VIRTUAL KEYBOARD TEXT ENTRY METHOD OPTIMIZED FOR ERGONOMIC THUMB TYPING

摘要

Methods are described which make typing easier on small virtual screens using a keyboard design with far fewer, but much larger keys, but which retains standard, familiar layouts like QWERTY, and can be displayed in economically optimal thumb typing layouts. The keyboard functions as a partial word completion menu system because each key can represent longer, dynamically calculated word fragments, not just static individual letters, a design which can greatly reduce the total number of keystrokes. The invention dynamically prioritizes each key, filtering out less relevant ones, so only the most important keys, in larger sizes, are displayed at any given moment. Filtering is based on myriad context criteria, including word derivation maps ( longer words built from shorter words ) seen for example in Scrabble dictionary word relationship maps. The design is complementary to, and fully compatibility with conventional word completion menus.