Old-school Palm OS fans (we know a few of you came over from PreCentral.net) will be pleased to know that Access (we won't go into the whole Access-Palm thing) has brought over the popular app Graffiti to Android. [Market link | App Brain]
Graffiti allows users to use gestures rather than a keyboard (kind of like Swype without letters). To enable this app, like other keyboard replacements, first download from the Market. Then go into Settings, then Language & Keyboard. Select Graffiti, and then hold down any text box to select Input Method. Make sure Graffiti is selected and you're good to go!
This is Graffiti version 1.02, which is the original from Palm OS. Expect to see more functionality in the future. It's nice to see some of the functions that stood out for Palm are being brought over to Android. [PalmInfoCenter]
33 Comments
this is much slower than hunt and peck typing
...first
Once I learned it, I could input text as quickly as I could write on paper.
Huh? webOS never had Graffiti... That was Palm OS.
Ouch...!
Ah the good old PDA days... I really enjoyed Graffiti, but swype has really become my main keyboard. Definitely going to try it and see if it helps. This is basically similar (kinda of a stretch) to Google Gestures, but probably faster/better than gestures (without all the search functionality)
Wouldn't this be more practical if devices came with a stylus? As a former PalmOS user, I would think this would be awkward using your finger or thumb.
Google Gesture Search says elsewise.
As an old Palm guy I used to love graffiti ...with a stylus ...no way this is useful on an Android phone. Nostalgic but useless.
I kind of agree that it's much more for the stylus but trying to use the portrait keyboard on my INC is a bitch and a half. When I scratch out a few quick characters this might be just the thing.
Does anybody know if you can set it up to be Graffiti in Portrait and keyboard in landscape without having to keep switching back and forth?
Lame. Sticking with Swype.
See, I looked at swype and didn't like the idea. I still need to *LOOK* at the smooth flat screen so that I know which keys I'm hitting/swiping over. With graffiti I can input text blindly.
This is great. I've had PalmOS devices for some 7 years before I stopped carrying my Palm TX around last year because I had too much stuff. When I switched over to Android I was really missing this input method.
Oh boy, now I can pretend like it's 1996 again!
Not.
I've used Graffiti (both the original version and the new one) and Swype. I much prefer using Graffiti to swype. It's more natural.
Most excellent!
Wasnt to sure I would like it at first, but after a little getting use to, I am a fan... I can text blindly and relatively quickly now.
This is actually very pleasant to use! I am surprised, but this may become my dominant input method. I'm faster with it than with ShapeWriter.
Oh, just too cool! Not sure how practical, but cool! What is even cooler is that (as far as I know) such a program is not even available for WebOS phones!
It seems to me that you type letters here with roughly the same motion as words on Swype. Therefore, it would take me, on Swype, roughly the same time to type “The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human” as it would take you, on Graffiti, to type "The razor-toothed piranha" letter by letter. Am I completely wrong here?
The idea is that you can write without looking at the screen (say while driving, though I do not endorse doing so). While Swype lets you write words without picking up your finger, that doesn't actually matter to me who has healthy fingers. With any keyboard or with swype I still need to look at the screen because there is no texture for me to tell where one key ends and the next begins. With graffiti, since you are drawing each individual letter out, you don't need to actually know where on the screen you are hitting.
Yes. The Swype input method is 2x - 3x faster than Graffiti. I had a Palm III and a Tungsten V, and after mastering both techniques can say that Swype is the new gold standard for text input. In portrait mode nothing is faster besides voice input. I don't like to input text in landscape mode, but if I was fond of that I would use SwiftKey. As far as typing/swyping/texting without looking at the keyboard, like when your driving, I prefer voice to text input - its just safer. If you are taking notes in class, Swype is literally 2x - 3x faster than Graffiti even with looking back and forth between the whiteboard/projector and your screen. Graffiti was great technology for it's time, but Swype easily bests it in terms of speed and accuracy.
@droideris, it depends how good you are at hitting your letters on Swype. I'm always stopping to check it got the right word and going back to correct it. Now, that may be my accuracy or my device's smaller screen, but, there it is. "Thumb piano" just never worked well for some of us (especially with arthritis, although Swype is better for that) Installed this immediately, and hubby and I are thrilled to see it come to Android. We've come home again... @principalskinner, did you TRY it? With the black background they've put on the input, you can SEE the letter you're drawing under your fingertip. It works great even on phones with relatively smaller screens (I have a MyTouch) Yes, folks who always had a little keyboard aren't going to get it. But we old Palm/Handspring folks are very happy right now.
hear hrar!!
its like finding a long lost friend...
:)
I am a 40 something user who has always missed my graphitti. As such I had to try it, and I still love it! Actually works well. I have no problem with anything except for the "8" and the "y". other than that it work great, not gotta go practice! :-)
Don't have a hint for you for the 8, but for the y, just remember to put a cute loopy tail on it and it'll be right every time!
If you draw an '8' on the letter side, you'll get a 'y', guaranteed!
WTH...it keep saying that it can't find the app in the Android market...why cant I install this thing?
Are you spelling Graffiti correctly? It's very easy to misspell it with one "f" and two "t"s. Then you won't find it. There is at least one misspelled app in the Market (one of those silly "ring image" things). Also, if you search "Access Co" (don't forget the "Co") you should get it.
Same here. Even scanning the QR code brings up the link to the Android Market and then it loads the Market and says that the item couldn't be found.
this wont work for me, my handwriting is terrible
I am so glad to see this, especially since I'm running the (kinda small) HTC Aria on ATT.
I didn't have a chance to download the Swype beta before they closed it, so this is the only alternative I know that I can take advantage of since ATT has us locked to the Android Market.
I can "Graf" much quicker than I can type on that small keyboard, and I don't have to re-orient my phone to get the larger landscape kybd just to type a quick message.
Thanks so much, Android Central and Access Co! This is exactly why Android ROCKS and all the proprietary systems are TROLLS!