8pen Keyboard - Revolution or Fail?

[novox77]

Even when I picked up the first PDA I owned (a Palm), it at least used Graffiti, which was intuitive. 8pen isn't at all intuitive to me, however.

Exactly. Graffiti was so easy to learn because they chose a shorthand stroke that was similar to the actual letter. You can actually master graffiti in a few hours.

8pen requires tons of repetition to get the muscle memory required to use it fluently. And unless it becomes some sort of international standard, I'm not going to waste time learning something that might not be around for another year.

There's something to be said for being able to tap a key and instantly getting a letter, as opposed to having to draw a symbol to get that letter. Both graffiti and 8pen suffer from that delay of having to draw something for each character. That's why typing is faster than writing.

Swype is faster than typing because two letters can be achieved with 1 linear stroke. It is also more forgiving because your trace doesn't need to hit the keys precisely.

 

[conor.in]

Very well said. I think that sums this up nicely.

 

[louisd11]

Am I the only one that uses messagease. It's much better than 8pen and I can text with one hand.

 

[conor.in]

Am I the only one that uses messagease. It's much better than 8pen and I can text with one hand.

I've never heard of that so it's very possible.

 

[Thefoodman52]

I have to assume your joking. Not to get off topic here, but if we would just switch to the metric system EVERYTHING would be so much easier. But us Americans are too proud and dumb to admit that our system is totally ******ed.

As an american, I can actually say I prefer the metric system.

 

[Evoixmrftw]

Am I the only one that uses messagease. It's much better than 8pen and I can text with one hand.

Hey, that's not half bad. Kinda odd at first, but yeah, easy with one thumb.

 

[raqball]

I tried it.... Got as tired of it as a dollar hooker on fifty cent night....

 

[mdizzle99]

UPDATE:

Version 1.1 is now out and there are some big improvements. And, even better for those who haven't already purchased it, it is now free in the market.

Enjoy.

 

[Vincent Law]

Well, as many of you know about me, I pirate first, then buy later.

"As many of you know, I steal cars to test drive first, then buy later".

There's a 24-hour trial period on the market apps. There are no excuses for pirating software.

 

[conor.in]

"As many of you know, I steal cars to test drive first, then buy later".

There's a 24-hour trial period on the market apps. There are no excuses for pirating software.

Did he say it was an excuse? As far as I can tell, he was stating a fact about himself without moralizing on the issue.

Also, 8pen sucks. You guys were right.

 

[Caloy]

With patience, I feel this keyboard can be good especially once you've memorize where all the letters are. Then you can actually type without even looking. But then again, with patience, we can move mountains. It all boils down on how much time and effort are you willing to invest to learn this new type of input device.

As for me, I'm still trying it out, but I don't have too much patience to learn a new way to skin a cat.

 

[novox77]

With patience, I feel this keyboard can be good especially once you've memorize where all the letters are. Then you can actually type without even looking. But then again, with patience, we can move mountains. It all boils down on how much time and effort are you willing to invest to learn this new type of input device.

As for me, I'm still trying it out, but I don't have too much patience to learn a new way to skin a cat.

If typing without looking was the main advantage of 8pen, I'd rather stick with graffiti. Much easier to learn and shorter finger strokes.

 

[JohnJSal]

It's now free on the Market.

 

[Droid_Genius]

LOL Yea the finally realized they cant sell it and I gave it a whirl so giving it a 2 week test to see if I can get used to it

 

[fmalcolmr]

Have had this for about 3 days now and, like a few others have said, I am finding that I am getting quite good at it. Developer did a nice job on placing the most used letters in the closest positions. I use stock or swiftkey for longer text/emails but for the majority of the time, I use this. Now that i know where most of the letters are, I dont need to lift my thumb when using it. With a fluid movement this thing is quick! If you set it as a default for a day or two, it shouldn't be too hard to pick up...just need a little muscle memory Pretty fun as well (the process of improving)Glad I stuck with it.