Introducing the Invisible Keyboard

June 4, 2012

An Israeli company called SnapKeys has introduced an invisible keyboard that is based on letter shapes rather than frequency of letter use, frees up screen space, and lets a smart phone user communicate better. The system is a whole new way of using the alphabet to type.

“We are not providing a keyboard,” says Dan Saban, the general manager of SnapKeys. “We are providing a user experience for reading and writing text on the mobile platform.” This new approach is based on primary shapes. “Kids learn shapes when they go to school…We went back to that whole process in the development—in our ability to communicate with shapes. It's easier for people to know where shapes are and identify their characters. People do need to relearn what they've already learned, but in a more visual way.”

Learning how to use the new SnapKeys keyboard, which could be available for download on Android by the end of the year, takes a few hours to a couple of days. A tutorial guides the learning process, and the accompanying software highlights letters that can be tapped with your thumbs as you hold the small screen.

Once the letter groups are learned, the visuals can be removed and a smart phone user can enjoy typing on the screen without any keyboard taking up valuable space. Click here for more information or email [email protected].

Source: Excerpts of an article by Karin Kloosterman, www.israel21c.org

Photo Credit: www.israel21c.org