Touchscreens are great for lots of things, but often it is less efficient to type using one, despite a variety of available accessories. A company called Tactus Technology is working to solve this dilemma and has announced a new product called Phorm, which will provide a tactile keyboard experience for the iPad Mini. The $99 accessory uses a lever that when pressed, exposes a physical keyboard on the iPad's screen. This is done using microfluidic technology to raise and lower buttons on demand. The product is targeted for a summer release, with iPhone and other models to follow.
Source: Mac RumorsCategory: News
Neat idea, but I wonder how much more efficient this will be for touch typing without sight. Simply raising the keys isn't enough, you also need orientation marks--usually found on the f and j keys--for fast orientation. Also, I wonder how this will adapt to different keyboards, e.g. the keyboard for Swedish has smaller letters but more keys, and the keyboard may be split or not, etc. Doesn't sound like this initial approach is very adaptable, which is quite important when dealing with software keyboards.
You must be logged in to post comments.
Or Forgot username or password?
Register for free
J.J. Meddaugh is an experienced technology writer and computer enthusiast. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a major in telecommunications management and a minor in business. When not writing for Blind Bargains, he enjoys travel, playing the keyboard, and meeting new people.
