Not too long ago, Swype‘s one-finger swiping totally changed phone typing (on Android at least). We don’t all swipe all the time, but that functionality is built right in to the default Android keyboard. Now, the same minds behind Sywpe are trying to change tablet typing with Dryft, a virtual keyboard for touch typists.
https://gizmodo.com/swypes-keyboard-is-now-out-of-beta-and-in-the-play-stor-5995311
The premise is simple. When you use Dryft, you lay your hands on the tablet like you would a keyboard, but since there are no homekey bumps to keep your centered, Dryft just dynamically moves the rest of the keys around your fingers.
Dryft pulls this off with a number of software tricks, going so far as to measure vibrations with the accelerometer to tell whether your fingers are typing on the screen, or just resting there. Apparently, the system works well enough accommodate typing speeds of up to 80 WPM. That’s super impressive, if true.
For the time being, Dryft isn’t even in beta; its founders are looking for investors. And until it comes out in some usable form, it’s all just talk. I mean, this sounds almost good to be true. But if it does work, Android tablets could be about to get way more viable as productivity devices. Custom keyboards for the win. [Dryft]
