6 ms·

Show HN: Winston – iOS Productivity Keyboard

11 points by teer 11y ago

twodayslate 11y ago
What is so great about this that hasn't already been done by all the other 3rd party keyboards on the market?
- teer 11y ago
  I think there are a couple of things. First, it's meant to complement rather than replace your default keyboard, which is where I think most third party implementations go wrong (it's very hard to best Apple's autocorrect and people are used to using the default keyboard for typing). Then I think the advantages with Winston are that it aggregates a number of useful services (Yelp, Giphy, Spotify, etc.), has a simple design with no need to learn anything new (like gestures or swiping), and includes search functionality. But I'd love to get any feedback as well!
  - thecosas 11y ago
    Yeah, I've noticed a tricky part about 3rd-party keyboards is discoverability. Many people get far enough to enable it, but in my own experience, iOS is pretty buggy when it comes to keyboards. I like the approach of augmenting the system keyboard with additional features. When it's done this way, it's not so infuriating that it's not working :-)
    - teer 11y ago
      Agreed, and it doesn't help that it takes about 10 taps to enable keyboards in settings. I think all 3rd party keyboards are actually getting less buggy, especially in my experience since updating to iOS 9.
thecosas 11y ago
What's your plan for revenue? IAP?
- teer 11y ago
  Yes. I think I'll add features for free in the next update (and continue to improve the existing features) and then begin to experiment with premium features. Keyboards require a bit of creativity to monetize since users have to go to the containing app to purchase IAP, and I don't know how well that works. Ideally with enough downloads, I might also be able to monetize with some form of sponsored content.
ryanSrich 11y ago
Gify is completely broken. The search doesn't work (hitting the search button doesn't do anything) and when I reload the gif it crashes messages. Great idea though. iPhone 6s Plus 9.0.2
- teer 11y ago
  Thanks for the feedback. The keyboard should be loading results from Giphy after every letter typed in the search field. The problem might be a weak connection, but I should definitely be handling the error better. Thanks again.
anjneymidha 11y ago
This is an intellectually fascinating implementation of an alternative app store - great work, keep at it!

11 points by teer 11y ago

twodayslate 11y ago

What is so great about this that hasn't already been done by all the other 3rd party keyboards on the market?

teer 11y ago
I think there are a couple of things. First, it's meant to complement rather than replace your default keyboard, which is where I think most third party implementations go wrong (it's very hard to best Apple's autocorrect and people are used to using the default keyboard for typing). Then I think the advantages with Winston are that it aggregates a number of useful services (Yelp, Giphy, Spotify, etc.), has a simple design with no need to learn anything new (like gestures or swiping), and includes search functionality. But I'd love to get any feedback as well!
- thecosas 11y ago
  Yeah, I've noticed a tricky part about 3rd-party keyboards is discoverability. Many people get far enough to enable it, but in my own experience, iOS is pretty buggy when it comes to keyboards. I like the approach of augmenting the system keyboard with additional features. When it's done this way, it's not so infuriating that it's not working :-)
  - teer 11y ago
    Agreed, and it doesn't help that it takes about 10 taps to enable keyboards in settings. I think all 3rd party keyboards are actually getting less buggy, especially in my experience since updating to iOS 9.

thecosas 11y ago

What's your plan for revenue? IAP?

teer 11y ago
Yes. I think I'll add features for free in the next update (and continue to improve the existing features) and then begin to experiment with premium features. Keyboards require a bit of creativity to monetize since users have to go to the containing app to purchase IAP, and I don't know how well that works. Ideally with enough downloads, I might also be able to monetize with some form of sponsored content.

ryanSrich 11y ago

Gify is completely broken. The search doesn't work (hitting the search button doesn't do anything) and when I reload the gif it crashes messages. Great idea though. iPhone 6s Plus 9.0.2

teer 11y ago
Thanks for the feedback. The keyboard should be loading results from Giphy after every letter typed in the search field. The problem might be a weak connection, but I should definitely be handling the error better. Thanks again.

anjneymidha 11y ago

This is an intellectually fascinating implementation of an alternative app store - great work, keep at it!