* Help is coming for tired mobile fingers and eyes
I’m a techno-fuddy-duddy who derives no innate pleasure from having to purchase — and keep track of — an ever-growing pile of mobile communications gadgets and peripherals. But there are some relatively new accoutrements to mobile devices that I’m very eager about: virtual keyboard and screen displays.
These virtual keyboards and displays are projected in full size onto flat surfaces using lasers and infrared technology to help solve the anatomical challenges of using tiny mobile devices. Itty-bitty computers and smart phones are certainly convenient for their portability potential and for making phone calls. But they make typing a slew of e-mails a challenge for comparatively pudgy human fingers. And, let’s face it: at a certain age, our ability to see their Lilliputian screens goes pfffft!
Better to beam full-size screens and keyboards onto walls, desktops, counters, and tables in a virtual manner. I-Tech (a division of Hutchison, Harbour Ring), for example, sells a device about the size of lipstick tube that connects to your mobile device using Bluetooth. It beams a full-sized optical QWERTY keyboard onto any flat, clear surface. You type on the flat surface, and tapping sounds that emulate keyboard strokes help you get the hang of it.
Picture Princess Leia in the 1977 Star Wars episode begging, in hologram form, “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you’re my only hope.” Instead of the Braided One projected in that pool of light, however, picture a flat, glowing keyboard.
You can use I-Tech’s $180 virtual keyboard with both your laptop and PC or with a compatible mobile device, including the following:
* RIM BlackBerry
* PalmOS 5
* Pocket PC 2003 Family
* Smart phone 2003
* Symbian OS 6.x
* Windows Mobile 5
* Windows 2000/XP
Another company, Virtual Devices, makes the VKey ($100) virtual keyboard. To date, it appears to be available for traditional laptops and desktops only – which is useful for conserving desktop real estate. But the big benefit is for the challenging small form-factor mobile devices, which the company indicates it will support “soon.”
Meanwhile, Samsung has filed for a U.S. patent on a virtual display that projects the mobile device’s screen in traditional display size onto a flat surface, such as a wall. However, in its current form, you use a stylus as your input device, rather than a keyboard. At press time, Samsung could not be reached to elaborate on any plans it might have for extending the use of this technology.
