>why is removing the key separators a good idea? //
I've a suggestion for this one - key separators support a paradigm of key presses, following the [traditional] keyboard metaphor. However with swipe-able keyboards it doesn't really make sense, you only need to approximate the position of the letter during your swipe - no "barriers" helps to enforce that new paradigm. If most people swipe, then it makes sense to move away from representing the keyboard as a layout of switches (a key-board).
What fraction of the words you type are not in the dictionary? Why not revert to tap-typing for just those words and use the faster method for the dictionary words?
Depending on the region, it can be common enough to be annoying. Your second point would be the reason why id just not start swipping, if I need to stop in order to type, id rather just keep typing. Typing is more natural from being used to the keyboard anyway
> If most people swipe, then it makes sense to move away from representing the keyboard as a layout of switches (a key-board).
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Do most people swipe? I honestly have no idea, and I'm not an Android user. I'm wondering if there are any stats on that. Particularly for older or less techno-phile users, swiping keyboards might be difficult to get into using.
I swipe heavily (using the original 'swype' app). It's still much faster than the others, and I've tried almost all of them, including the Google keyboard. Also, everyone else who sees me typing using that tries to learn the same. It's really more convenient than traditional touch typing.
A large fraction of Android users around me use one of the swype type keyboards... but that could be because I've been evangelizing it for close to 5 years now to anybody who'll listen... it really is a genuinely better and faster way to input on the mobile.
Swipe typing on a touch screen [1] is analogous to T9 [2] text entry on a traditional keypad. In fact, they were invented by the same group [3].
On numeric keypads, each button corresponds to ~3 letters. Basic text entry involves pushing each button multiple times to select the index of the letter you want[4], then waiting to confirm the selection before moving to the next character.
T9 sped up this process by allowing you to press each button once. It would determine which word you meant by comparing all possible combinations of letters that could be created from the buttons you pressed against a dictionary of known words.
Swype provides a similar extension to QWERTY touchscreen keyboards. With Swype, you drag your finger across a QWERTY grid, creating a path. This path starts on the first letter of the intended word and crosses all letters in the word, in order. It also crosses lots of letters that aren't in the word, or are out of position. The 'secret sauce' lies in how to compare the ordered set of keys defined by the path to a predefined dictionary and produce a meaningful prediction of the intended word.
I haven't implemented such an algorithm myself. However, you can imagine how it might be done. For example, acute angles in the path probably occur when you reach a letter you want, then angle off to collect the next letter. This provides a signpost that can be combined with the initial letter to reduce the possible words down to the set that starts with the initial letter and includes the key with the acute angle.
Because it's got a big list of n-grams and knows what words are more commonly used than others. It uses a predictive model to generate a list of words from your swipe, and then sorts that according to usage. It also continuously learns what words you use the most and prioritizes those. It picks the most likely word, but also displays a list of other possibilities you can tap. It's pretty slick.
> It's a bizarre method of text entry, but interesting nonetheless.
And by bizarre you mean fantastic... It's even better in a language like French, where swiping means not having to type in the accents, whereas normally you'd have to do a long press of the letter and then select the accent you want...
You don't need to type spaces either and keyboards can be more compact as it's about the word shape rather than hitting a particular letter sequence exactly. Stock Android 4.1 version at least seems pretty forgiving provided I hit the correct first letter, a lot of weight in the algo appears to lie with first letter.
I've a suggestion for this one - key separators support a paradigm of key presses, following the [traditional] keyboard metaphor. However with swipe-able keyboards it doesn't really make sense, you only need to approximate the position of the letter during your swipe - no "barriers" helps to enforce that new paradigm. If most people swipe, then it makes sense to move away from representing the keyboard as a layout of switches (a key-board).