If there is one thing I miss on a touchscreen phone, it is a proper keypad. Not a QWERTY keypad, but a proper, traditional keypad, with T9 text input. That system for me was the default option for text entry for so many years with various mobile phones, and I found it so comfortable that for a long time I resisted the move to QWERTY based devices.
One of the great things about Android devices, is the level of customisation available. It is so easy to change the default web browser, contacts app, menu layout, dialler, and keyboard. One of my favourite Android apps is Swype, a system that allows you to enter text onto a touchscreen device by simply sliding your finger or thumb across the screen from letter to letter; for me it is the bes one handed system for text entry on a touchscreen phone.
As I use an iPhone these days, it is sometimes hard to deal with the Apple standard way of doing things, and not having more control on the look and feel of the device. Changing the look of the iPhone, customising the default apps, etc, just isn’t at the same level available on an Android phone.
BlindType is a new text entry system, that claims it will be available for Android devices, as well being compatible with the Apple iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone. The way BlindType is setup allows users to easily enter text in a way that is comfortable for them; the system will work out the word you want and predict the result.
With BlindType, you can type anywhere on the screen, the software adjusts to whereabouts you are typing, and to the orientation of the device.
Whether Apple will allow such a radical change to their products remains to be seen, currently the app is going through evaluation. But if it does get approved, it will hopefully open the door to other developers to create alternative applications for text entry on an iPhone.
News Source: blog.rightmobilephone.co.uk
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