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Computers

CharaChorder aims to radically boost typing speed on existing keyboards

By Ben Coxworth
November 22, 2022
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It may not look like much, but the CharaChorder company's CharaChorder X device could get you typing at up to 250 words per minute
CharaChorder
It may not look like much, but the CharaChorder company's CharaChorder X device could get you typing at up to 250 words per minute
CharaChorder

Last year we told you about the CharaChorder Lite, a special keyboard that lets users type faster by using groupings of keys to represent entire words. Well, any keyboard can now do that, if it's equipped with the CharaChorder X.

To recap our previous coverage, the CharaChorder Lite keyboard (made by Texas-based startup CharaChorder) can be used like a regular keyboard, with words being typed out one letter at a time. If users wish, however, they can also instantly input entire words by pressing three or four keys simultaneously.

Of course, different words are generated via different combinations of keys. Those combos are called chords, and users can create their own if the thousands that are included in the CharaChorder library aren't enough.

The CharaChorder Lite is still available, priced at US$272. That said, it would be a shame to stop using the otherwise perfectly good keyboard you already own – and with the CharaChorder X, you don't have to.

Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the device takes the form of a simple USB dongle. The cord of the user's keyboard gets plugged into it, and it gets plugged into the computer's keyboard port. No special software is required, and the device reportedly works on any computer or mobile device running the Windows, Mac, Android, iOS or Linux operating systems.

As is the case with the CharaChorder Lite, users can both access the library of existing chords and create their own – over 65,000 can be stored in the device's onboard memory. And yes, users can also still utilize their keyboard in a traditional one-letter-at-a-time fashion.

So, just how fast does the system let you type? Well, the designers have stated that they hope to boost users' typing speed from the average of about 40 wpm (words per minute) to over 250 wpm.

A pledge of $39 will get you a CharaChorder X, assuming it reaches production. The planned retail price is $100. It's demonstrated in the video below.

Read more...

Source: Kickstarter

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ComputersKeyboardKickstarterInput Device
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Ben Coxworth
Based out of Edmonton, Canada, Ben Coxworth has been writing for New Atlas since 2009 and is presently Managing Editor for North America. An experienced freelance writer, he previously obtained an English BA from the University of Saskatchewan, then spent over 20 years working in various markets as a television reporter, producer and news videographer. Ben is particularly interested in scientific innovation, human-powered transportation, and the marine environment.
3 comments
joeblake
Going back to the article in April 2021 I can only repeat what I said then. "I've been doing audio transcription since the early 1980s, including court reporting, where speeds of 180 wpm for hours on end are the norm. Nothing particularly new or useful about this. Stenotypists have been using chorded keystrokes for decades, on a keyboard specifically designed for the purpose, not adapted from an existing one. Secondly if this keyboard uses the QWERTY layout, then there's scarcely a less useful layout invented. Other layouts such Maltron, and to a lesser extent Dvorak or Colemak are far more efficient. Thirdly by proper use of the "Quickcorrect" function of WordPerfect software, it's possible to reduce keystroking by 40% or more. "

This is an idea whose time was 40 years ago.
clay
@joeblake ...what he said :-)
clay
Though you must consider the broadly useful capabilities of a traditional keyboard over a steno kit. Modern qwertys [incl'd alt layouts] have to do a lot more than write stories or capture dialog.

Optimizing your normal keyboard to type faster, though not as fast as a shorthand typist [who uses a specialized toolset and has formal education *just to do it properly*] seems to be a worthy product.

We can't all be court recorders. Watch them work, its subtle but amazing.
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