Google taps up Blind Type for smartphone input

Web giant Google has acquired Californian start up Blind Type for an undisclosed sum, boosting the attractiveness of Android as a smartphone platform for discovering content.

Blind Type develops an interface for typing on virtual QWERTY keyboards, which claims to allow for super sloppy typing, or typing without looking at the screen.

The software is designed to help the user type easier and faster by constantly adjusting to the user’s “perceived” keyboard and typing style. In the company’s own words: “In contrast to other systems, although an on screen QWERTY virtual keyboard is displayed, BlindType does not assume internally that this keyboard actually exists at the predefined fixed location on screen. It is there simply to aid the user.”

So BlindType allows the user to type anywhere on screen and at various orientations, with the only requirement being the use of the familiar keyboard layout (QWERTY) while tapping. “Essentially, a user typing on BlindType could be typing without looking at the keyboard. In fact, the keyboard might not even be on the screen to save screen space and allow for new and unique typing user interfaces.”

The company has shown off versions of Blind Type for Android and the iPhone OS, and said that it aims to supply touch-typing software to most manufacturers of touch screen devices and operating systems, so it should be running on every smartphone platform before long.