Inventor 'Improves' Touchscreen Keyboards With Triangular Keys
British inventor David Baker thinks outside the box. In this case, the box, or boxes, are the shapes on a keyboard. Baker envisioned a completely different look for those buttons -- one that he told Register Hardware will change the way we type.
Baker's patent-pending Crocodile Keyboard is a touchscreen keyboard that features triangle-shaped keys and, as a result, more space between them. The additional space, he says, will allow users to more easily hit the correct key.
Baker originally designed the Crocodile Keyboard as a physical keyboard for the Palm Pilot. With the release of the iPhone, though, he decided his design would be perfectly suited for that device's needs -- but only if it were fully integrated into the device's e-mail and texting features, rather than simply available as an application. This is much easier said than done. Baker would have to work directly with Apple and obtain the company's approval, which he told Register Hardware would be "very difficult to get."
While the Crocodile Keyboard does appear a little odd, we would love to give it a whirl. Baker's reasoning about the space between keys does makes sense. However, since it sounds like the invention's fate is in Apple's hands now, we won't hold our breath. [From: Register Hardware]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Slick said 11:43AM on 6-04-2009
Don't just take it to Apple - Windows mobile 7 is still in development, and there are a host of other companies that have their own OS on their fully touch screen phones - let them bid over it!
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nick said 12:39PM on 6-04-2009
The Palm Pre could really use this keyboard for its landscape mode. I was thinking oval shaped keys (the shape of the outside of the finger), but this seems like it would work better because the meat and bone of the finger (i.e. under the skin) are more triangular in shape and would therefore cause a key press to be more triangular.
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Mike H said 5:27PM on 6-05-2009
Android in its multiple hardware incarnations would be the perfect platform to deploy this on. Android is a freely customizable OS with a multiple-virtual-keyboard backend. You could either make a sample application or even interface with the main OS code. No "Hard to get" approval or licenses needed!
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eztuck said 6:54PM on 6-09-2009
Anyone else notice he's got Tmobile on the iPhone? Tsk tsk.
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