Crocodile keyboard becomes top Android app
Tri-sided pads for tidy taps
The Crocodile Keyboard - an application for easier touchscreen typing - is now a successful app for Android.
When we reported the keyboard back in 2009, British inventor David Baker was struggling to get Apple's assistance for iPhone integration. Without Apple's help, the patented design remained unusable.
But six months later it was released on Android and has now become a top app on Androidpit.
Well done, David.
The keyboard, which has reptilian tooth-shaped letters, aims to spell the end of accidental key presses. It now features fully changeable colours too.
Try the Crocodile Keyboard on a 15-minute free trial, or get the full version for $0.66 (41p) while it's app of the week. ®
COMMENTS
Swype
Sorry to throw water on the fire, but I think it'll be eclipsed by Swype when it's fully released. I'm using the beta now and, once you get used to it, it's really fast!
Developer Reply
The reason for developing this keyboard was to try and help people actually see and hit the correct key rather than depend on predictive text.
We also found after a year of testing, that colour choice is a very individual thing with 1/5th of males colour blind to some degree, hence the colour wheel option.
The triangular layout emphasises the targeting effect as you aim for a key helped by choosing contrasting colours. It also is very difficult to touch two keys at the same time, but almost impossible not to hit one.
I do not agree with the new 15 min free period after download, it should be at least an hour. We have tried to offset this by speeding up the app install which is now almost automatic so that you at least have the keyboard installed and running to try. Androidpit still has a decent download trial time.
To the people who are posting negative comments, please at least make them useful comments.
If you have tried the keyboard and something is not right, or you think something like auto completion should be added, then tell us.
There is a simple feedback form on our website for you to fill in and send comments or report problems, we had some brilliant feedback last year that really helped design CK2.
I see this as the starting point for the Crocodile Keyboard.
I am still a one man band company with no big budget for development or marketing but I will continue to work on this keyboard and improve it with your help.
Many thanks to Reghardware for their faith in the project.
Top men... top men.
When you say "Top App", I assume that you mean "two out of five stars" based on AndroidPIT users, or 3/5 in the Marketplace.
Let's see what people have to say about it. "Almost unusable." One star from a user angry that it's non-refundable. "Stock keyboard is much more friendly."
Top shelf!
Really?
It looks like something a 12 year old would draw. Seriously.. get a UI designer.
Meanwhile back in the real world, keyboards have dealt with this problem successfully already without bright yellow on red keys... just by having a good dictionary and the ability to correct. The keyboard in 2.3 has borrowed most of the good idea from the HTC keyboards that everone loves so much in the earlier versions so there's really no need to upgrade any more.
If you want an off the wall 'different' keyboard lots of people like Swype although I never got on with it personally.
Not available on Apple as Jobs didn't think of it first as well as being recently patented
A fellow employee has this on his Android device and even I, being large of finger, found it a breeze to use compared to those squarish keys with small spaces between them and the adjacent key.
Well done, David Baker.
