14 DAY TRIAL // A new input method for Android touchscreen devices without a physical keyboard is about to make its debut later today. Codenamed 8pen, the app might prove to be a good alternative to Swype, which is not compatible with all Android devices at the moment. 8pen aims to improve Android users’ writing experience on small screens and allow for the replacement of the conventional keyboard on all devices capable of detecting gestures.
3qubits, the developer of the application, states that the main advantage of 8pen lies mainly in the fact that it makes it possible to input text faster than using conventional layouts on small devices, while at the same time mimicking human hand-writing.
The software has three basic features that make it a potential competitor for Swype: Custom gestures, Special and uppercase characters and Basic movement.
As shown in the screenshot, the layout of the on-screen keyboard is rather weird, but the developer of the app assures users that, once they get familiar with the position of the letters, writing can even be done without viewing.
Thanks to the Custom gesture feature, users will be able to store specific gestures that can be used to quickly reproduce custom character sequences such as names or phrases used often.
Typing special characters seems to be very easy, as they are produced almost like the standard ones, but by pausing the movement in the appropriate sector.
Moreover, the simplicity of the gestures involved greatly reduces the problem of mistyping that frequently occurs with the classical layout due to the lack of space.
In-depth explanations over the input method can be found on the developer's website, which plans to launch it by the end of the day.
The application will be compatible with all Android 2.2 devices, but 3qubits announced that it will soon release another version compatible with devices running older iterations such as Android 1.6.