Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

Text No More: New App Brings Air-Writing to Cell Phones

by Kendra Cunningham on June 19, 2009 at 06:41 AM



Cell phone developers are constantly trying to address the problem of text input on mobile devices. Over the years, we've seen input systems ranging from full QWERTY keyboards and nine key predictive text systems (like T9) to virtual keyboards. New research suggests the answer may not be in the keys at all. According to LiveScience, researchers at Duke University have developed a prototype for the PhonePoint Pen, a cell phone app that allows users to "air-write" short notes.

The app functions as if the cell phone is a pen (though it will probably feel more like writing with a piece of sidewalk chalk); tracing letters or shapes in the air transfers inputs them into the phone's text field. How does it work? The air-writing app works by using the accelerometers (which track the phone's orientation) already inside smartphones like the iPhone. If you prefer texting on the move (hardly the safest practice, especially if you're driving or crossing a street) this could wind up being the app for you.

"We're trying to get past the whole idea of typing on a keyboard or using a stylus to enter information into devices," Romit Roy Choudhury, an engineer at Duke, told LiveScience.

While the app could be available in the next few months, there are still plenty of kinks to work out. For example, you have to pause between each letter and the app doesn't recognize cursive. Interesting concept, sure, but is going back to handwriting really the best route? As clunky as even predictive text can be, it's still usually faster than writing out notes by hand. [From: LiveScience]

Tags: accelerometer, air write, AirWrite, apps, cell phone, CellPhone, iphone, texting, top

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular