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Google Acquires BlindType, Makers of Intuitive Keyboard Software

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blindtype-android

Google may have just made the necessary move to finally get some much needed innovation into the stock Android keyboard by acquiring BlindType, a virtual keyboard alternative that promises insane accuracy even when typing without looking. But that’s just a basic description of how the BlindType keyboard works. It’s scalable, smart, and adjusts to your typing habits on the fly. The company hasn’t been shy to show off their technology, though the keyboard hasn’t seen an official release yet, and thanks to Google’s acquisition there is sure to be even more of a delay. Here is a post from the BlindType company blog announcing the news:

We are excited to announce that BlindType has been acquired by Google!

We want to thank everyone for their overwhelming support and positive feedback.
We know that typing on your mobile device can be a frustrating experience, which is why
we’ve worked hard to make touch typing easier and faster than ever – the way it should be.

We’re excited to join Google, and look forward to the great opportunities for mobile innovation that lie ahead.

The BlindType team

With the addition of the BlindType team to Google’s long list of acquisitions the oft-maligned stock Android keyboard may get a little more than just a few tweaks and improvements. With BlindType’s impressive technology, this could be just the shot in the arm Android’s input methods need.

[via TechCrunch]

Kevin Krause
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12 Comments

  1. I’ve been really looking forward to this keyboard and this is makes it even better.

    The one problem though, I worry that this has postponed the release.

  2. What I’m worried about is that it will only be released with android updates. I think it should be an APK on the market…I hope so :/ I don’t want to wait for this.

  3. hells yeah i’ve been wanting that keyboard since i saw the video demo….

    Good job Google!!! Please bring it out FAST

  4. I suspect it will, mudrock – they’ve been doing a lot of migrating apps to be in the market recently, like GMail. It would be odd for them to reverse this for the keyboard.

  5. Swype is on a lot of new android phones, but we dont see it on the market. So why should we expect to see Blindtype?Money must be made by the apps which google has to buy from 3rd party companies. Im guessing theres going to be 2 ways of getting blindtype. 1: Buy a brand new android phone. 2: PIRATE!

  6. They will make it free on the Market. It just adds to the allure of getting android when you know you will have a good quality keyboard. They don’t have to sell a keyboard interface to make money, they need to sell the overall OS to make money. This will help.

  7. i’ll have to touch it to believe it. i cant even imagine how this thing is suppose to know what letter you intended to push no matter where you lay your finger on the screen.

  8. @Blake swype=swype inc
    blindtype=google
    android(market)=google
    see the difference?
    google can gain something from offering the keyboard for free on market, swype inc can’t.(and they are too small to handle support for an android market release)

  9. maybe out in gingerbread?

  10. @john the lesser: It analyses the registered keys for each word and looks at what other keys are nearby the ones you touched, and predicts what the most likely set of intended keys was for your given language. For example if I press tiy it should change it to you since those are all off-by-1 keys. So you probably can’t be more than 2 keys off, and at 2 keys the accuracy probably goes down notably compared to 1 key.

  11. I wonder what’s going to happen with the iPhone version…

  12. @ilh Who cares?

    I just hope this gets release ASAP! I’m dying to try it!

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