MessagEase Text Entry Keyboard

[Pat Logsdon]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.messagease.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.messagease.com/</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20040422_messagease.jpg" /><br /><br />"The innovative, patent-protected MessagEase keyboard enables you to enter full text using buttons that are much bigger than a QWERTY keyboard. These bigger and fewer keys are easier to find and faster to target. MessagEase uses an ingenious combination of taps and drags for entering text: Taps for most frequent letters and numbers and drags for less frequent letters and special characters."<br /><br />This looks like a rather complex but potentially very useful keyboard. According to MessagEase, the larger letters are the ones you'll use 71% of the time, and other letters can be accessed via a tap on the larger letter and a slide to the smaller letter. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20040422_msgcmd.gif" /> In addition to the dedicated "space" key and number pad, MessagEase also features a "Command Button", which "includes the most common text editing functions. You can copy, past, cut and undo by just performing a drag. Dragging on the up or down arrow scrolls your text up or down. Drag on the Command icon to change to the Ctrl Mode. Drag and return to get to the Alt mode."<br /><br />There are a ton of screenshots and instructions at the <a href="http://www.messagease.com/ME/ME4PPCReadMe.html">MessagEase site</a>, along with a free <b>2 month</b> trial. <a href="http://www.messagease.com/ME/RegisterAll.html">Registration</a> costs $19.95.

[Jeff Rutledge]

This looks interesting. I'm completely overwhelmed at first glance, but I recall the same reaction the first time I saw FITALY. Now that's all I use for input.

A two month trial is decent too. :way to go:

[TheZodiac]

That thing looks like Calculas on heroin. Forgive me for not getting it! :)
palm users may like it though I think!

I like the XTAP personally.
http://www.azmosys.com/me3/

[OSUKid7]

I tested this (beta? maybe...can't remember lol) a few months ago. Was a terrific idea, but even after 30 days I couldn't remember where some of the letters were located.

So why is this being posted now? Hasn't this been out for awhile now? Or is this just a software review for people who haven't heard of it?

[mangochutneyman]

Why is this thing $20 for PPC users when its free for PalmOS? :?:

[Pat Logsdon]

So why is this being posted now? Hasn't this been out for awhile now? Or is this just a software review for people who haven't heard of it?
It was just submitted as a news item today, and we haven't posted on it before. I think a post was justified, if only to let people know that this product exists as an option. I'd certainly never heard of it before, and I spend a lot of time here and out trolling for news. Some things just slip beneath the radar... :wink:

[Pat Logsdon]

Why is this thing $20 for PPC users when its free for PalmOS? :?:
The free version for Palms is very limited and rather crude. The equivalent version is actually MORE expensive at $22.50, AND you'll need to buy a "stamp" to put over the Grafitti area if you own anything but a Clie or a T3. :roll: Check out the registration link in my post to see what the stamps look like. :mrgreen:

[ignar]

I tried this some time ago, and really liked it. It is not as complex as it appears, and working pretty well and, best of all, fun to use. I didn't buy it though since I found PocketPC built-in keyboard is sufficient for simple inputs, and for longer entries, I have a wireless keyboard. I prefer MessagEase to Fitaly which I never got used to after a few tries. Even if you are overwhelmed by the screenshot, give it a try. You may find it pretty easy and efficient. Just don't make it as a default input method since your PocketPC might hard reset.

[Ainvar]

I will have to try this out. I prefer wordlogic over fitaly anyday. My own prefrence I guess. But maybe this will be cool who knows.

[Jeff Rutledge]

I quite like WordLogic also. I was actually faster on it than any other input method if entering long lines of normal text. However, entering "non-words" (which I do a lot of it turns out) was touch with WL.

Ideally, I'd like Word Logic's word completion engine built into FITALY's suggested words. That would be a killer app!

[OSUKid7]

So why is this being posted now? Hasn't this been out for awhile now? Or is this just a software review for people who haven't heard of it?
It was just submitted as a news item today, and we haven't posted on it before. I think a post was justified, if only to let people know that this product exists as an option. I'd certainly never heard of it before, and I spend a lot of time here and out trolling for news. Some things just slip beneath the radar... :wink:
Ah, ok. Strange...could have sworn I read about it on here before. Not sure where else I would even look to find something like this. :|

[topps]

That thing looks like Calculas on heroin. Forgive me for not getting it! :)
palm users may like it though I think!

I like the XTAP personally.
http://www.azmosys.com/me3/

I'm probably being dumb...but where do you get the app from? This page only shows screen shots. I see no download link. Tried the parent site with no luck. Looks intriguing.

[Dennis]

You can find MessagEase on Handango (http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?productType=2&optionId=1_2_2&jid=9353D93DD41F71FX7EBE6B155X8B6XF5&platformId=2&siteId=1&productId=82796&sectionId=0&catalog=30&txtSearch=keyboard).
It costs US$19.50.

[topps]

I will have to try this out. I prefer wordlogic over fitaly anyday. My own prefrence I guess. But maybe this will be cool who knows.

Yeah, there are now a lot of interesting input methods available. I wonder if anyone has done any head to head comparisons. We did some testing of Fitaly vs Qwerty vs Graffiti a while back. Fitaly won hands down for speed. None of my users who have spent the initial time (about 2 hours) to get used to the layout, have looked back.

We have not found WordLogic to be nearly so capable, although it is easier to use initially.

I wonder if MessageEase might offer a reasonable compromise - in some ways it looks similar to QuikWriting, which is also very interesting.

The fact that MessageEase is available on several platforms is also somewhat attractive. There was a version of Fitaly for the Tablet PC briefly available but the Jean Ichbiah, the developer did not continue with it (presumably not enough interest).

[sherry]

You can also download MessagEase from:

Http://www.exideas.com

The Pocket PC MessagEase also includes a larger keyboard, operable with a finger. This is handy for the times you want to jot down something quick, but don't want to pull your stylus out!

http://www.exideas.com/ME/pics/twoHandsonPocketPCs.jpg

[pdagal]

We just posted a review of MessageEase 2 or 3 days ago: http://www.pdabuyersguide.com/software/MessageEase.htm

We also have a review of Fitaly: http://www.pdabuyersguide.com/software/Fitaly.htm

The reviewer used a T3, but most everything should be the same across the platforms.

[Zack Mahdavi]

Wow, this program looks interesting. However, I recently discovered FITALY, and I have now just begun getting used to it. I like FITALY a lot, so I think I'll stick with it for a while.

It's good to see developers really changing the way text input is done.

[TheZodiac]

That thing looks like Calculas on heroin. Forgive me for not getting it! :)
palm users may like it though I think!

I like the XTAP personally.
http://www.azmosys.com/me3/

I'm probably being dumb...but where do you get the app from? This page only shows screen shots. I see no download link. Tried the parent site with no luck. Looks intriguing.

I designed it. (shamless plug) and offered Nokia my designs for it. Its actually hardware, though I was also thinking of useing a touch screen as well. It will be bluetooth (as an option for current symbian type phones) or built in the form factor of the cell phone. It fits on the size of a credit card (perhaps a few mm larger, and thicker). Its also a LaPoScape™ design (can be configured lanscape or portate) depending on the users comfort requirements.

Im glad you think its interesting. Im hopeing someone will want to incorporate the design - thats why I contacted Nokia about it - with all their funky phones comeing out in the past year, i thought they were the obvious choice. Thanks agian! :)

[Marcel_Proust]

I will have to try this out. I prefer wordlogic over fitaly anyday. My own prefrence I guess. But maybe this will be cool who knows.

Yeah, there are now a lot of interesting input methods available. I wonder if anyone has done any head to head comparisons. We did some testing of Fitaly vs Qwerty vs Graffiti a while back. Fitaly won hands down for speed. None of my users who have spent the initial time (about 2 hours) to get used to the layout, have looked back.

We have not found WordLogic to be nearly so capable, although it is easier to use initially.

I wonder if MessageEase might offer a reasonable compromise - in some ways it looks similar to QuikWriting, which is also very interesting.

The fact that MessageEase is available on several platforms is also somewhat attractive. There was a version of Fitaly for the Tablet PC briefly available but the Jean Ichbiah, the developer did not continue with it (presumably not enough interest).

Personally I've found Messagease faster than fitaly, but harder to learn.
It also works very well in vga mode mode on the Toshiba e800 as the keys are so large. l wish though someone would combine either fitaly or messagease with the word comletion engine of wordlogic. That would be a killer app. I know Wordlogic prides itself on the familiarity of the qwerty keyboard, but qwerty is designed for a completely different modality.

[Tye]

It seems like wordlogic could solve a lot of these issues by allowing skinning and sliding. With this you could emulate Fitaly, MessageEase, OptiKey, Qwerty, almost anything and still get the great word list.

I agree with some of the people above in that WordLogic's prediction engine is awesome but the qwerty layout sucks. It would be nice to combine the two. It doesn't look like this will happen though because wordlogic haven't updated their keyboard in two years(?).

I have "created" a nice alternate layout for Resco that I like a lot but it is missing the word prediction.

Any developers out there (Calling Resco) that would like to develop a fully skinnable, totally custom slidable, toggleable number pad, with an awesome prediction engine???

[claud9999]

I *definitely* remember an input method on the Newton that used a 3x3 grid with directional gesture to select further keys. There's certainly prior art...(Unless they get very specific and identify the way their input panel looks, which is certainly different from what the Newton input looked like.)

[palmsolo]

I have been a FITALY user for some time now and did great in one of their contests. I now use MessagEase because most everything I normally use is accessible from one display where there are at least 2 in FITALY. I also like that I can use MessagEase on my Tungsten T3 and on Tablet PCs in addition to my 4350. MessagEase on the Tablet PC is awesome!

Dr. Nesbat, the creator of MessagEase is also readily available in the Yahoo Group and is very responsive to user's recommendations and suggestions. I also posted a review of this for the Pocket PC a while ago on PDAGeek.com.

[britade]

I have "created" a nice alternate layout for Resco that I like a lot but it is missing the word prediction.

This sounds interesting. Any chance you could post a screenshot of your custom keyboard?

Regards,

Adrian.

[Tye]

I've thought about posting the keyboard I'm using but, honestly, I've borrowed ideas from other designs and don't want to step on anyone's toes. I don't feel bad using it myself but putting it out into public... Not so sure.

Currently, I'm also working on a version of the Opti keyboard for Resco which I think the public can use. I need to verify that.

I know I'm going somewhat off topic here but ideally I'd like to see a pen optimized keyboard based on word selection.
In other words, something like a cross between Fitaly, MessageEase, and WordLogic. As I see it Fitaly's biggest strength is its key placement. Everything expands from the center based on the letter frequency.
WordLogic's weakness is that you must constantly scan with eyes AND hand from left to right picking between letters and words.
If the two could be combined where the most common keys were placed between the word picker and the least common keys then there wouldn't be as much scanning. Hope that makes sense.

The point of all that is this... You could take something like MessageEase which has fewer keys. Only 9. I've played with MessageEase and you can almost "touch type" with it once you have enough practice. What we do now is mix a MessageEase like keyboard with a pick list. You can now touch type on the keyboard but all your eyes need to scan is the word list. Optimize the key placement a bit and you could make most of the right slides to point toward the pick list. This way your hand naturally travels near the pick list anyway.

This type of keyboard in an advanced mode would only be for the most diehard text entry people but I think the speeds could be awesome once learned. Of course, if it was skinnable then you could simplify it a lot. This is why the Resco keyboard is so powerful (needs more slide options).

Sorry for babbling but I've had all this on my mind for awhile. This is a good public forum to get it out. Maybe one of the keyboard developers will like some of my ideas.

[tospappy]

I downlowed ME this morning and played with it while I was waiting for the vet to check out my rabbit (that's another story). Seems to be something I can learn and like. However, I really like the pen commander function in Calligrapher. It is wonderful for entering phrases, passwords, emails etc. Maybe a similar function in ME with the sign and a tap would work.

[Marcel_Proust]

Excellent ideas. I hope someone who can do it is listening. It would be very easy to add these abilities to messagease. I wonder why only resco has allowed their keyboard to be customizable? It would seem to be easy to implement. r
I've thought about posting the keyboard I'm using but, honestly, I've borrowed ideas from other designs and don't want to step on anyone's toes. I don't feel bad using it myself but putting it out into public... Not so sure.

Currently, I'm also working on a version of the Opti keyboard for Resco which I think the public can use. I need to verify that.

I know I'm going somewhat off topic here but ideally I'd like to see a pen optimized keyboard based on word selection.
In other words, something like a cross between Fitaly, MessageEase, and WordLogic. As I see it Fitaly's biggest strength is its key placement. Everything expands from the center based on the letter frequency.
WordLogic's weakness is that you must constantly scan with eyes AND hand from left to right picking between letters and words.
If the two could be combined where the most common keys were placed between the word picker and the least common keys then there wouldn't be as much scanning. Hope that makes sense.

The point of all that is this... You could take something like MessageEase which has fewer keys. Only 9. I've played with MessageEase and you can almost "touch type" with it once you have enough practice. What we do now is mix a MessageEase like keyboard with a pick list. You can now touch type on the keyboard but all your eyes need to scan is the word list. Optimize the key placement a bit and you could make most of the right slides to point toward the pick list. This way your hand naturally travels near the pick list anyway.

This type of keyboard in an advanced mode would only be for the most diehard text entry people but I think the speeds could be awesome once learned. Of course, if it was skinnable then you could simplify it a lot. This is why the Resco keyboard is so powerful (needs more slide options).

Sorry for babbling but I've had all this on my mind for awhile. This is a good public forum to get it out. Maybe one of the keyboard developers will like some of my ideas.

[deuce coupe]

MessageEase is a funny mix of tap and slides which I find a little difficult to get used to, in my case, on a Tablet PC. ME's best feature is its multi platform capability though. ME was developed to work on cel phone hardware where it uses a double click to enter each letter and seqeunces of two letters equal the slide movements on the pocket / Tablet PC. This paradigm is based entirely on the assumption that it work most efficiently in a 3x3 (actually 3x4 including space, backspace) matrix of keys and be similar for both hardware and software platforms. There are several fundamental flaws in this approach:
-while many cel phones use this key arrangement there is no reason they stay with it in the future.
-there is no reason that the virtual interface of the pocket / Tablet PC be limited to this arrangment, despite arguments for symmetry between platforms.
-the tap and slide arrangement, which while ergonomic, is difficult to learn and requires considerable practice to become proficient.

I think the development of virtual keyboards still has plenty of room for further innovation. How about making consistency and ease of use the major priority? For example:
-use a 3x4 or a 4x4 keyboard so that most / each key has no more than two letter functions
-arrange letters on the keys for optimal frequency and sequencing of the major and minor characters on each key.
-one tap selects the major letter on a key, a second tap selects the minor letter - so most letters are selected with a single tap.
-stick to taps to select letters with slides for special functions like spacing, capitalization or punctuation.
-a slide right (anywhere) enters a space, a slide left (anywhere) for a backspace, a slide up (instead of a tap) a capital letter, a slide down (anywhere) a period, a slide down and left (anywhere) a comma.
-a few other features might help like: auto capitalization after periods, auto word completion

Anyway I would be happy if someone out there took this approach. Maybe others could contribute a few suggestions.

One final issue for virtual keyboard design, and this applies to all virtual keyboards - is the way in which key frequency and sequence are designed. Some kind of word corpus is chosen and the ergonomics of selecting the key arrangement is assessed in some mathematical way. The problem lies not only in the keyboard layout but in selecting the word corpus. The English vocabulary, as listed in any dictionary is larger by far than any other language in the world. It includes more loan words from French, Latin and Greek than from English itself. It also includes many words from many other language sources and from lcoal dialects and from slang. Most writers use only a subset of the words, and in most cases a very small subset of the words in the language - a virtual language within the language. But the particular subset varies widely depending upon the user's local country of origin, first language, educational background, and inclination to strut their stuff - whatever that might be. And the common sequencing of letters probably changes depending upon the word corpus being chosen. The logical response to this paradigm is not a single keyboard layout - but perhaps several. One for basic day to day speech, one for high BBC style, one for high tech talk and others. Perhaps the differences are minor but user choice is an issue.

The same type of analysis would certainly apply to different languages. It would be very surprising to find the same letter and sequence frequency in other languages. They may also share the language within a language character of English though not likely to the same extent.