New touch keyboard promises to simplify and revolutionize typing

By Joshua Sherman March 20, 2013

minuum — Image used with permission by copyright holder

A new keyboard has surfaced on YouTube that, contrary to what you may think, wants you to mess up your typing. The keyboard app, Minuum, is a sleek and slim way to type quickly and sloppily. You’ll make a lot of mistakes, but that’s what autocorrect is for, right?

While most keyboards take up as much as half the screen when you’re writing a text message or entering a search inquiry, Minuum is (per its namesake) a discrete and minimally-sized keyboard that sits on the bottom of your screen. While most keyboard brag about accuracy, Minuum instead takes your jumbled text and predicts your words based on a pattern. The “fast and sloppy typing” Minuum offers is what they claim to be just as fast and accurate as any other keyboard, but offering so much more real estate on your phone to work with.

Minuum’s predictive writing relies on a special algorithm that guesses your words based on the combination you type. Minuum isn’t really meant for those who prefer to hunt and peck for letters. While typing, the keyboard will open up a magnified mode that lets you more easily select individual letters. The keyboard technology can also be integrated with a variety of sensors to allow typing on a variety ways aside from the screen. In the video below, several new ways to enter text are shown.

Minuum is currently running a Indiegogo fundraiser and expects to have a beta out to backers by June. You can back it yourself with a $5 or greater donation. However, there’s no way to know just how effective the keyboard will be until its beta reaches its backers. Then again, if you’re already sick of Swype or Swiftkey, it might be worth a try.

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Joshua Sherman is a contributor for Digital Trends who writes about all things mobile from Apple to Zynga. Josh pulls his…

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