08-12-2003, 09:00 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,060
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Another Text Input Method To Try
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.
"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!)."
You can download a free demo or buy the full version for $14.50 from the Handango! site.
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!
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08-12-2003, 10:12 AM
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Mystic
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,639
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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.
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08-12-2003, 10:41 AM
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2000 Posts And This is All I Get?
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,017
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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....
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08-12-2003, 01:26 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 797
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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.
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08-12-2003, 02:22 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 76
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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.
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08-12-2003, 02:38 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 176
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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.
__________________
Orange SPV C500
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08-12-2003, 04:26 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 174
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by 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.
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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.
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08-12-2003, 11:56 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 268
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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
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08-13-2003, 12:11 AM
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,998
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by 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 |
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...
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08-13-2003, 12:22 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 318
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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!
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