Hasta La Gadget!

Flickkey makes it possible to type on tiny screens

The FlickKey Mini is billed as the “World’s Smallest Keyboard.” What’s more, it’s a virtual, on-screen keyboard, expanding the market for possible haters twofold.

Why would you want such a thing? Well, the somewhat confusing PR e-mail talks about putting it on the face of a watch. This opens up the possibility of turning something the size of an iPod Nano into a full(ish)-featured computer.

First, though, the keyboard has to actually work. You can download a free version which puts a keyboard the size and shape of an Nano on your iPhone screen. It is so tiny you’ll have to squint to see the letters. The FlickKey consists of six keys, each one of which contains nine letters or symbols. To type the letter in the center, you tap the key. To type a letter on the edge of a key, you tap it and then swipe in that direction.

It works surprisingly well, although it’s painfully slow at first as you have to re-learn where the letters are. FlickKey will sell you a torture-free version for $2, which puts more practical-sized tiles along which fill the same space as the usual iPhone keyboard, and lets you type and save notes.

Clearly this is a proof-of-concept, and re-learning the key layout make sit a lot harder to start using than the widely-liked Swype keyboard popular on Android phones. But if there ever is an iPhone Nano, expect it to use something like this.

FlickKey product page [FlickKey. Thanks, Will!]

See Also:

• Swype: Text Input From the Inventor of T9
• 8pen