Unistroke and the future of mobile keyboards.
Unistroke input probably means very little to you, you’re probably thinking oh great, another buzzword
. I promise it is more than that. Unistroke is an evolution of the keyboard, for touchscreen devices, and it is very efficient. You have probably already heard of, or even used a unistroke keyboard. Keyboards such as Swype and ShapeWriter are the most prominent unistroke keyboards, and more are appearing every day.
Early History
Unistroke first emerged from IBM in 2003, but had had to wait until recent times to be taken seriously. IBM’s first demonstration was called SHARK, and the technology behind this method is still around, under the name ShapeWriter. SHARK featured an onscreen keyboard, with a qwerty layout. A user would use a stylus to move between keys of the virtual keyboard to enter text. But what made SHARK different was the method in which words were entered; instead of tapping each key for a single letter, the user wouldn’t lift the pen from the screen until they completed a word. Since one smooth stoke created a single word, it was given the name “unistroke”.
Swype enters the scene
Fast-forward to fall 2009. A small startup posts a video on youtube, demonstrating an input method for touchscreen devices. The input method in question is a unistroke input, but what sets it apart is the presence of advanced features, such as an editing keyboard, gestures for capitalization and punctuation, and an eerily accurate word suggestion feature. To the masses of iPhone and other touchscreen phone users, this looks to be an interesting alternative to hunt and peck typing on touchscreens.
Android gets busy
An early swype alpha was leaked on the android platform, and many users began picking it up. At first, swype attempted to suppress the outbreak, but soon reversed course and embraced it, asking for user feedback. Catalyzed by the big reaction, many other unistroke keyboards emerged, to compete with Swype. Old SHARK, now known as ShapeWriter, released a keyboard for android, and others began popping up like mushrooms. Each new keyboard shared the same basic idea, and each executed it a little differently.
World records, phones shipping, and a beta
Move to March 2010. Swype has seen lots of publicity since the leaking of its alpha. Several phone manufacturers have contacted them to provide the touchscreen input keyboards for their devices, and one such device, the Samsung omnia was able to beak a world record for texting on a mobile phone, through swype. Television ads laud this, and laypeople are getting interested. So swype starts a closed beta, asking people to sign up in their website. The response is enormous, and the site is brought to its knees. After sending out several thousand downloads, swype closes the beta. Leaks quickly appear in the various android blogs. People are obviously interested in swype.
What makes swype so special?
On the surface, swype is identical to all other unistroke input systems. You enter text by making fluid gestures on a keyboard. But what makes swype special are the features on top of all this. Simple things like drawing above the keyboard to make a capitol letter, or scribbling on a single letter to indicate repetition, set swype apart from its competitors. Also helping us the forgiving nature of the engine. Some keyboards demand your strokes be exact, swype lets quite a bit of slop through.
What’s in the future
At CITA 2010, swype demonstrated several markets they want to get into. Mickeys such as input on larger screens, such as those found on tablets, all the way up to tv screen size. Personally, the idea of having store as an input method on my Wii or Xbox360 is very desirable. Anything that eases input in these devices is a welcome addition, as currently it’s nothing but a hunt and peck affair. Swype also has shown off windows mobile builds, but to much less coverage than their android counterparts
Some people swear by swype, others swear at it. I personally like it, and being able to send complex messages very quickly via my phone. I know it has shortcomings, but the conveniences outweigh the irritants, so I will content to use it.
Further reading
Add yes, this whole article was written on my droid, using swype in the wordpress app.
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