4 ms·

The “complicated” blob input method looks remarkably similar to the Japanese 12-key input method https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/4X/

The “complicated” blob input method looks remarkably similar to the Japanese 12-key input method https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/4X/f/c/f/fcf11e752abefd172fe6a798a32db12f90eda93c.jpeg https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/... (This works because the Japanese ‘hiragana’ syllabary is naturally ordered in 10 groups of 5 characters each.)

aikinai 4y ago
Wow, I came to say the same thing; surprised to see this as the first comment! As far as I know, this keyboard was pioneered by Apple; I wonder if they were inspired by or reused the “blob” experiment? It’s not necessarily that novel though; seems to a a natural evolution of the Japanese syllabary and the old multi-tap physical “10-key” keyboards.
- Tijdreiziger 4y ago
  The physical ones (on flip phones) were also 12-key (0-9, *, and #), so I suppose it was just swiping on the keys that was novel. It definitely does leave one to wonder whether that innovation was inspired by this prototype. Since we’re on the topic of input methods: I’ve always found the 8pen [1] fascinating. I sadly never had the opportunity to try it for myself, since I was using an iPhone rather than Android at the time (and it’s since been delisted). [1] https://youtu.be/q3OuCR0EpGo https://youtu.be/q3OuCR0EpGo
  - aikinai 4y ago
    I can't believe you also mentioned 8pen! I almost made a comment about that as well, but had to run earlier. I was also fascinated by the idea when that launched and really wanted it to be successful. I also had an iPhone, but I convinced my Android friend to buy it and try it out. He gave it a good shot, but it's just so hard to build fluency with, it never really stood a chance. I still wonder if the idea is sound if it were possible for people to learn more fluently in a reasonable timeframe.
  - vageli 4y ago
    There seems to be an alternative in 8vim keyboard (haven't used it though): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=inc.flide.vi8 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=inc.flide.vi8 with the code available at https://github.com/flide/8VIM https://github.com/flide/8VIM
    - Tijdreiziger 4y ago
      Wow, that’s interesting. Looks like the links on their GitHub page are dead, though, but I’ll give it a try anyway.
wodenokoto 4y ago
The alphabet also works really well in about 10 groups. T9 dictionary of the dumbphone era worked really well and would have 3-4 letters assigned to a number.
- frosted-flakes 4y ago
  T9 still works pretty well. Samsung phones have it available as an alternative layout and it's shockingly accurate.
  - kadoban 4y ago
    If you like T9, you might enjoy MessagEase. It's IMO just a natural improvement on the concept translated to touchscreens.
grishka 4y ago
I recently built a prototype of this style of keyboard for Android for Latin and Cyrillic alphabets because of how frustrated I am with any form of input that involves dictionaries, guesswork, and tiny buttons. I then used it for half a day. It works, I can type words on it, but at least for as much time as I used it, it was slower for me than Gboard because I had to make a mental effort to remember which gesture from which button types which letter. Typos were almost nonexistent though. Now, I arranged the letters very naively, I simply took the T9 layout and adapted it for these directional swipes. It might work better if I arrange letters by frequency. For example, such that typing the most common letters would always only require a tap, the less common ones would be a swipe down (which is easier for me than other directions), and so on. Here's a thread about it at the time: https://twitter.com/grishka11/status/1517431598857302019 https://twitter.com/grishka11/status/1517431598857302019
- Tijdreiziger 4y ago
  Wow, this is fascinating. Is the code open source? I'd love to try it out.
  - grishka 4y ago
    It's not a real product, at least not yet. It's not up to my standards, so I haven't published it anywhere. It will be open source if I decide to polish and publish it.
charlieyu1 4y ago
and I just typed Japanese words romanized. The 12-key system is just slow to use anyway
CarVac 4y ago
It's also similar to MessagEase, which is what I use.

aikinai 4y ago

Wow, I came to say the same thing; surprised to see this as the first comment! As far as I know, this keyboard was pioneered by Apple; I wonder if they were inspired by or reused the “blob” experiment? It’s not necessarily that novel though; seems to a a natural evolution of the Japanese syllabary and the old multi-tap physical “10-key” keyboards.

Tijdreiziger 4y ago
The physical ones (on flip phones) were also 12-key (0-9, *, and #), so I suppose it was just swiping on the keys that was novel. It definitely does leave one to wonder whether that innovation was inspired by this prototype. Since we’re on the topic of input methods: I’ve always found the 8pen [1] fascinating. I sadly never had the opportunity to try it for myself, since I was using an iPhone rather than Android at the time (and it’s since been delisted). [1] https://youtu.be/q3OuCR0EpGo https://youtu.be/q3OuCR0EpGo
- aikinai 4y ago
  I can't believe you also mentioned 8pen! I almost made a comment about that as well, but had to run earlier. I was also fascinated by the idea when that launched and really wanted it to be successful. I also had an iPhone, but I convinced my Android friend to buy it and try it out. He gave it a good shot, but it's just so hard to build fluency with, it never really stood a chance. I still wonder if the idea is sound if it were possible for people to learn more fluently in a reasonable timeframe.
- vageli 4y ago
  There seems to be an alternative in 8vim keyboard (haven't used it though): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=inc.flide.vi8 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=inc.flide.vi8 with the code available at https://github.com/flide/8VIM https://github.com/flide/8VIM
  - Tijdreiziger 4y ago
    Wow, that’s interesting. Looks like the links on their GitHub page are dead, though, but I’ll give it a try anyway.

wodenokoto 4y ago

The alphabet also works really well in about 10 groups. T9 dictionary of the dumbphone era worked really well and would have 3-4 letters assigned to a number.

frosted-flakes 4y ago
T9 still works pretty well. Samsung phones have it available as an alternative layout and it's shockingly accurate.
- kadoban 4y ago
  If you like T9, you might enjoy MessagEase. It's IMO just a natural improvement on the concept translated to touchscreens.

grishka 4y ago

I recently built a prototype of this style of keyboard for Android for Latin and Cyrillic alphabets because of how frustrated I am with any form of input that involves dictionaries, guesswork, and tiny buttons. I then used it for half a day. It works, I can type words on it, but at least for as much time as I used it, it was slower for me than Gboard because I had to make a mental effort to remember which gesture from which button types which letter. Typos were almost nonexistent though. Now, I arranged the letters very naively, I simply took the T9 layout and adapted it for these directional swipes. It might work better if I arrange letters by frequency. For example, such that typing the most common letters would always only require a tap, the less common ones would be a swipe down (which is easier for me than other directions), and so on. Here's a thread about it at the time: https://twitter.com/grishka11/status/1517431598857302019 https://twitter.com/grishka11/status/1517431598857302019

Tijdreiziger 4y ago
Wow, this is fascinating. Is the code open source? I'd love to try it out.
- grishka 4y ago
  It's not a real product, at least not yet. It's not up to my standards, so I haven't published it anywhere. It will be open source if I decide to polish and publish it.

charlieyu1 4y ago

and I just typed Japanese words romanized. The 12-key system is just slow to use anyway

CarVac 4y ago

It's also similar to MessagEase, which is what I use.