Microsoft has taken the somewhat unusual step of launching an innovative new keyboard app for the Android Wear smartwatch platform.
Launched as a prototype custom keyboard over on the Microsoft Research web page, Analog Keyboard for Android Wear is Microsoft’s crack at an intuitive text entry solution for smartwatches.
Rather than offer up a full keyboard, Analog Keyboard for Android Wear lets users enter text by drawing the letters (and numbers, and symbols) onto the watch face with their finger.
At present, the prototype app only supports square Android Wear watches with a 320 x 320 display, as well as the Motorola Moto 360 (if you can get it up and running without USB support).
Google itself hasn’t included a keyboard with the Android Wear software, opting instead to rely on Google Now’s voice recognition software for text input.
Of course, there are situations – plenty of them, in fact – where you don’t want to bellow or even whisper conspiratorially to your wrist. As such, any attempt to crack the smartwatch text entry conundrum is welcome – even if the prospect of scribbling in every last character does sound a little unwieldy.
This isn’t Microsoft’s first move to support Android Wear. It actually included support for Google’s smartwatch platform with last month’s new OneNote app, which allowed you to instruct your watch to take notes.
Read More: Apple Watch vs Android Wear
Via: The Verge
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
