Will 8pen Bring About a Revolution in Software-based Character Input? Unlikely [Opinion]
by Quentyn Kennemer on November 1st, 2010

In today’s technology-driven society, kids are growing up learning how to use technology to their advantage and adults are incorporating more of it into their lives. Like anything, once you get used to a certain standard, it’s hard to (or, more accurately, hard to want to) adopt anything else. More than anything, the QWERTY layout for English-speaking typists has proven to be quick to learn, easy to remember, and very efficient for character input. (And not because that’s how or why it was designed.)

The layout first appeared on typewriters where it was necessary for certain letters’ typebars to be as far from each other as they could be to be sure keys don’t accidentally strike each other. (These certain letters were ones used most often next to each other in a word, which is why the layout is top-heavy with vowels and bottom-heavy with consonants.)

But you don’t care about all of that. You care about the fact that it translates to a remarkable typing experience and you’ve never known anything outside of it. Not even Dvorak’s supposedly speedier layout could get you away from QWERTY.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3OuC...layer_embedded

That’s why I approach 8pen – a new software “keyboard” for mobile phones – with hesitation. (It’s more accurate to call it an input mechanism, than anything.) Go ahead and watch the video above to get an idea of what 8pen is all about and how it works. I’m not trying to say these folks haven’t created something worth trying – nor am I saying it isn’t interesting or original – but I just don’t think many people will stray too far from their comfort zones.

“What about T9,” you ask. T9 was invented because – at that point in time – there’d been no other choice on a device without a full set of keys. Most mobile phones in those days came with 10-number keypads while only the top-tier devices – namely PDAs – were graced with a full QWERTY keyboard. And the idea behind T9 and why it was needed differs greatly between a jump from QWERTY to something like 8pen.

Now that we have phones with large touchscreens and even low-end offerings with physical keyboards, the need to reinvent the wheel is not there. Even a phone whose screen isn’t large enough to comfortably type on with a software QWERTY keypad will allow you to revert back to an on-screen T9 experience, and that’s still good enough for a lot of people. (And I won’t even mention the more-than-adequate half-QWERTY that’s become quite the popular accommodation.)



And then we have Swype, which is gaining popularity each and every day. “Swype changes the fundamentals, doesn’t it?” No, Swype simply builds on an already-established norm. Combining the familiarity of QWERTY with the seemingly mind-reading nature of T9’s prediction system and the human’s natural intuition desire to swipe back and forth on a touchscreen, Swype starts feeling more like a natural extension of the software QWERTY experience.

BlindType has gained a lot of recognition lately, too, but not because it changes the fundamentals: it simply makes it easier to type on a layout we already know and love. That’s the single biggest thing people love about these two offerings. Is 8pen DOA? No. I think it will garner a lot of attention simply because of how unique it is, and a lot of people might fall in love with it. (Even some of the oddest of oddities attract fans.) But don’t expect carriers and manufacturers to rush to their table to strike up deals to include this on phones.

Having said all of that, I’m still excited to at least try 8pen out when it launches for Android 2.2 devices tomorrow (1.6+ support coming soon.) Who knows? I might even fall in love with it, but I wouldn’t count on it trumping my love for the comfortable typing experience on a layout I’ve grown up using that hasn’t posed any problems for me thus far.

Android phones outsell iPhone 2-to-1, says research firm
Google's OS powers 44% of smartphones sold in U.S. last quarter; Apple's iOS far behind

By Gregg Keizer
November 1, 2010 04:15 PM ETComments (85)Recommended (63)
Computerworld - Android-powered smartphones outsold iPhones in the U.S. by almost 2-to-1 in the third quarter, a research firm said today.

Analysts explained the Android boom by pointing out the plethora of manufacturers that equip their smartphones with Google's mobile operating system, and highlighting their availability on all the major U.S. carriers.

"We started to see Android take off in 2009 when Verizon added the [Motorola] Droid," said Ross Rubin, the executive director of industry analysis for the NPD Group. "A big part of Android success is its carrier distribution. Once it got to the Verizon and Sprint customer bases, with their mature 3G networks, that's when we started to see it take off."

According to NPD's surveys of U.S. retailers, Android phones accounted for 44% of all consumer smartphone sales in the third quarter, an increase of 11 percentage points over 2010's second quarter. Meanwhile, Apple's iOS, which powers the iPhone, was up one point to 23%.

Research in Motion's (RIM) portion of the smartphone pie was 22% for the third quarter, down six percentage points from 2010's second quarter.

RIM's decline is easy to explain, said Rubin. "That's also related to the carrier distribution, which is difficult to underestimate," he said, noting that the carriers that now sell loads of Android phones are the same ones that have traditionally been major suppliers of RIM's BlackBerry.

RIM introduced its newest smartphone, the BlackBerry Torch 9800, in August. The handset is available only through AT&T, the U.S. carrier that also has an exclusive deal with Apple to sell the iPhone.

"That's why the Torch at AT&T isn't doing much to hold back the Android onslaught," Rubin said. "It's only on AT&T."

Kevin Restivo, an analyst with IDC, echoed Rubin's reasoning for Android's surge. "It's the collective growth in sales of HTC and Motorola," he said.

The trend has been building throughout the first half of the year, both Restivo and Rubin said.

In the first six months of 2010, Android accounted for 30.8% of all smartphone sales in the U.S., up from just 4.6% in the first half of the year before, said Restivo, citing IDC data. Apple's iOS, on the other hand, slipped from 21.1% in the first half of 2009 to 19.8% in the first six months of 2010.

RIM's sales share plummeted during the same period, falling from 51.4% in 2009 to 35.5% this year.

"Android has made its mark on the smartphone market, irrespective of what quarter we're talking about in 2010," said Restivo. IDC has not yet compiled its third-quarter sales estimates by operating system.

Apple will have a tough time matching Android smartphone sales until it breaks free of the exclusive partnership with AT&T, Rubin argued. "It's difficult for them to compete in market share leadership with just one carrier," he said.

Rumors that Apple will soon offer the iPhone to other U.S. carriers, primarily Verizon, pop up on a regular basis. Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple would add Verizon to its U.S. carrier stable early next year, a timeline that Brian Marshall of Gleacher & Co. said his sources confirmed.

Rubin offered another reason for Android's strong sales.

"The story for Android in 2010 is that, for most manufacturers and carriers, there really hasn't been any alternative," Rubin said. Microsoft's Windows Mobile faded badly this year, and its Windows Phone 7 has yet to appear on handsets in the U.S. And AT&T has Apple's iOS locked up for now. That left Android as the default OS for what Rubin called "modern" smartphones.

"Multiple manufacturers [with Android phones] provide more consumer choice in the marketplace," said Rubin.