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Handhelds Hardware

New Cell Phone Typing Solution 184

Posted by CmdrTaco from the look-ma-one-hand dept.
merlin_jim writes "Found this article on MSNBC about a new Cell Phone typing solution. It uses silicon sensors that can recognize the "shape" of each finger. The meaning of each key changes depending on which finger you use to press it; index finger for A, middle finger for B, etc. Unused finger/key combinations can be assigned to functions like ring volume." Watch out for those pop-up advertisements on your way into MSNBC. This is an idea I never really thought about for single handed typing input. A very cool idea.
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New Cell Phone Typing Solution More

New Cell Phone Typing Solution

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  • I was typing, but I figured out I can't type any letter past the letter J.

    Damn.
  • This is going to prove a problem for all those "index-finger" typers out there.

    click...click...click...click...click..........( wh ere's that damn '~'?)....click...
    • Isn't that what Tegic [tegic.com]'s T9 [t9.com] was developed for?

      It's what I use on my Nokia 6210 and it's great, user dictionary entries and multiple languages mean even my French is spelt correctly ;o)

  • Fine, except... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by JanneM ( 7445 ) on Friday October 05, 2001 @08:50AM (#2391817) Homepage
    ...except that I use the thumb to press every key on the cellphone, holding it with the rest of the fingers.

    If we have to use every finger, this means you suddenly need to use both hands just to use the phone - not a step forward.

    /Janne

    • Re:Fine, except... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Bobman1235 ( 191138 )
      ...except that I use the thumb to press every key on the cellphone, holding it with the rest of the fingers.

      Good point. I dont' think this idea will really take off when people realize they have to put their cell phone down somewhere in order to use it. There's very little point in having a cell phone if you have to go find a desk somewhere to sit just to use it--might as well just get a laptop or something.

      And not to sound snotty, but what's really the big deal with typing in names, etc., using the telephone keypads? If you do it enough, you should become pretty fast at it, seriously. If you want to write a novel maybe you should just accept the fact that the cell phone is not the best medium for that type of communication.

      • And not to sound snotty, but what's really the big deal with typing in names, etc., using the telephone keypads? If you do it enough, you should become pretty fast at it, seriously. If you want to write a novel maybe you should just accept the fact that the cell phone is not the best medium for that type of communication.

        I understand that in the US you mostly use your phones for talking. However, in other parts of the world, people also use them for text messages. Although these are not novels, even a 150 character message is pretty slow to enter, so a faster input method would definately help.

        • You are right, SMS are 160 chars long and we use it _a lot_, but I just tried using different fingers in my phone keyboard, I don't like it at all, it is not comfortable!
          I think that the predictive text input used in many phones is great, you can type really fast, I doubt that a much faster rate can be achieved with the new method.
          Still, I type much faster on my computer; something that gets me to that speed would be great, maybe voice recognition!, but this one is not that good.
          • Yes. predictive text is ducking excellent. I used to have one of those piece of shiv phones that didn't have it, but my new 6210 is the dog's collo?.
        • We have a label maker at work, and since it's a narrow "box" basically, there are several rows of letters and numbers.

          Sounds easy to type in your message in the little LCD thing, right?

          Wrong. No matter how many times I use it, my typing speed drops dramatically, since I spend most of my time looking for the right letter to hit. Yet, on my Qualcomm, I can punch in a name much easier.
        • How about a method of converting speech into SMS? That way, instead of spending 10 pence on a 5 minute off-peak phone call, you could instead spend it on a 160 characters text message. Now thats progress!

    • Re:Fine, except... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by toxcspdrmn ( 471013 )
      What about people who through accident of birth (or just plain accident) have less than the standard complement of digits?

      The one thing that current cellphones have in their favour is that if you can hold one and have one finger or thumb spare, you can use it (sight/hearing impairments excepted).
      • What is great with cell phones is that, even if you're blind, you can use it...

        look at the 5 digit... About all cellphones have marks either on the key or around it (a little like the 5 on a computer keypad and the F and J on the keyboards).

        These allows blind people to dial the phone number even without seeing the keys.

        With a little practice, you may even use it if you're not blind... You're in your car and want to phone someone, no need to have a look at your phone in his carkit to dial the number !!!

    • This is true, but it could be something which is an added feature rather than the only way it works. ie if you use the same digit for repeated keypresses, then it will cycle through the characters in the same way. If you want to use the one finger one character approach, you can use more than one digit.

      It shouldn't be too tricky to develop this so that it can allow both modes ... providing enhanced functionality for those who can be arsed to get used to a new way of typing.

      cheers

      Mike
    • It hurts my hand to type this way.

      I will type k with both hands - try it yourself
      kkkkkkkkkk

      Unlike keyboard typing, you MUST move your hand to do it, and if you do not you will hurt your hand. Also, you may need to hold the phone with one hand and use the other to make a message.

      Why not have shifts/control buttons on the back of the phone where one's hand would normally be, so that you could get the same effect by pressing with one of the four fingers holding the phone, while still only needing the thumb to type with?

      -Ben
      • > I will type k with both hands - try it yourself
        > kkkkkkkkkk

        Which reminds me, touch-typists can have a lot of fun grepping /usr/dict/words and typing one-handed:

        i join my hippy union. you pin holly on johnny; i jump on you only. in my opinion, you look plump - kill my unholy puppy.

        • i join my hippy union. you pin holly on johnny; i jump on you only. in my opinion, you look plump - kill my unholy puppy.

          We agree!

          Federated rats vacate West Texas! Steve evades scattered egg beaters! Red cabbages are savage weeds! Cassette #5 reverberates! Dweeb gadgets waste $$$! Caesar was a great deceased badass! Retarded Bart eats wet sewage! Ferrets wear sweaters! Etcetera!

          (I wish there was more useful punctuation on that half of the keyboard.)
          • > I wish there was more useful punctuation on that half of the keyboard.)

            I'm still playing with alternating left/right words in sentences. Great way to fsck up a touch-typist :)

    • How often do you have to enter a lot of text with only one hand free?


    • If we have to use every finger, this means you suddenly need to use both hands just to use the phone


      Or just buy a phone that doesn't use this method of input. Problem solved. That's the great thing about a capitalistic market where competition is present. If you don't like one product, there are others to choose from.
  • `F', not `B'? I'm pretty sure that's what I mean when I use _my_ middle finger.

    :)

  • Only good for animals (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Misfit ( 1071 )
    Most humans use their opposable thumbs with cellphones.
    • It's new, it's hype... it isn't fair to come with facts here... You have to be excited about that! Didn't you know?
      Because the volume of sold phone isn't more rising, they have top bring something new, that everyone must have. BUY IT!
      Or you're responsible it the whole marketing-bubble collapses!

      PS: ouups... seems i forgot the tags
  • IBM has been developing stuff like this for years, but little credit is given to them.

    typing solutions aside, pointing devices without the devices! [ibm.com]

    when will the future be now?
    --donabal
  • There is only one problem with this. I type with my thumb on my cell phone. That way I can hold it in my hand and type with my thumb, useing only one had. To do this you would have to hold the phone in one hand and type with the other, there by makeing it less convenient. Maybe you could do something like four buttons on the side of the phone and the combination you press them in let's you do different things. Like a cording keyboard.
  • Even though I never quite understood why my fellow Germans write so many messages on their teeny-weenie pieces of Finnish [nokia.fi] or German [siemens.com] ingeniouity (or just plain Taiwanese ingeniouty, if you're gonna be nit-picky), they will have to love this. I've seen cell phones that no longer had writing on their buttons because they'd been pressed so much in the process of writing important messages like "I was just thinking about you" or "I'll be running 3 minutes late" and the like.

  • What I don't get... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ackthpt ( 218170 ) on Friday October 05, 2001 @08:56AM (#2391847) Homepage Journal
    Is the backside of almost all cell phones is wasted space. Put a small keypad with a slip cover over it and give the user a stylus to type with. For that matter, put a one or two line LCD display there so you can see just the last word or words typed.
  • Like 'F' and 'U' when press really HARD with my Middle finger. Easy to learn, and natural too :)
  • What if it is cold outside, and you are wearing gloves?

  • And if you're missing a few fingers? (Score:5, Funny)

    by afniv ( 10789 ) on Friday October 05, 2001 @08:59AM (#2391874) Homepage
    And if you are missing a few fingers, what is one to do? If you're missing your middle finger, you are already disadvantaged in communications when you're driving. Hopefully that doesn't spread to telephones.

    I didn't read the article to avoid the popups, so kill my karma if it was answered in the article.
    • Now this is innovation... keys that could be sensitive to the tip of the tongue... add a DNA analysis device to validate the user and block any thieves from using your stolen phone.
      • From the women I've spoken with,
        the tongue is much more effective
        when used for writting cursive..

        Sure, it takes a bit longer,
        but makes the message more personal,
        and that is greatly appreciated.

  • Watch out for those pop-up advertisements... (Score:5, Funny)

    by MongooseCN ( 139203 ) on Friday October 05, 2001 @08:59AM (#2391875) Homepage
    Watch out for those pop-up advertisements on your way into MSNBC.

    That's what the middle fingers function will be for...


  • the shape of my middle finger determines how hard i'm trying to 'F' that key to work
  • I wonder exactly how much thought is given to people missing fingers or with deformities.
    Probably none.
    I bet it wont make mainstream for that reason no matter how cool it is.
    • I'd be inclined to say it won't be popular becuase it requires too much training on behalf of the end user. Who wants to have to learn how to use a device-specific ten-fingered code just to use a cell phone? At least the PDA-specific handwriting schemes like Jot and Graffiti are at least somewhat similar to english. I'm sure there's a decent cell phone UI out there waiting to be discovered. Alas, I'm also sure that this isn't it.
    • How much thought do they give to disabled people when they put in a staircase? None... They just put in an elevator or ramp next to the stairs. By the same token, if a disabled person cannot use this phone, they will buy a traditional phone! Gimme a break...

  • 2 finger chords (Score:2, Insightful)

    by shibut ( 208631 )
    This looks interesting but expensive to implement (the article says $1 per sensor for 1 key and then you need to license & implement the technology). It seems to me that it would be easier to add 3-4 more buttons to an SMS phone that were pressed simultaneosly with the "letter" buttons. Since 2 hands are needed to operate the finger differentiating method, it won't matter if you use 2 hand for this "chord". In particular, those of us that thumb-type on a cell can just use both thumbs.

    Just an idea....
  • "Another use of the technology would be for video game controllers. Instead of placing multiple buttons on a controller (Sony's controller for the PlayStation 2 has eight buttons, not even counting the four direction buttons and the start and select buttons), a single button or a few buttons could be used for all the functions, with each finger denoting a particular action."

    This is actually a better idea than using it on cell phones.

    • No, it isn't either, for the same geometry problem.
      The problem for cellphone, is that the way you use it, (mostly with your thumb) is with a fixed position of the hand.
      For a gamepad, this is pretty much the same, and in fact, it's even worse, because you have higher speed concerns.
      To play most action games, you position your fingers above the buttons you will be using and combine, click and click again as fast as possible.
      You would use a considerable amount of time to try clicking the same button with different fingers, it's much better to have as many buttons as possible comfortably spread around the device so that you have them all ready to click/trigger/press..
      The invention is interesting, but pretty useless in fact, they could have as well invented a camera that could sense your head orientation so that you could do a few things just by moving your head.
      It would be interesting but useless, it's not useful just because it is possible or even cool.
      The few examples they propose in the article and for what patents were filled are all equaly useless (and even dangerous).
      But I could see an application that maybe they forgot to patent:
      someone could make a teaching keyboard to train people for typing, or music... where a program could teach the student how to position his fingers and monitor if the words are entered correctly, or if a melody is played "the right way", things like that...

  • Gaming (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Lizard_King ( 149713 ) on Friday October 05, 2001 @09:03AM (#2391890) Journal
    Another use of the technology would be for video game controllers. Instead of placing multiple buttons on a controller (Sony's controller for the PlayStation 2 has eight buttons, not even counting the four direction buttons and the start and select buttons), a single button or a few buttons could be used for all the functions, with each finger denoting a particular action.

    This would mean a fundamental change to gaming interaction. Instead of training our hands/fingers to move according to a certain button pattern on an input device, we would need to train our hands/fingers to react in different combinations.

    Take a simple example: Imagine you are sitting in a completely closed off room (some isolated test environment) and you are told that you need to press buttons (provided in the room) to get food and water. So you learn to press this button over here to get food and that button over there to get water, and so on. Now, the test environment changes and removes the buttons from your little room. Now, you must learn to perform certain actions to get food and water like raising your right hand for food and raising your left hand for water.

    Would this change of approach be benificial to gaming?
    • Take a simple example: Imagine you are sitting in a completely closed off room (some isolated test environment) and you are told that you need to press buttons (provided in the room) to get food and water. So you learn to press this button over here to get food and that button over there to get water, and so on. Now, the test environment changes and removes the buttons from your little room. Now, you must learn to perform certain actions to get food and water like raising your right hand for food and raising your left hand for water.

      Sounds like House of Stairs, which was a decent read way back when. Basically an experiment in conditioning, but where the required behavior isn't demonstrated.

      Would this change of approach be benificial to gaming? No. I really don't think so. The PS2 has "analog" buttons already (read: pressure sensative), which is a strange enough change in gaming interaction. The game controller needs to be a non-item. The ideal is that you forget that there is an interface between you and the game, not that you can type a screenplay with to keys. To that end, the controller needs to be flexible, but incredibly intuitive. And you need to be able to use it in a number of ways, including resting it on your knee or table for fighting games, for instance.

      A button finger combination thing just makes that more difficult.

    • Take a simple example: Imagine you are sitting in a completely closed off room (some isolated test environment) and you are told that you need to press buttons (provided in the room) to get food and water. So you learn to press this button over here to get food and that button over there to get water, and so on. Now, the test environment changes and removes the buttons from your little room. Now, you must learn to perform certain actions to get food and water like raising your right hand for food and raising your left hand for water.

      Would this change of approach be benificial to gaming?

      Actually, This kind of approach has been tried before. Remember back when you use to play on your NES system? There was a 'controler' you could get for it called the Power Glove. To move in a direction, you moved your arm, to press a button, you kinda twitched on of your fingers. This is similar to what they are suggesting, as it is a new paradigm.

      I think the biggest problem with the power glove was that it required so much more energy to use. Having to hold your arm up and out, and then fully 'closing' your finger to press a button. Compared to the slight movements required to press a button.

      This new technology will try to change the paradigm once again, but it may be more successful as it requires less movement. But then again, some games may end up requiring you to practically wave your hands back and forth as you use one of your fingers to go press another button.

      I don't think gamers will care too much for that. We're a lazy lot

    • Another point I don't believe has been mentioned was what if you want to perform action A and B at the same time but they require the same finger to be on different buttons, or one button to be pressed by two fingers. This situation occurs almost every second of every FPS game, and although some of these conflicts exist with present devices, they would pale in comparison with those introduced by this technology.

      The driving factor behind this technology is maximum use out of limited buttons, by sacrificing movement complexity (and therefore increasing time required) and simultanious actions. Gamers don't need a small limit on the number of buttons they use, and they definitely need minimum time and simultanious actions. For these reasons, I believe this technology is exactly the opposite of what you'd want in a game controller.
  • How does his system account for the different shapes of different peoples' hands? Do you have to calibrate it for your own fingers, or can anyone use it? For example, what if a woman, with more slender fingers used the phone? How would it be able to tell the difference between a fat index finger and a regular thumb?

    It doesn't seem too promising to me, mainly because there simply isn't any algorithm which can account for the widly varying differences in human geometry, especially the hands.

    I'd like to see it work before I would incorporate in my phone, and just not work for me. Take ten people with odd shaped fingers and see if it works.
  • A similar feature could also be used for those public internet kiosks, which have no mouse, but just a touch screen. Now the age-old question "How to you right-click on these beasts?" has an answer: use the little finger rather than the index .Didn't work so far, but with this technology, it will ;-)

  • MSNBC (Score:1)

    by manon ( 112081 )
    The day that MS is going to spam my cellphone, I'm going to headbang my keys I think.
  • Seriously folks, once the world gets over the whole one-key-per-letter rut that they're stuck in, alternative keyboard models like chordic will really start to pick up.

    You can probably get away with chordic on a cel phone if you change the form factor a little. Imagine a phone that you carry at your side, in a fist, until you are done dialling or writing notes or whatever. It could even have a wireless connection to your various wearable devices so you never have to worry about switching keyboards. Imagine, stylus in one hand, phone in the other, and headset in ear. You'd be an unstoppable nerd machine!

    Of course I can imagine geeks having a hard time learning 5-digit letter codes. After all, who would want to learn something like that? Not me. No siree. I'll just happily write bad letters with my palm and scribble on my newton and slow myself down with bulky physical keyboards. :)
    • Exactly! Chord keyboards (like the twiddler [handykey.com]) make a whole lot sense for wearable & mobile computing, when you have to enter a lot of free text. Voice control is good for executing pre-programmed macros or for small data entry tasks, but is awkward in many circumstances. Handwriting recognition has a lot of potential but requires two hands.



      The problem is human factors -- getting people used to a new idea. People are used to the 1 button - 1 function idea. Plus you have the training issue: there are not a lot of people who are capable of teaching themselves touch-typing; there are probably fewer who could learn how to chord without an instructor.

  • Actually, I saw a solution to this earlier this week (at least, it's a solution if you're using a recent build of Mozilla)...

    in prefs.js (in the linux version, it's in ~/.mozilla), add this line:

    user_pref("dom.disable_open_during_load", true);

    it kills popus that ocur during page loading, but still allows other popups on the page to work properly (like on my bank's web page)...

  • Dictionary technology still better. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by DHam ( 138606 ) on Friday October 05, 2001 @09:11AM (#2391913) Homepage
    I can't see this being easier to use than the dictionary idea employed on Nokia phones (and probably others too). It gets you one push on each key and you can do it with your thumb. The newish Nokia 3330 even has multiple dictionaries so you can SMS in different languages. Admitadly it is a little clumsy when it doesn't know the word you're after, but once you've taught it your friends' names, you don't run into this too often.

    • jeesh. thanx buddy, I was going to write the exact same thing :)
    • That's T9 from Tegic [t9.com]. I've got it on my cell phone, and it's useful (even though it guesses "lands" instead of "james").
    • It's a really good idea, at least if the phone has a dictionary for your language. If not, it's just a big pain in the ass, as the dictionary constantly tries to write something, and it gets a lot more frustating than Clippy. I always end up turning it off (I speak Catalan, no luck!).

      I wish Nokia and the other phone makers could agree on a dictionary format that you could download to the phone. With Nokia's 3330, you can download logotypes, welcome screens, screensavers and music tones. Why not dictionaries? Or better yet, translations for the phone messages, I'm tired of my phone speaking to me in Spanish or Portuguese.

  • Nope, this won't do. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by motherhead ( 344331 ) on Friday October 05, 2001 @09:13AM (#2391921)

    and i don't care that it is fingers he are talking about, 10 individual fingers on a phone as tiny as any nokia is not only embarassing, but impractical.

    a rudimentary stylus pane and something like graphitti would be infinately more practical.

    i for one would stear clear of any appliance that wanted me to learn some obscure dvorkian-esque ten fingered gymnastics to enter in "John Walsh - Home".

    I sympathize with people that want to see a better interface implimented so they can text message, but this is hokie, regaurdless of the of the two patents and the $50,000 VC and the writeup in MSNBC...

    in the words of Steve Martin, "That was shit one, this is shit two..."

  • I would really love to see a manufacturer integrate a twiddler(TM) into the side of the phone.
    To me this makes perfect sense as that's generally where your fingers are anyway. Except of course for the phones that are too small to even hold normally.
    But to me this would be ideal. Especially if you imagine them one day making this into a full-function wearble.
    I'm salivating already.
  • without looking at the keys, and using all ur 5 fingers ..? its hard .
    I remember a while back ... in one of the new 007 movies .. the bad guy would type with his right hand while the left hand was holding the keyboard from underneath. This way he was able to move around with the keyboard while typing. It looked sooo 'hacky' .. should be a nice way to impress the ladies!

  • this is tricky (Score:2, Insightful)

    by heyeq ( 317933 )
    I have just tried this approach for the last ten minutes, and I must confess, this one is not too easy. I wonder if, if this tech ever reached our mobiles, we would be faced with the same conversion as say for example, a QWERTY to DVORAK keyboard change.
    People don't tend to change from something that they've grown accustomed to - the phones' interface hasn't really changed in years.
    Nevertheless, I'd be excited to see what this brings.
    • I'd really like to see a mobile computing version of this. This idea applied to some of the mobile computing input technologies I've seen may actually get your input rates up and your learning curve down - both crucial to the continued growth of mobile computing.
  • My fingers are a bit too big to hit the buttons, so I usually end up pressing the buttons with my fingernails. I seriously doubt that I'm going to hit the buttons in the same spot so that it generates a similar pattern each time.
  • I'm developing an intelligent access control system for a client, running on a win32/linux combination system.

    We have a biometrics component to do fingerprint recognition (amoungst other things), and one application we have is for general building access control.

    But what is relevant to this article, is that we have different fingers (which are assigned to people, who in turn have security attributes) applied to different tasks... such as a index finger for normal opreration, pinkie for fire alarm, and middle finger for silent alarm (hostage situations)

    I don't think we are the only people who have thought of this though...

  • Don't most people hold the phone with fingers and type with thumbs? Everyone I know does, same for two ways and small PDA keyboards.

    A cute idea, but I have a feeling that it will not be well recieved.
  • What we need is to organize the keypad such that the most frequently used letters are first.
  • Well if people stopped using silly IE or retarded Opera and invested a little time into compiling mozilla then we wouldn't need to worry about pop-ups with a handy little option added to prefs.js

    user_pref("dom.disable_open_during_load", true);

    And amazingly I get no more pop-ups.
  • *duh!*

    Get a wireless PDA and learn the script . It's not hard.

    I'm amused at how people want everything all wrapped up into one...

    What about an all-in-one:
    Phone/PDA/mp3_player/digital_camera/webcam/gaming_ system/garage_door_opener/wristwatch/shoe_shiner/d og_whistle/ass_whiper/microwave_oven?

    (groan)

  • > This is an idea I never really thought about for single handed typing input. A very cool idea.


    Surprising of course since Taco has of course thought of all the other great ideas ever imagined.

  • "dcbadcbadcba" - what do you mean to type ? Oh, nothing I'm just impatent.

  • Less is more. (Score:4, Funny)

    by Darth RadaR ( 221648 ) on Friday October 05, 2001 @09:31AM (#2391997) Journal
    How about just putting one button on cell phones and have everybody learn morse code. :)

  • Look at a Motorola StarTac.

    It has three buttons on the SIDE of the unit.

    They have various functions.

    Is it so hard to imagine pressing one of these
    3 buttons at the same time as the keypad to
    select an alpha character, and pressing only
    the keypad to select a numeral?

    This approach has been used with several
    factory-floor handheld terminals since the
    late 1970s, starting with Termiflex Corp of
    Nashua, NH (usa).

    Yes, the 3 buttons are a tad close together,
    and yes, holding the phone in your right hand
    while pushing the keypad with your left is
    clearly a "left-handed" operation.

    But nothing is stopping the creation of a
    "right handed" version, is there?

  • I know, i know.. when I press it with middle finger it calls my boss...
  • when I'm trying to dial a number while driving.
  • I'm wondering if this will fall under prior art because the middle finger already represents the letters m, o, t, h, e, r, f, u, c, k, e, and r? Just a thought.
  • It uses silicon sensors that can recognize the "shape" of each finger.

    These sensors could be installed in artificial breasts - automatically warning jealous husbands when a finger other than their own is touching the breast.

    Thank you very much - I'll be here all week.

  • Now if we could only find an easier way to clean the keyboard..
  • Besides requiring people to use two hands as someone has pointed out already (when the trend is going towards hands-free), this requires heavy memorization and the initial learning curve may be even higher than normal keyboards.

    Moreover, different people have different finger shapes - I have seen people with a larger index finger than the middle finger or of irregular shapes due to accidents. Will they be incapable of using these phones? Discriminating people due to their finger shapes is also very innovative!

    Extending this technology to other input methods in Asia (Chinese and Japanese) will be awkward to say the least.

  • Although this technology can be used to assign function to all ten fingers, it looks like they will only need three or four fingers for the cell phone apps. That's just one hand, so you won't have to put the phone down.

    It's still a pain, I'd rather hit one button a few times than try to remember which finger to use to hit the button. (For the record, I use my index finger for typing on a cell phone, I don't see how so many people use their thumb. Must have some big buttons....)

    This just seems like too much of a hassle just for entering numbers to the internal phone book, something I do rarely, and for sending emails from a phone, something I never do.

  • I have been a touch typist (including keypad operation) for about 20 years, and to try to use a keypad in such a new way would be extraordinarily difficult. I would liken it to being able to switch between QWERTY and Dvorak keyboards at will with no loss of speed. AFAICR, that was one of the factors that doomed the Dvorak keyboard, and will continue to doom alternative keyboard layouts for some time. The barrier to entry is too high.

    As a switchable feature, I think it's a wonderful idea, but a note to the designers: PLEASE, default it to OFF.
  • Keypress detected...

    analyzing...

    Its not the pointer...
    Its not the index finger...
    Its not the ring finger...
    Its not the pinky...
    Its not the thumb...

    OH MY GOD!
    ILLEGAL USE OF PHONE DETECTED!!!

  • Not very easy to use... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Vapula ( 14703 ) on Friday October 05, 2001 @10:16AM (#2392174)
    There are several reasons for this :
    • some people are holding their cellular in the same hand they are using to type. the other fingers are used to hold the phone
    • when the keys are small or when the user had big fingers, using the tip of the index finger is easier to type
    • Keyboard entry use all fingers but for DIFFERENT keys. Here, it's about using all fingers on the SAME key.
    • You have far less strength in your small fingers and more in your thumb and index.

    Anyway, cyclic typing is the best possible way to do blind typing (for example, while driving, in order to keep your eyes on the road) and DictAssisted typing is usually the fastest way to type (except when you use a lot of words not in the dictionnary).
  • The problem I see with this is that there are still plenty of people who don't know when to single click, double click, right click, etc. Will these same people be able to remember which finger they should use to press a certain button to make it do what they want?

    Sure, if it's just typing letters, and teh letters are on the keypad, it's a simple case of looking @ it and figuring it out. But the article talks about other uses, like different functions that can be performed depending on the finger you use to press just one of these special buttons.... I think people might have the same "which button should I click" problem.

  • You could have one multifunction button on your phone, similar to the way most "send" buttons work presently. This one big button could have one of these special sensors and could be used in an endless variety of ways. Thumb for voice dial, index for phone book, middle for missed calls, ring for.... plus every menu, instead of having options 1-5, could have options based on your fingers. After a little getting used to, people would love this technology, I predict. It will be sort of like the function buttons on Scientific Calculators.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • this seems VERY awkward. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Telek ( 410366 ) on Friday October 05, 2001 @10:46AM (#2392295) Homepage
    I just tried it on my phone (simulated of course) and it seems like it'd be a LARGE step backwards from the current T9/etc that's on the market. I've used T9 and it works great, and do most of the typing by holding the phone with my hand and using my thumb on that hand only. I can get decent amounts done that way. (I have a Sony J5 BTW)... This way you're pretty much required to use 2 hands, which makes it pretty inconvenient for places where you only have one hand available.

    And actually I doubt if it's any faster. You need to move your entire hand around and hit those small small keys with different fingers which is pretty awkward to do. I can't see this being much faster than T9, or what will soon be (give it a year or so) voice dictated anyways.

    And besides, how much text do you ACTUALLY send on your cellphone? I use the email feature to CHECK email and send a 5 word reply. I use SMS to RECEIVE traffic/weather/etc updates and the occasional note by my friends. But if I need to talk with one of them, I call them! I have the phone right there and talking is BY FAR FAR FAR more efficient than any typing method would be.

  • Big problem (Score:2, Interesting)

    by AndyChrist ( 161262 )
    This won't catch on, and it would not work one-handed. You would have to place it on a surface of some kind to be able to press the keys with your fingers (I don't know about you guys, but when I'm typing on a cell phone, I use my THUMB), or be held with the other hand.

    It also does not work with hunting-and-pecking, so, like just about every ass-headed typing scheme that has come along and failed to even make a DENT in qwerty (except maybe Dvorak, and some other keyboard layouts), it doesn't really have a learning CURVE so much as a BRICK FUCKING WALL you would have to vertically climb before the thing becomes even remotely useful.

  • Poll (Score:2)

    by roystgnr ( 4015 )
    Which letters would you assign to which fingers?

    I'm thinking: A, C, D, I, M, O, and S should all be in the same group.

    I'd be able to type "DMCA", "MS", "CIA", "SSSCA", or "Osama" with just my middle finger!

  • How about the T9 dictionary?!? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by c.r.o.c.o ( 123083 ) on Friday October 05, 2001 @11:52AM (#2392614)
    I don't know why nobody posted this before (or why it didn't get modded up), but on my Nokia 8260, and on my old Samsung SCH8580 there is a built-in dictionary.

    The way it works is quite simple, if you try to type the word "message" all you have to do is press 6377243, and it automatically guesses the match, in this case the word "message". If there are more than one match, all it takes is pressing a button multiple times, to scroll through the list of matches. It has English, French and I believe Spanish (my phone is my coat pocket, and I don't feel like getting it).

    I've been using my Nokia for quite a while with this system, and honestly I don't need anyting else. It's almost perfect, and the only difficulty is when you want to insert names, or numbers, but that only requires a couple of extra key presses.

    So my question is why bother with weird finger press combinations, finger-sensing buttons when the best solution is already out there?!? I guess this is one way somebody is trying to make extra money on royalties, but I don't know...

  • What about those that have lost a finger due to an accident?
  • This is an idea I never really thought about for single handed typing input. A very cool idea.

    I'm sure that, being geeks, we can certainly appreciate the, umm, usability aspects of single-handed input. (Or single-handed output, depending how you look at the situation.)

    (Sorry.)

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