Minuum is the most minimalistic keyboard I've come across. It's currently going to release a beta version in June for crowdfunded backers. And it does look really interesting!
http://minuum.com
YouTube -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdd_NmLA7oY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Q: When can I try the Minuum keyboard for
Android?
A: We are currently running an Indiegogo campaign (
http://indiegogo.com/minuum), and are planning to shortly release a private beta version of the keyboard for Android phones and
tablets, but only to our Indiegogo supporters! Check it out to receive early access yourself.
Q: But if the keys on the Minuum keyboard are so small, how can I type?
A: Minuum is a smart keyboard – it’s built around intelligent disambiguation (auto-correction) algorithms that let you miss the keys all of the time, so you don’t have to worry about the keys being small. To type letters carefully, for instance to type a password or a word that isn’t yet in your dictionary, you can easily adjust your letter choice through a magnified view that appears at every touch. This magnified view also provides you with easy access to numbers and punctuation.
Q: What if I want to type a lot of numbers, or punctuation, or smiley faces?
A: You will always be able switch Minuum into numbers, punctuation, or smileys mode, or even create your own custom one-dimensional mode to switch into. There’s no need to ever waste screen space again.
Q: So how does Minuum work?
A: Every time you tap on the keyboard, your device remembers a couple of letters to the left and right of each touch and compares the possible combinations of letters that you typed against a dictionary. The closer each touch is to the actual letter you meant to type, the more likely your intended word will be found. In general, you can consistently hit letters a couple of places to the left or right of the letter you actually wanted to type, and Minuum will still figure out what you wanted to say.
Q: Hey, where’s the spacebar?
A: Don’t worry. We’ve thought about that and improved on it. You can intuitively space by swiping to the right, or delete the word that you just typed by swiping to the left. Diehard spacebar fans can, at any time, drag up or down with two fingers to expand or contract the keyboard and reveal or hide a row of functional keys, including a spacebar, at the bottom of the screen.
Q: What Android version will Minuum work with?
A: Android Gingerbread (2.3) or higher.
Q: Can I use Minuum on my iPod/
iPhone/
iPad?
A: You can look forward to a demo application for iOS, but please note the following. Since
Apple’s restrictions on iOS do not allow users to replace the default keyboard, we will make a Minuum version for iOS app developers to include in their software. Check out our developer support.
Q: How will the
wearable development kit (WDK) work?
A: If we reach our stretch goal on our Indiegogo campaign, we’ll be creating a wearable development that is open for anyone to prototype new ways of typing on/with wearable devices. The plan is to provide
Mac,
Windows, iOS, and Android applications that receive text via USB, Bluetooth, or Wi-fi. If you get to the point where you would like to commercially distribute apps or devices with Minuum built-in to receive and process text input, then you can license our software.
Q: What languages will Minuum work with?
A: The first beta release of Minuum will only support English (that’s what we’ve been analyzing for quite some time now), but we are investigating other languages for future versions. Have a language that you want supported? Contribute at
http://indiegogo.com/minuum and post a comment to let us know
