I remember that a couple years ago Motorola was pushing its Moto Mods - hardware extensions you could clip at the back on your phone. I always thought that a Mod for alternate input (like this, or chorded/braille) would be very neat. Unfortunately looks like it never picked up.
A different kind of keyboard
11–20 of 152 posts
Re: A different kind of keyboard
#12This is a very interesting idea, but the hardware could be improved to better fit a phone and use battery+blutooth.
If someone were to offer this [say, on Tindie] I would totally buy it.
(Unfortunately the ;+A didn't work on Safari for me on an M1 MacBook Air).
Re: A different kind of keyboard
#13The page seems to assume that semicolon's keyCode is 59 so the modifier key in the demo only works with Firefox according to this table on MDN[0]. The keyCode for semicolon varies not only by keyboard layout but also by browser. Mine is 186.
[0]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/KeyboardEve...
Re: A different kind of keyboard
#14I used a microwriter in around '85. It was kind-of cool. Took more time to invest in than I was willing to give for a non-standard input device, but it definitely worked.
Re: A different kind of keyboard
#15This reminds me of how we used to type on pre-smart phone era phones.
Eg https://phonesdata.com/files/models/Nokia-E51-807.jpg
The funny thing with those little handsets was, with a bit practice you could actually get very quick at typing. Quicker even than on QWERTY keyboards on touch screen phones (at least you had tactile buttons).
Re: A different kind of keyboard
#16This reminds me of how we used to type on pre-smart phone era phones. Eg https://phonesdata.com/files/models/Nokia-E51-807.jpg The funny thing with those little handsets was, with a bit practice you could actually get very quick at typing. Quicker even than on QWERTY keyboards on touch screen phones (at least you had tactile buttons).
Typically this was T9: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T9_(predictive_text)
I still miss being able to compose messages in my pocket...
Re: A different kind of keyboard
#17Cool article!
If you haven't come across Doug Engelbart yet, I highly recommend it. He invented the mouse (yes, that mouse), and was a staunch believer in chorded keyboards.
I'll admit, though, I don't really get it.
Re: A different kind of keyboard
#18This reminds me of how we used to type on pre-smart phone era phones. Eg https://phonesdata.com/files/models/Nokia-E51-807.jpg The funny thing with those little handsets was, with a bit practice you could actually get very quick at typing. Quicker even than on QWERTY keyboards on touch screen phones (at least you had tactile buttons).
Typically this was T9: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T9_(predictive_text) I still miss being able to compose messages in my pocket...
I had no idea it was a named technology, though I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. Thanks for sharing that link.
Re: A different kind of keyboard
#19This reminds me of how we used to type on pre-smart phone era phones. Eg https://phonesdata.com/files/models/Nokia-E51-807.jpg The funny thing with those little handsets was, with a bit practice you could actually get very quick at typing. Quicker even than on QWERTY keyboards on touch screen phones (at least you had tactile buttons).
Typically this was T9: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T9_(predictive_text) I still miss being able to compose messages in my pocket...
Speed typers did not use T9. A friend of mine used to compete in texting.
Re: A different kind of keyboard
#20I remember that a couple years ago Motorola was pushing its Moto Mods - hardware extensions you could clip at the back on your phone. I always thought that a Mod for alternate input (like this, or chorded/braille) would be very neat. Unfortunately looks like it never picked up.
Braille input exists on apple phones:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210066
and I think Android supports something similar.