This smartwatch keyboard could be a QWERTY killer

By Aliya Barnwell November 10, 2015

TouchOne Keyboard - The first dedicated smartwatch keyboard [Now on Kickstarter]

As the smartwatch market grows, so will the range of apps for them. Keyboards, for instance, are still developing – smartwatches’ small screens make typing messages or email replies almost impossible for most people. The TouchOne is the newest touchscreen smartwatch keyboard to address the issue. It’s designed to maximize your smartwatch’s scant screen real estate and make it less frustrating to type on your wrist.

Announced earlier this year, the TouchOne recently went up on Kickstarter with a modest goal of $7,137 to finalize the development of an SMS app that uses the unique keyboard. The company is nearly there with a month to go. Instead of using the traditional QWERTY layout, the TouchOne wraps the letters completely around the watch face in alphabetical order.

It has a total of eight keys, each representing three or four letters, instead of 108 keys like the Traditional QWERTY. This means more screen space for a larger text display and ease of use for people with fingers too large to bother with the tiny QWERTY keys.

The TouchOne keyboard uses gestures for its four commands, further freeing space on the screen. For example, simply swipe left to delete, add a space with a tap, and shift by swiping up. Predictions appear at the bottom.

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touchone smartwatch keyboard colors — Image used with permission by copyright holder

touchone smartwatch keyboard numerals — Image used with permission by copyright holder

touchone smartwatch keyboard dual shapes — Image used with permission by copyright holder

touchone smartwatch keyboard emojis — Image used with permission by copyright holder

touchone smartwatch keyboard message app jpg — Image used with permission by copyright holder

There’s one other round smartwatch keyboard that looks interesting and uses similar gesture-based commands, the Minuum, but it sticks to the familiar QWERTY format. TouchOne users will no doubt let the world know if the new keyboard design is better than the one we’ve been using with little variation for more than 100 years.

If you want to be one of the first to try it out, back the project for about $4. For that, you get an emoji package for the TouchOne and entry into the SMS app beta. With it you can respond to texts without doing the Michael Knight thing or carrying Bluetooth headphones everywhere. The campaign wraps up on December 10, with delivery set for later that month. If you’re interested, you can back it on Kickstarter now.

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Aliya Tyus-Barnwell is a writer, cyclist and gamer with an interest in technology. Also a fantasy fan, she's had fiction…

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