Another Text Input Method To Try

[Brad Adrian]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=82796' target='_blank'>http://www.handango.com/brainstore/...productId=82796</a><br /><br /></div>To me, one of the most important ways that Pocket PCs have always surpassed Palm devices is their support for text input. There are SO many different tools for entering text into a Pocket PC that virtually everybody can find a method that suits their needs. Now, Exideas is offering their own cross-platform text entry tool into the arena with MessagEase.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/adrian/messagease2.jpg" /><br /><br />"MessagEase's keyboard has fewer but bigger keys. On a PDA you enter the nine most frequent letters with a single tap and the rest of them with a single drag or slide of your stylus. Since the keys are both bigger and fewer, they are easier to find and hit. The combination of tap/drag on larger and fewer keys added to MessagEase's optimal letter assignment makes it very fast...To enter the bold letters in the center of the top nine keys simply tap anywhere on that key. To enter a letter or character located on the side of any key, bring your stylus down anywhere on its key then slide in the direction of that letter. For example, to enter "v" bring your stylus down anywhere on that button where "v" is marked (it has "A" in the center) then drag down and right (or south-east, or 45 degrees down and right!)."<br /><br />You can download a free demo or buy the full version for $14.50 from the <A HREF="http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=82796 <br />" target="_blank">Handango!</A> site.<br /><br />I've never been very good at non-traditional text entry tools, such as FITALY, because my tired old brain just can't get used to new key layouts. I know, though, that several Thoughts readers have mentioned in the forums that they really like MessagEase and that it can be very fast. So, go ahead and try the free demo and let me know what you think!

[dh]

I tried this when I saw it was now available for PPC. It's already uninstalled, joining my long list of failed input methods.

The main problem was that the small characters are so tiny it's hard for me to even see them.

So it's still Fitaly for me.

[maximus]

Same here. My biggest frustration with messagease is with the letters on the middle box (QUPCBGDJ), I kept on messing up Q and U, Q and C, etc. because of the slide direction. You really have to be precise with the direction of the sliding, or you will get the neighboring letter.

And also the fact that numbers are not immediately shown, we have to toggle to see the numbers....

[Vincent M Ferrari]

I'd have to say, I spent quite a while fiddling with this on the Palm OS, and it isn't worth the effort. As was said earlier, it goes right on my pile of failed "next great input methods."

I'm sticking with Fitaly. I'd love to have T9 for the PPC like I used to have for the Palm, but since that isn't happening, Fitaly is the next best thing for me.

[KayMan2k]

This is not an original idea for text input. A VERY smilar way already exists, I do not recall the name of the program right now but I found it on a old PPC software site... I used it for my Casio E105 - not even sure if comptabile with 2k3. But it works in a slighlty improved fashion.. you always start with your stylus in the center of the box but after you select your character you end up (always) back in the center - you never have to lift up your stylus. It takes some getting used to.. but I've used it faster than transcriber or character recgonizer.


Will post link when I get home from work.

[popabawa]

I'll echo the other posters thoughts. FITALY is the only ine which has stuck for me ('though I've not tried MessagEase).

FITALY is surprising easy to get to grips with and reasonable speeds are possible fairy quicly. It's pretty mcuh the only input method I use now.

[Christian]

This is not an original idea for text input. A VERY smilar way already exists, I do not recall the name of the program right now but I found it on a old PPC software site... I used it for my Casio E105 - not even sure if comptabile with 2k3. But it works in a slighlty improved fashion.. you always start with your stylus in the center of the box but after you select your character you end up (always) back in the center - you never have to lift up your stylus. It takes some getting used to.. but I've used it faster than transcriber or character recgonizer.


Will post link when I get home from work.

I believe what you're referring to is called Quikwriting, developed at NYU: http://mrl.nyu.edu/projects/quikwriting/. Several versions of this system exist with different layouts, such as alphabetical in-order. Since you never need to lift the stylus, this method really has potential - I've been using it for a while now and am already faster than transcriber and the onscreen keyboard. The way I see it, the main advantage is that after a while you remember the "shapes" of entire words, not just individual letters. At minimum, its an interesting thing to try.

[arebelspy]

I used Quikwrite for months. I can still do the loopys for the word "the," or even my screen name "arebelspy" from muscle memory. Finally decided it wasn't for me, and I've been using mainly Fitaly ever since.

About a week ago I QUIT Fitaly and haven't looked back.

vincenzosi: T9 IS available for the PocketPC now. http://www.tengo.net/
It's better than T9 though (which is arranged on cell phones to be a-c on the #1, etc., whereas this follows QWERTY, so you know where all the letters are)!

It's so easy to add words in, etc. etc., it's AMAZING, so fast, by far my favorite method of entry now.

-arebelspy

[Jeff Rutledge]

I used Quikwrite for months. I can still do the loopys for the word "the," or even my screen name "arebelspy" from muscle memory. Finally decided it wasn't for me, and I've been using mainly Fitaly ever since.

About a week ago I QUIT Fitaly and haven't looked back.

vincenzosi: T9 IS available for the PocketPC now. http://www.tengo.net/
It's better than T9 though (which is arranged on cell phones to be a-c on the #1, etc., whereas this follows QWERTY, so you know where all the letters are)!

It's so easy to add words in, etc. etc., it's AMAZING, so fast, by far my favorite method of entry now.

-arebelspy

I was considering this when it was first covered, but forgot about it. I think I'll give it a whirl. I'm a die hard FITALY user so I'll be interested to see how I like it...

[carphead]

I'll give remains second vote. Until I discovered tengo I hadn't really posted much in pocket pc thoughts using my ipaq. Now up can't stop me!

[KH]

I spent the day in a class taking notes with this one. I have been a die-hard Calligrapher fan, and Calligrapher has worked fairly well for me for years, but I try new entry methods every once and a while. MessagEase worked amazingly well - actually better than my experience with Fitaly. One thing I noticed is that although the data entry worked much better than any keyboard layout I have yet tried, I have come to depend on the Conversion lag in Calligrapher to let me compose my next blast of words. I take extensive notes on my IPAQ though, so I'll give this a bit more time and see if I can get beyond switching in a panic back to Calligrapher when I can't keep up with note-taking.

[Pony99CA]

One claim made for MessagEase is that it's intuitive. Maybe once you get used to it, it becomes second nature, but that's not the same thing as being intuitive.

So what would be intuitive? Things the user is familiar with, like the SIP Keyboard and Letter Recognizer. I don't think you can get more intuitive than those.

Steve