Radial Menus, Release to Select

Engaget recently covered the release of a new mobile device by Enblaze. I like the radial interface, and the move away from buttons, which in my opinion is one of the weakest interactions of a touch screen. Some downsides of this approach include

• accidental triggering of features when you lose your grip momentarily
• Bias or inefficiency (unless it automatically switches) to switch between left and right hands
• Loss of spatial memory
• Loss of the visual efficiency in vertical and horizontal grid alignment

Physical keyboards are sooo 2009

Lukas Mathis speculates in Virtual Keyboards, Real Keyboards the reason for the iPhone's virtual keyboard:

…I would assume that the reason why Apple went with an on-screen keyboard is not that they thought it afforded a better typing experience than a physical keyboard. They went with the on-screen keyboard because they thought the trade-offs were worth it.

I agree with Lukas here, but I think there's more. Yes, having an input area which can be keyboard, canvas, or aircraft controls is alone enough justification for not including a physical keyboard when text-entry is not key. If you do *have* to type, a real keyboard wins.

BUT! The current iPhone (etc.) keyboard simply copies how mechanical keyboards work. Tap, tap, tap. Darn, I missed the G. The strength of a touchscreen is not its tap detection — if anything, that's the most unreliable part of the interaction. Trying to type fast on the iPhone is like trying to play 'Flight of the Bumblebee' on the Double Bass. Sure you can do it, but it's not a good match. Instead, I'm eagerly anticipating development in alternate touchscreen text-entry approaches combined with the addition of better touchscreens, haptic technologies and new sets of software idioms.

And I don't believe I'm the only one. I think Apple is predicting a near-term future where touchscreen text entry methods actually outperform full-size mechanical keyboards. And that this future is near enough to require them to commence the evolution of their technology, and their users, in order to get there. I believe the aping of the QWERTY physical keyboard is a transitional step.

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Asus Puts Computer in Keyboard

This Eee Keyboard contains an entire computer, which you can hook up to various monitors/TVs or simply use the included touchscreen (which works sometimes). Looks very similar to Apple keyboards, In Chinese. I predict some future version of this, perhaps all touchscreen, will become a major segment of computing form factors. Via Gizmodo.

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Alternative 'TouchType' Text Input Approach

touchtype proposes a new approach to text input on a touchscreen. It takes predictive text to another level — suggesting a list of words which you are probably going to type next. With each letter you input, the list is updated. The application is not yet available, so I've not had an opportunity to play with it, but it does look reasonably good.

However, it seems to me that treating touchscreens like a real-world keyboards is flawed from the start. This is because the strengths of touchscreens is hi-resolution, real time positioning data for any finger dragging along the glass. The weaknesses of touchscreens is that initial point of touch — the system basically has to a) second guess where you meant to touch b) second guess that you mean to tap at all. I would propose an interaction where you only lift your fingers for unusual events, and design the system to be almost totally controlled from dragging on an XY plane. Swype gets closer to this idea of continuous input — we're well overdue for a change, as I've written about before.

via touchusability.com

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Senseg Tactile technology

Maybe this is the missing piece of the puzzle which will move touchscreen input to the mainstream desktop interface. CrunchGear covers technology by Senseg which apparently imparts a pseudo-haptic feedback overlay with resolution of 'tixels', pixels which are about the size of QWERTY keys.

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