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PTPT shows off wild Android UI skin, we go hands-on
Last time we heard about ExB's PTPT (pronounced "petite petite"), the software startup was just beginning to show off the basics of its touchscreen interface; since then, the small German company has been polishing up the UI and prepping it for Android phones and tablets. According to the CEO Ramin Assadollah, the company is in talks with a "major hardware manufacturer" that's planning on skinning its Android products with the incredibly unique software. We got to see PTPT running on an Android 1.6-powered Acer Liquid while at the Netbook Summit, and though it took us a few minutes to understand how the interface worked, it's definitely interesting and responsive. The input starts with three circular icons representing people, places, and things and then a bar that represents time. You can simply select an individual person -- you can import contacts from a variety of sources, including, Twitter, Facebook, and so on -- from the halo that appears, and then drag them up to a specific time to get various updates or e-mails from that person. The custom predictive text keyboard in the e-mail interface was very snappy -- it's also just nice to see a change from the stock Android input. Then, you can drag that person to things to see pictures of them. And just like in the original demo, you can then move the pictures icon to a point on the timeline to see pictures from that time. Though the phone and tablet demos we saw didn't have widgets on the homescreen, we were assured that they can be added. We promise this is all better explained in the demo video below, so mosey on down after the jump. We'll be here, wondering what Android devices this software may pop-up on. %Gallery-93739%
PTPT touchscreen interface sounds little, could be huge (video)
We've been working with mice and keyboards for so long, clicking on the same 'ol icons and typing in the same 'ol boxes, that it's nice to see something fresh come along -- even if it looks a little cumbersome to use. Such is PTPT, pronounced "petite petite," a concept touchscreen interface from ExB, a company that focuses on text input prediction. The input starts with three icons representing people, things, and places, and then the top bar represents time. You can, for example, long-touch on the people icon, select an individual person, and then drag them up to a specific time to get e-mails from that person. Or, you can drag that person icon down to things to see pictures of them. Or, drag the pictures "thing" up to a time to see pictures from that time, or.... well, you get the picture. There's an expository video below that will help you tie it all together, one that we'd advise watching -- if only because this probably won't be showing up on a tablet anytime soon. Update: JimboJones commented to let us know that those with a proclivity for touching and dragging can sign up to be a beta tester here.
