Ars Technica Reviews Controller Keyboard

phaedo00 writes "Ars Technica has reviewed the AlphaGrip AG-5 handheld keyboard and mouse. From the article: 'After lots of research and five revisions, the perfectionists at AlphaGrip finally decided that they had a product worthy of marketing, and they released the long awaited AG-5. Although the AG-5 looks strange and intimidating, it is a unique and highly innovative product that deserves consideration, particularly by mobile computing enthusiasts. The AG-5 interfaces with computers via a single removable USB cable. It uses a simple chord-like keyboarding model and an integrated trackball to provide complete keyboard and mouse functionality in a unique form factor that looks a bit like a console gaming controller.'"

Wha huh?

[jmartens]

Even from a person who has taught himself how to use dvorak ... that looks like a nightmare.

Re:Well....

[Anonymous Coward]

A keyboard is letters on buttons...

Re:Well....

[LanMan04]

You're current keyboard also has letters on buttons.....or keys, as someone might call them.

ICK

[Lumpy]

I had to learn the Handeykey Twiddler [handykey.com] for my foray into the world of wearable computing and it was a PITA to learn. But it at least let me do it one handed and at a somewhat decent rate. This thing looks really awkward to use no matter what you do.

None of these alternative keybards have any real benefits. The twiddler was close as you could type while walking down the street or listening during a class without getting everyone's attention. This thing will get professors glaring at you.

A snowball's chance.

[dpbsmith]

Chording keyboards hae been since the invention of the stenotype machine in the late 1800s, enabling those willing to master what the Ars Technica article calls a "steep learning curve" to attain speeds of 225 wpm or about three times the speed of a comparably skilled typist.

They were an integral part of Engelbart's conception--the mouse was intended for use with a five-key chording keyboard.

There is nothing about them that is very difficult or expensive to manufacture. (In fact, common sense says that all things being equal a device with a dozen or so buttons ought to cost less than one with a hundred).

This one must be about the tenth that's made it to the point of being manufactured and sold to the general PC-using public, several marketed at the height of concern about RSI with reasonable evidence that they would be less stressful to use than conventional keyboards.

None of 'em have ever come close to catching on.

Chalk up chording keyboards with leap-week calendars or decimal time or the Single Tax. Ain't gonna happen.

They aren't guilty

[Hakubi_Washu]

Read the first article again. They said it was invented to reduce mechanical failure (no word about typing speed), which is exactly what that article states it was for.

No good if you don't have all your fingers

[Tech]

The problem with all of these chorded keyboard replacements - including this one - is that they are mostly useless for anyone with fewer than five working fingers [*] on each hand, either accidentally or from birth. And a person with the normal allocation of fingers who temporarily loses use of one, due to an injury for example, would have to revert to the standard keyboard which, happily, is still entirely functional - albeit slower. I would be very interested to see more designs of alternative input devices that can accommodate temporary and permanent disabilities.

[*] Ignoring the thumb-vs-finger debate.

Who, specifically, is this for?

[Gulik]

I'm not being sarcastic here -- I'm honestly not sure what group of users is being targetted here. It seems that the only people who might find this useful are people who don't have a flat surface in front of them to rest a keyboard on. That might be laptop users, but if there's nowhere to rest the laptop, you can't use it anyway -- and while it can be argued that typing on the laptop while it's sitting on your lap is uncomfortable, I'm not sure balancing the laptop using only your knees while holding this thing over it is going to be any better. So, if not laptop users, then PDA users -- except this thing is larger than most of the PDAs commonly in use. Tablet users walking around the shop floor? If you're using both hands to hold the controller, what's holding up the tablet?

This is an honest question: who is this thing for?

Re:Wha huh?

[GrievousMistake]

It does, doesn't it? Looks can be deceiving, though. TFA claims 45 wpm after a week, with a month as a more typical learning period.
It looks fine for simple text input, actually, and maybe gaming, but I have my reservations against using this thing for Vi... I hate remapping the keys for anything more complex than a FPS, so configuring each application to avoid keys that are hard to press simultaneously sounds less than tempting. (Does anybody else here use default vim mappings with the dvorak layout, or am I just crazy?)
If all I were doing with my computer was hanging around on Slashdot all day, I'd go for it.