One keyboard is as good as the other, or so most people think, but in reality, things work very differently. Gamers have their own keyboards that they will not trade for life or limb, while the working class folks, especially those who need to get plenty of typing done throughout the day, will find that one brand might work far better for their typing style than another. What happens when your company is running on a budget, and you need to cut costs wherever and whenever possible? This is where the Athera Multi-Profile Keyboard from Speedlink comes in, allowing you to hook up to 5 different devices simultaneously via Bluetooth.
A simple key combination will allow you to switch quickly between individual devices, meaning there is no need to go through the hassle of switching between PC, tablet and smartphone manually. Of course, it sure helps that the Athera Multi-Profile Keyboard is compatible with a range of popular operating systems, making it a snap to alternate between iOS, Android and Windows platforms. The Athera Multi-Profile Keyboard will retail for €59.99 if you’re interested.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Shows What Project Glass Can Do In ‘How It Feels’ Video, myIDkey Kickstarter Project A Potential Lifesaver,
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