Smartphone screens keep getting bigger and bigger, which means typing with an on-screen keyboard is also getting easier and easier. But not all touchscreen devices have big screens — the average smartwatch has a 1.5 inch or smaller display.
So how do you enter text? Nuance things it has an answer… or two.
The company behind Dragon voice recognition software and the Swype virtual keyboard has announced that it’s bringing support for both to smartwatches.
At this point we’re not talking about apps that you can download and install on an existing device. But device makers will be able to load Nuance software onto their smartwatches to add support for voice commands, voice input, and an on-screen keyboard with predictive input.
One of the first devices to support Nuance’s Dragon mobile Assistant for wearable devices will be the Omate TrueSmart, which is basically a watch with the guts of an Android phone. Users can use voice commands to make calls, send messages, search the web, or perform other basic actions.
If you’d rather use a keyboard… but find a 1.5 inch display to be a too small to pick out individual keys with your fingertip, Swype lets you slide from one key to the next without lifting your finger. Since Swype uses predictive text algorithms, you don’t even need to hit exactly the right key, which means that there’s a pretty good chance you’ll be able to type by swyping sloppily and still input recognizable words on a smartwatch screen.
video via PC Pro
Really love my Pebble. It’s nice and simple and not pretending to be analogous to a device category with screens typically 3 to 4 times as large.
I’ve just updated to OS2 beta 5. Sadly I could not find my favorite app Pebble RSS for OS2. So I wrote to the developer on Play. Within 30 minutes I got a reply and the beta version of the app for OS2. Now THIS is a community, something I’ve only seen with N900 and Maemo. This is the true power of Pebble that no corporate fullHD singing and dancing smartwatch will ever be able to give you.
Well, right now I can’t imagine a more awkward way to enter text. Maybe using the gyroscope to select accented characters. Anyways, this is not something a smartwatch needs. I’m a Pebble user, and my only regret is the lack of a microphone to use Google Now.
Many of these watch devices seen half baked, as if the companies are not willing to fully commit to development of something until there is a successful model to emulate.
(Pebble is an exception)