This might be the third time that we’ll talk to you about the Snapkeys 2i touchscreen keyboard. In case you forgot, we wrote about Snapkeys 2i (Imaginary Interface) last year and that it will be demoed at the CES 2012. But as a matter of review, Snapkeys 2i replaces the traditional QWERTY layout with four buttons that float near the bottom corners of the phone or tablet. Using predictive text technology, expert users can blind type on touchscreen devices. Today, we’re writing about Snapkeys 2i again, but this time, with a promising update. According to Jared Newman of Techland, he was able to test the Snapkeys 2i at the CTIA Wireless show this week to which he thought that the concept could actually work. Check out how Snapkeys 2i works after the break.
“I can see how Snapkeys 2i could become effortless over time, but it does have some unique stumbling blocks,” Newman said. “To enter a particular letter, you must swipe a thumb across the button in the direction of that letter, so typing proper nouns or other unrecognized words can take a while. You must also make swiping motions to enter numbers and special characters. In those cases, it’d be easier to have a traditional keyboard,” Newman added. But the good news came in when Alexandra Rabinovich of Snapkeys told Newman that the company is hoping to have a downloadable version ready for Android devices by the summer. Rabinovich also said that they want phone manufacturers and wireless carriers to have 2i on their devices.
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