MultitouchKeyboard
Latest
Multitouch keyboard swiped from Droid X, hacked and color-matched for EVO 4G
One of the most compelling features of Motorola's upcoming Droid X for Verizon is the multitouch capability of the keyboard, which in theory means you can do things like press shift and a letter at the same time; in practice, it means that you can belt out a message faster. Needless to say, owners of other Android devices want it, and xda-developers members have obliged as usual, even stopping along the way to change the Droid X's red accents to green to better suit the EVO 4G's UI color palette. Once the APK is installed (you'll have to sideload it, naturally), it looks like you'll be able to select and use it just as you would any other input method on the phone. Score one for platform flexibility, and score another for hackers. [Thanks, Chris]
Latest Apple patent app details multitouch tactile keyboard
We're not going so far as to suggest that this here patent application foreshadows the kind of keyboard that'll be on a certain Apple tablet that may or may not be real, but if the suits in Cupertino do actually have such a device in the works, they'd be silly to not apply this technology to it. Dug up by Apple Insider, the latest app details a multitouch tactile keyboard that would boast a dynamic surface for helping typists keep track of where they're at on the board. Essentially, the surface would utilize an "articulating frame" in order to raise and retract bumps to make typing without physical keys a wee bit easier, and while we're certain that it would take some getting used to, it's bound to be simpler than banging on a static surface that requires your eyes to be on it. Don't go getting your hopes up, though -- wouldn't want to get them crushed when late January brings you an iPod touch with a camera, now would you?
iPhone vs DROID multitouch keyboard showdown (video)
I just dashed off this quick video for my Twitter followers to demonstrate that the DROID doesn't have a multitouch soft keyboard, and pretty much instantly realized that I should probably share it with everyone else, since we've been getting a lot of questions about it. Long story short, while Android 2.0 and the DROID's hardware support multitouch, the device itself doesn't do multitouch out-of-the-box, and the soft keyboard suffers mightily for it. Why it's missing is certainly open for debate, but for now just know that no amount of hoping, wishing, or booze is going to make the stock keyboard register more than one press at a time. Don't despair, though -- while I'm not a fan, Chris Ziegler absolutely flies on this same keyboard on his DROID. Videos after the break.
Immersion demos new TouchSense multitouch, haptic keyboard at D7
Immersion (known for creative input experiences) demoed a fairly interesting new haptic experiment its working on dubbed TouchSense -- a virtual, iPhone-like keyboard that not only responds with sound and vibration, but some kind of feedback that recreates the feeling of actually moving your fingers across a keyboard. Details were scarce on the technology used, but during the demo at D7 the company showed off multitouch typing, and a new form of feedback which seems to create the sensation that there is a physical keyboard beneath your fingers. The functionality sounds eerily similar to the Haptikos technology that Nokia showed off way back in 2007. We're working on more details, but for now, feast your eyes on the pics in the gallery below. Update: Press release after the break.
