01-14-2004, 06:00 PM
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Review Coordinator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 451
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A Spot On Solution for Input: Decuma's OnSpot v3.0 reviewed
They say that variety is the spice of life, and there are few places where it's more evident than with input methods for the Pocket PC. From Fitaly to Spb Full Screen Keyboard to Calligrapher, the choices abound. Just when you think you've seen them all, Decuma has released OnSpot, its take on the "perfect" character recognizer. What new ideas does it bring to the genre? Join me for an in-depth look!
There's an almost mind-boggling array of options available for text input on the Pocket PC, and everyone has his or her own personal favorite. Some users prefer hardware-based solutions, such as plug-in, wireless and built-in keyboards. A downside of these solutions is diminished portability... a built-in keyboard makes the Pocket PC larger, while separate keyboards give you extra hardware to carry. So if you want the smallest and lightest Pocket PC, soft input is the only real alternative.
In addition to the standard keyboard, letter and block recognizers and Transcriber included with the Pocket PC, you can buy alternate keyboards such as Fitaly, full screen keyboards such as Spb's, and more powerful handwriting recognition software such as Calligrapher. However, alternate character recognizers are fairly uncommon. But Decuma is throwing their hat into that ring... they've developed a new and innovative character recognition system called OnSpot. Version 3.0 has just been released... let's take a look.
The Paper Chase
The design goal for OnSpot is to mimic the characteristics of writing with a pen and paper. To illustrate how this was accomplished, let's compare and contrast it with the most familiar character recognizer, the Letter Recognizer that comes with all Pocket PCs.
Figure 1: The Letter Recognizer input area.
Letter Recognizer has a three-section input area. You enter uppercase characters in the left pane, lowercase in the middle pane, and numbers and special characters in the right pane. As you input each character, it appears on the screen immediately. Any corrections require that you highlight words or characters on the screen and change them as necessary. You don't write words from left to right as you would on paper and you don't see the words displayed in the input area, only on the screen.
Your Input Is Welcome
Figure 2: The OnSpot input area.
With OnSpot, you write complete words on the green tab. As you enter characters, OnSpot compares each letter, number or symbol against its database and displays the best match. It's interesting to watch this, because the screen display even matches the size of the characters you're inputting.
One great feature of OnSpot is that it accepts standard methods of entering letters, numbers and symbols. Multiple stroke characters can be entered just as you would on paper. So, unlike other input methods, you don't have to learn a special alphabet to use OnSpot.
Figure 3: Mixed characters and numbers on the character tab.
You can input any type of character on the green tab, not just letters. You occasionally have to give OnSpot some help to distinguish between similarly shaped letters and numbers when doing this mixed input, mostly by adding a slash to a zero to distinguish it from a capital O. Mixed input displays alpha characters in black and numbers and symbols in red.
Figure 4: Numbers on the blue tab.
Figure 5: Characters on the blue tab� pardon my French!
Use the blue tab to input lots of numbers and symbols more easily. You can switch between tabs as necessary, even mid-entry. The input on the previous tab will be sent to the screen when you switch. The only time I switch tabs mid-entry is to input parentheses, which are difficult to input correctly on the green tab.
The words remain displayed in the input area until you send them to the screen. One way to do this is to tap on the green arrow on the bottom right of the screen, which sends the text without adding a space at the end. Another way is to tap on the carriage return button, which sends the text and adds a carriage return. This clears the input area so it's ready for new input.
Figure 6: See the indent and arrow to the left of the words?
Figure 7: Continue writing in the indent, and your previous input goes to the screen.
The third way to send the words to the screen is one of the product's real innovations. As you fill the line with your input, OnSpot will "crunch" the display a bit and create a small indent on the left of the input area, with a small arrow to the right of the indent (Figure 6). To send the contents of the input area to the screen, simply continue writing in the cleared space before the arrow. OnSpot will send the previous input to the screen and append a space to the last word, while accepting your new input (Figure 7).
Why is this so innovative? This feature is a big part of the "mimicking" writing with pen and paper, because you just keep writing, just like you would with pen and paper. Words don't do justice to how quick and natural this feels ... you have to experience it to appreciate it.
Figure 8: If the line is too long, add a dash at the end�
Figure 9: �and continue the word from the beginning of the input area.
Another innovation is the means by which OnSpot handles long words. If you're running out of space in the input area and need to complete a word, just insert a dash at the end of the line. This tells OnSpot that you're continuing the word, and it won't insert a space.
Editing�s a Breeze
Now for the really big feature. If you've used Transcriber or Calligrapher, you've probably encountered the situation where you realize that you've made a mistake in a word. In that case, you have to let the word be "recognized" and then go back and correct it with the sometimes cumbersome correction window. With Letter Recognizer, you have to leave the input area and go to the error on the screen, and highlight and/or delete characters so you can make your corrections.
Figure 10: Ooops, misspelled the word�
Figure 11: Just overwrite the wrong letter with the right one.
OnSpot has a better way. As long as your input is still displayed in the input area, you can easily correct any errors. Wrong character? Just write the correct character right over it. Missing character? Just squeeze it in where it belongs. With its set of gestures, you can insert spaces, tabs, carriage returns and even delete entire words with a single gesture. No other input method even comes close when it comes to making corrections this simple.
Once your input has been moved to the screen, editing and corrections work much like Letter Recognizer. You can highlight and replace words and letters, delete and re-input, etc. To help make this easier, OnSpot includes left and right arrow buttons, a Space button and a carriage return button to aid with manual corrections and document navigation. These buttons are found in the narrow toolbar just above the input area.
Figure 12: Personal characters.
I found my style of character entry to work quite well with OnSpot's standard character library. But if you run into issues with recognition of some characters, you can add personal characters to the library, which should help to increase the rate of recognition.
Figure 13: Creating shortcuts.
OnSpot also supports shortcuts, which are symbols that you create to represent long character strings that you use frequently. For example, for this review I created a symbol consisting of the cursive letters "os", and when that symbol is entered, it's automatically replaced with the word "OnSpot". When a symbol is recognized in the input area, it's displayed in green.
If you have occasion to write in a language other than English, OnSpot supports special characters. Sets for French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish are included.
Gotchas- Limit of 10 shortcuts may be insufficient for power users;
- It takes some practice to place spaces in words reliably.
Where to Buy
OnSpot can be downloaded from Handango (affiliate) and purchased for $29.99.
Specifications
Decuma specifies that OnSpot is compatible with Pocket PC 2002. I've been using it on my iPAQ 2215 (Windows Mobile 2003) and it has worked flawlessly. It requires 688K of storage memory.
Conclusions
In case it isn't completely obvious, I've become a big fan of OnSpot. Recognition is fast and accurate, and the word display in the input area, along with the ability to make speedy and direct corrections there, make OnSpot the fastest character recognizer around. Once you get a little practice under your belt, you'll find that it runs rings around Letter Recognizer. It also seems faster and more accurate than even the latest version of Calligrapher, and corrections in OnSpot are much faster and easier.
So does OnSpot really feel like writing with pen and paper? Well, it�s certainly the best input method around at mimicking that experience. And finally, do I really like OnSpot as much as it sounds? Well, I've already purchased a license, and I used OnSpot to input all of the body text for this review. And it was truly fast and easy. I'll sum things up by saying that OnSpot is my new favorite input method, and you owe it to yourself to try it.
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01-14-2004, 06:18 PM
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Magi
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,186
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Great review! I've been using Decuma for the past 2 weeks, and you taught me a few things I didn't know! 8)
Question: How far do you need to go on the right for the "current slate" to be put up on the page and then wiped clean? I've been using either the "space" button or the green arrow to do this manually.
After trying it just a moment ago, I found that I could get waaaay over to the right without it clearing...am I doing something wrong?
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01-14-2004, 06:34 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 14
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I have to agree with Doug. I have been using this for the last couple of weeks and it is simply the best input method I have ever used.
Believe it or not, it really does make writing on the PPC fun!
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01-14-2004, 06:54 PM
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Review Coordinator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 451
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Surgical Snack
Great review! I've been using Decuma for the past 2 weeks, and you taught me a few things I didn't know! 8)
Question: How far do you need to go on the right for the "current slate" to be put up on the page and then wiped clean? I've been using either the "space" button or the green arrow to do this manually.
After trying it just a moment ago, I found that I could get waaaay over to the right without it clearing...am I doing something wrong?
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Thanks for the compliments on the review... it's really easy to review something that you really like!
As for your question, it sounds like you might be misunderstanding me. OnSpot never "cleans the slate" by itself. You have to do one of 3 things (2 of which you've already mentioned:
- Tap the green arrow
- Tap the space button
- Start writing in the indent that appears on the beginning of the entry area, which moves the contents of the input area to the screen and accepts your new input
From your description, it doesn't sound like you're doing the last item... or did I read it wrong? :?:
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01-14-2004, 06:55 PM
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Review Coordinator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 451
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by daveh
I have to agree with Doug. I have been using this for the last couple of weeks and it is simply the best input method I have ever used.
Believe it or not, it really does make writing on the PPC fun!
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Indeed... there are faster methods, but none that feel more natural.
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01-14-2004, 06:56 PM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 489
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The one thing that held me back from purchasing it so far is that my personalization doesn't seem to work. The program seems to having problems with my "t" and my "f", putting a t most of the time when I want an f, and my "G" it sees as a "6". So I wanted to teach the software how I write, but it didn't change anything. It's still the same.
Now my question: Do I have to install Decuma into the main memory in order to make this option work well?
Thanks for any info!
Karin
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01-14-2004, 06:57 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 108
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Nice review.
I'm still not getting a feel for how it compares with transcriber or calligrapher for overall ease of use, accuracy etc. With transcriber you can use the entire screen for entry and don't have to press a 'space' or convert button. Other than for editing before a convert how does this method measure up to transcriber?
__________________
I use Remote Conductor for iPad!
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01-14-2004, 07:01 PM
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Review Coordinator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 451
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by karinatwork
The one thing that held me back from purchasing it so far is that my personalization doesn't seem to work. The program seems to having problems with my "t" and my "f", putting a t most of the time when I want an f, and my "G" it sees as a "6". So I wanted to teach the software how I write, but it didn't change anything. It's still the same.
Now my question: Do I have to install Decuma into the main memory in order to make this option work well?
Thanks for any info!
Karin
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Hmmm... we may have to ask the Decuma folks about this one. I installed it to main memory, but I really didn't need to personalize anything. So I can't really speak to this. I'll be contacting Decuma later on today to let them know that the review posted. Hopefully someone from their staff will join the discussion.
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01-14-2004, 07:05 PM
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Review Coordinator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 451
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by johnm
Nice review.
I'm still not getting a feel for how it compares with transcriber or calligrapher for overall ease of use, accuracy etc. With transcriber you can use the entire screen for entry and don't have to press a 'space' or convert button. Other than for editing before a convert how does this method measure up to transcriber?
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Thanks!
Personally, I find OnSpot to be more accurate than Transcriber. It's about equal to Calligrapher, IMO. (Obviously, your mileage may vary...) And I find that editing is so much easier than in either of the other 2 products. To me, the corrector window in both products needs some real work.
As for pressing a space or "convert" button, this isn't necessary. Refer to the part of my review starting with figure 6... you can write continuously by writing in the indent to the left of your current input, which automatically sends the current contents to the screen as you enter new text. Unfortunately, this happens so quickly that it's impossible to capture it in a screen shot.
To clarify the figures... while "Pocket PC's" in figure 6 was still in the input area, I started writing "hard" in figure 7. This sent "Pocket PC's" to the screen without pressing any buttons. You just keep returning to the beginning of the line, and OnSpot sends your text to the screen automatically.
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01-14-2004, 07:36 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 267
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Hey Doug,
I am trying out the demo. Great review learned so many new stuff! I only have one peeve.
While your writing is still in the green pad, you mention the spacing thing, kinda annoying at this point for me.
How do you go in between words to insert a space in the green pad after it has been "recognized" by Decuma? When I try, I end "printing" the words. :evil:
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Linear Mode
