In case you’re not familiar with the device, a chorded keyboard has fewer keys – the user presses multiple keys at once to enter a single command or character. This not only leads to a smaller device but makes it possible to type with one hand. Entering the patterns on such a device is similar to playing chords on a piano, hence the name. This is an example of a chorded keyboard. I’m not sure if the Kee4 Keyboard also qualifies as a chorded keyboard, but it does work in a similar way.

As for Teague Labs’ app, it uses five virtual buttons which appear when the user places all five fingers on the screen. Theoretically, it addresses the three weaknesses of traditional on-screen keyboards. The buttons are large. If you can memorize the patterns for characters, then you don’t need tactile feedback. Finally, the buttons go away when you lift your fingers off of the tablet’s screen; they can also be dragged in another area of the screen. Then again they take up the whole screen while you’re typing. Here’s the app in action:

If you have an iPad or Android tablet, fire up your tablet’s browser and go to this page to try out Teague Labs’ chorded keyboard prototype. Note that the app doesn’t allow for punctuation marks – those will be included in the second set of buttons, which are still in development. It’s a nice concept but I think I’ll stick to the default keyboard on my iPad. I don’t do a lot of typing on it anyway and I’m already looking at the screen when I’m typing so I don’t need to touch type.

What I really want is for Apple to include a numpad-style button, similar to the ones available on older cellphones. Years of owning Nokia phones have burned the memory of that interface to my thumbs. Also, I’m not sure if the guys at Teague Labs are aware of this, but there are already virtual chorded keyboard apps for both the iPad and for Android tablets, although the ones I saw are designed for use with two thumbs.

[Teague Labs via Hack A Day]

However, that can soon change with TypeWay. In fact, you can get back to typing using all ten of your digits, if that’s what you’re used to or if that’s what you’d want to do. The virtual keys in this app for your iPad will automatically change position and placement in order to adapt to your hand position and typing habits.

TypeWay isn’t just a keyboard app; rather, it’s text editing software complete with basic iOS 5 features like cut, copy and paste, spell-checker, suggestions for word correction, and multi-touch features. The developer made it this way since you can’t replace the regular virtual keyboard that comes with your iPad (though we wish that Apple would some day allow for this.) One other caveat is that the TypeWay keyboard currently only supports an English international keyboard in landscape mode.

You can purchase TypeWay from the iTunes App Store for $5.99 (USD).

[via Chip Chick]

Before we get to the bad news, let’s look at the Circboard in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Now for the ugly part: another Redditor by the name of huevos found a patent, filed by Douglas Naimo in 2007, for a similar software. You can read the full patent here. Here are the incriminating figures from the patent:

I’m pretty sure Naimo will want to know more about the Circboard. Perhaps this is the time for him to step up and turn his idea into a real product. At least it wasn’t Microsoft or Sony who have the patent, otherwise it’ll be console-exclusive.

[via Circboard & Reddit via Joystiq]

As you can see there’s a numeric pad in the middle, as well as three slots at the top of the keyboard where you can select suggested words. Here’s a short preview of the app in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

SwiftKey’s solution is simple yet effective, and actually lets you hold and type on a tablet at the same time. Let’s hope it finds its way into more tablets. Check out SwiftKey’s blog for more info.

[via TechChee]

The keyboard only has four keys! Here’s the Kee4 in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

But before you bash Citta Consulting for thinking of such an inconvenient concept, I think this device does have a market. Its product page says that it’s meant to be used for portable and wearable computing devices, but I think people with specialized needs can make good use of the Kee4 as well. Plus I imagine typing on it will really force you to think about what you’re going to say to avoid having to erase and re-write all over again. Check out the Kee4 website for more info.

[via Gizmag]

The TrulyErgonomic keyboard works its magic by aligning your hands, wrists and fingertips in the optimal neutral position for typing. That all sounds good, but the main problem is that if you use a laptop or another computer at work, you’ll have to change the location of your hands and the way that you type if you use an ergonomic keyboard at home. This could be an issue.

This keyboard certainly looks different. It’s got a symmetrical look, that might work well. Also, they have high-quality key switches and an integrated palm rest. It can be ordered with a different layout, as well as blank for all of the braver touch-typists out there. The only catch is that it costs $169 (USD).

[via CrunchGear]

The picture above shows you the basics of Google Scribe. By default, it will offer suggestions as you type. Just press the corresponding number and the suggestion will be filled in for you. You can also set it so that it will only offer suggestions if you press the Tab key.

The letters you see below the last suggestion are sorting schemes for the suggestion, and this is where the funny thing about Google Scribe comes in. ‘A-Z’ sorts suggestions alphabetically, ‘S’ sorts by “typing savings”, ‘R’ sorts by “relevance”, and ‘G’ sorts by “Google Rating”. You’d think that typing savings would mean that the answers are arranged from the most number of characters to the least, but that’s not always the case. I’m not quite sure how Google Scribe sorts by “relevance”, but in my experience I found it to be the most helpful sorting scheme. Unfortunately, Scribe uses Google Ratings by default. Look at the screenshot below:

Flattering, yes, but do you realize now how Google Rating works, and how potentially irritating and/or hilarious Scribe can be? No? Here’s one more example:

Google Rating is just like Google Search – it suggests terms based on how popular a phrase is. In this case, as explained by Google Operating System, it seems that the phrase “Why choose IngentaConnect” is used frequently on IngentaConnect’s website, and perhaps on other webpages as well. So Google Scribe is indeed an interesting tool, but I suggest you stick to the Rating sorting scheme. I found that the suggestions offered by the Rating scheme not only made more sense, they also helped me think of other ways to say what I was going to say.

The presence of potential phrases also helps if you just can’t seem to start writing, because Google Scribe will start writing for you. Finally, you don’t have to stay at Google Scribe’s homepage to use it, because Google made a bookmarklet so you can call it up wherever there’s a text field. Go check out Google Scribe for yourself, and let us know what you think. Also, see what’s the weirdest suggestion that you can coax out of it.

[via Google Operating System]

I have a bastardized typing style that is a cross between touch typing and whatever you call it when you have to look at the keyboard to type even though I type really fast. The problem, when I work on my netbook is that I end up putting my palm on the track pad accidentally, which moves the cursor about the time I am not looking at the screen and I end up with an entire paragraph in the wrong place.

Synaptics has announced new tech at Computex that will hopefully stop this issue forever. The new trackpad technology supports gestures with up to four fingers, but the best part is that the new SmartSense tech can tell the difference between the palm of your hand and your fingers.

While the multi-finger gesture capability is really cool, the ability to detect accidental is a godsend to those of us who type our work for a living.

The ingenious design adds tiny little pushable “buttons” that line up perfectly with the keyboard on the screen of the iPhone. They’ve even designed the 4iThumbs to be easily removable when you don’t need to type that much. The video below shows exactly how it’s installed and used.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The 4iThumbs tactile overlay is available here in both landscape ($16.95 USD) and portait ($14.95) versions, depending on your typing preference. They’re also selling a bundle with both versions for $19.95.

iPhone touch typing, here we come!

[via IntoMobile]

It may be useful for really old people, but otherwise I think this is a bad idea. How will you learn to type like everyone else if you don’t use a normal keyboard? It’s kinda like learning how to drive using a car that has its gas and brake pedals reversed. But we at technabob are staunch defenders of democracy and of your right to a keyboard with alphabetically arranged keys, so if you want a Hunt and Peck keyboard, be my guest. firstStreet – makers of the old-people-friendly go computer – is selling the Hunt and Peck Keyboard for $30 (USD). Weirdly enough, the go computer’s keyboard layout is QWERTY. Go figure.

[via Likecool]

Brando says that it’s also good for “decoration”. I had the slightest suspicion that it was only meant to be eaten, but now I can rest assured that bread is also an ornament.

You can get one of these for $6 or two for $10. Brando doesn’t say what the white bread wrist rests are made of, so if you order one and receive bread, as in bread bread… just…I don’t know. Caveat emptor.

White bread wrist rests. I love this job so much.

[via Brando via 7gadgets]

In addition to tracking your typing speed (in words-per-minute) the gauge also keeps a running total of how many words you’ve typed so far today. Just plug the speedometer into your USB port, install the included software, and you’re off to the races. The gauge tops out at a whopping 260 WPM, which is speedier than the even world’s fastest typist’s record 212 WPM (and that was on a Dvorak keyboard!)

The USB WPM Speedometer arrives this March at DrinkStuff for £19.99 (appx. $39 USD).

[via TFTS]