The accuracy that virtual keyboards are able to offer on our smartphones are important, especially since this is all we are able to type on. iOS users are stuck with the default iOS keyboard, which in all honesty is pretty good. Android users on the other hand are able to choose from a variety of virtual keyboards, such as Swype and SwiftKey just to name a few. However the drawback to regular virtual keyboards is that no matter how accurate or convenient they are, they end up taking up a fair bit of screen real estate which is where the Minuum keyboard comes in.
Developed by Toronto-based startup company, Whirlscape, the Minuum keyboard basically removes the traditional layout of a keyboard, which is three rows of letters followed by an additional row for the spacebar. Instead it replaces those rows and compresses it into a single line at the bottom of your device’s display, thus freeing up a ton of screen real estate in the process. It might look a little awkward to type on, or impossible, but according to its developers it is pretty easy thanks to its predictive system which will be able to auto-correct words accurately.
Minuum is also not limited to just smartphones or tablets. In fact in the video above, it demonstrates that the keyboard can be adapted to other forms of hardware, such as a ring, a watch, or even by using a piece of paper to type out what you want, making it ideal for wearable technology (i.e. Google Glass). Minuum is currently an Indiegogo project but it has since surpassed its goal of $10,000, but if you’d like to learn more or donate, head on over for the details or check out the video above to see it in action. It is a pretty cool idea and we love the additional real estate for our screens, but will it function as intended? We guess we will need to get our hands on it to try it for ourselves.
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