Smarter keyboards from Jerusalem
By Rivka Borochov
Smartphones –– the ones with the screens that turn into touch keyboards –– have given us near unlimited communications possibilities. The problem is that
anything but very short messages are difficult to type on a small keyboard. Now, an Israeli company based in Jerusalem has found a new way to unlock the power of the smartphone with a new keyboard invention.
SnapKeys has taken the bold step of doing away with the standard typewriter keyboard, known as QWERTY for the first five letters on the top left. QWERTY arranges letters for easiest access when we can use all fingers on both hands, but such typing is impossible on small keyboards where thumbs are better manipulators.
SnapKeys, a company of 15 people, has developed an invisible keyboard that
frees up screen space as you type. Granted, it takes some time to learn this system -- it’s even a paradigm shift -- but once mastered in a matter of hours or a couple of days, the system can help you thumb-type faster and more precisely, promises SnapKeys. Not only that, but once it’s relegated to muscle memory you can make the keyboard invisible.
Learning to type by shape
Founder Benjamin Ghassabian had the bright idea of regrouping all the letters
of the alphabet into four elementary shapes represented by one dot, two dots, a
circle and a solid line. Imagining the uppercase form of the letter, typing then becomes intuitive. Consider the letter X. It rests on two points, corresponding
to the area with two dots on the screen. The letter F has one point, so you would need to tap the single dot. E rests on a straight line, putting it in the line category, and D includes a complete circle, so it goes in the circle category.
Very good typists can use the QWERTY keyboard without looking at it, but the
SnapKeys keyboard goes back to the basics, says Dan Saban, general manager.
"You do have to relearn everything," acknowledges Saban. "The reality is that the keyboard is based on primary shapes. Kids learn shapes when they go to school, when they draw or learn the fundamental basics."
These same fundamentals, he adds, will be useful not only for smartphones and
tablets but also for communications tools of the future, in "gesture recognition in the air ... and as a successful way of inputting text with voice recognition software as well as with laser tech. Each has its place," he says.
"The difference with us is that we are not focused on just the touch screen. Shapes and our invisible keyboard can be applied to any of these technologies."
Piloting in Europe
SnapKeys was founded in 2008, after the inventor had worked on perfecting the
idea for about 12 years. It has a sales office in New York, and several significant angel and private investors have backed it. Philips Electronics is one partner.
Right now the focus is on business development, with a pilot program underway
in Europe. Within the next few months the SnapKeys keyboard will be tested among thousands of European smartphone users. In parallel, the company is developing SnapKeys for other languages, including Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
Eventually the goal is to bundle it as part of a cell-phone package for new phone buyers, or offer it as a download.
The company currently seeks an investment of $3 million to $4 million to market the product and provide technical service for SnapKeys users.
The underlying idea is to take the keyboard away so that users have a freer mobile experience, says Saban. "This is a billion-dollar industry and we believe
we will be a billion-dollar company in about five years' time."
Smartphones –– the ones with the screens that turn into touch keyboards –– have given us near unlimited communications possibilities. The problem is that
anything but very short messages are difficult to type on a small keyboard. Now, an Israeli company based in Jerusalem has found a new way to unlock the power of the smartphone with a new keyboard invention.
SnapKeys has taken the bold step of doing away with the standard typewriter keyboard, known as QWERTY for the first five letters on the top left. QWERTY arranges letters for easiest access when we can use all fingers on both hands, but such typing is impossible on small keyboards where thumbs are better manipulators.
SnapKeys, a company of 15 people, has developed an invisible keyboard that
frees up screen space as you type. Granted, it takes some time to learn this system -- it’s even a paradigm shift -- but once mastered in a matter of hours or a couple of days, the system can help you thumb-type faster and more precisely, promises SnapKeys. Not only that, but once it’s relegated to muscle memory you can make the keyboard invisible.
Learning to type by shape
Founder Benjamin Ghassabian had the bright idea of regrouping all the letters
of the alphabet into four elementary shapes represented by one dot, two dots, a
circle and a solid line. Imagining the uppercase form of the letter, typing then becomes intuitive. Consider the letter X. It rests on two points, corresponding
to the area with two dots on the screen. The letter F has one point, so you would need to tap the single dot. E rests on a straight line, putting it in the line category, and D includes a complete circle, so it goes in the circle category.
Very good typists can use the QWERTY keyboard without looking at it, but the
SnapKeys keyboard goes back to the basics, says Dan Saban, general manager.
"You do have to relearn everything," acknowledges Saban. "The reality is that the keyboard is based on primary shapes. Kids learn shapes when they go to school, when they draw or learn the fundamental basics."
These same fundamentals, he adds, will be useful not only for smartphones and
tablets but also for communications tools of the future, in "gesture recognition in the air ... and as a successful way of inputting text with voice recognition software as well as with laser tech. Each has its place," he says.
"The difference with us is that we are not focused on just the touch screen. Shapes and our invisible keyboard can be applied to any of these technologies."
Piloting in Europe
SnapKeys was founded in 2008, after the inventor had worked on perfecting the
idea for about 12 years. It has a sales office in New York, and several significant angel and private investors have backed it. Philips Electronics is one partner.
Right now the focus is on business development, with a pilot program underway
in Europe. Within the next few months the SnapKeys keyboard will be tested among thousands of European smartphone users. In parallel, the company is developing SnapKeys for other languages, including Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
Eventually the goal is to bundle it as part of a cell-phone package for new phone buyers, or offer it as a download.
The company currently seeks an investment of $3 million to $4 million to market the product and provide technical service for SnapKeys users.
The underlying idea is to take the keyboard away so that users have a freer mobile experience, says Saban. "This is a billion-dollar industry and we believe
we will be a billion-dollar company in about five years' time."