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Having to actually put this on your hand makes it much less convenient for short-burst typing than a touchscreen. You have to take it out, fit it, and be tempor
by chjohasbrouck 10y ago
Having to actually put this on your hand makes it much less convenient for short-burst typing than a touchscreen. You have to take it out, fit it, and be temporarily disabled by it.
Using this for typing over long durations isn't more convenient than a keyboard and the friction would probably become uncomfortable over time.
I think this will encounter the same problem most wearables have finding product-market fit. The bar is already incredibly high in terms of the speed and ease of use of consumer electronics. If you've added even 1 physical step that adds even a half-second to an action, people will always eventually default to the half-second faster way of doing something.
There's also the issue of personal consolidation. People will generally favor a single device that does 2 things over two devices that each do 1 thing, even if the more specialized devices perform better at their individual roles. This is why releasing the iPhone eventually cannibalized iPod sales. I don't see a wearable keyboard justifying pocket space for most people.
I actually struggle to find a use for this product even when I get very specific about the use case. If you're rock climbing, you still have to position the screen of the device you're typing on. This product just added to the number of hands I have to use. Even if the screen is mounted somewhere for you, what's the ideal use case? Texting while bicycling?
- lolc 10y agoI agree that these are big hurdles for adoption. The device combines two big advantages though: requires no visual focus and needs only one hand. I want that badly. I don't see why I would have to ever take it off, a few hardware generations in. It will always be there, powered by body heat. We're turning into cyborgs without the implants. Obligatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/269/ https://xkcd.com/269/
- 2muchcoffeeman 10y agoIt looks like you have to learn a new system for typing though. And if you did make it wearable, you'd have to put a bunch of extra smarts into it to make sure you don't just start typing messages to people.
- excalibur 10y agoTyping in VR, accessibility for amputees, a variety of business uses where one-handed device operation boosts productivity. The typing system design is actually more important than the device itself. If we can standardize a good universal system for one-handed typing, we can tweak the hardware as we go.