iPhone raids BlackBerry 10 keyboard magic

**sahil123** · 05-13-2012, 04:44 PM

iPhone raids BlackBerry 10 keyboard magic - SlashGear

Could the iPhone raid one of RIM’s headline BlackBerry 10 features before the Canadian company’s own handsets are even near the shelves? If the iOS developer behind Octopus Keyboard has his way, it will: Mario Hros has been telling iDownloadBlog about the custom iPhone ‘board he’s been cooking up, borrowing the floating auto-prediction system RIM demonstrated at BlackBerry World and slapping the gesture-based UI onto his own iOS version.

Lest you’ve forgotten, RIM’s on-screen keyboard attempts to deliver some of the company’s legendary text-entry skills by supercharging a soft-keyboard. Rather than queuing up potential words in a line above the keys, they hover around the user’s fingers, accessed with a simple swipe. Less finger movement, RIM claims, means quicker entry.

Octopus Keyboard uses its own completion engine, and can learn new words as the user enters them. It apparently works with any input language with key input, though right now there are still some issues to address in this beta version, such as auto-punctuation and auto-capitalization.

Octopus Keyboard demo:

Still, it’s an impressive realization of RIM’s system on a rival platform in such a small length of time, and Hros expects to have the full release out by May 20. The biggest drawback is availability: since, unlike with Android, iOS won’t allow you to change the default keyboard, users will need to jailbreak their iPhone or iPod touch in order to access Octopus Keyboard from the Cydia unofficial app store and install it.

**_StephenBB81** · 05-13-2012, 04:55 PM

I applaud the developer for moving so quickly to bring that function to iOS, I suspect it will be brought to Android as well by the time BB10 launches

the only Advantage RIM will have is it will be defaulted on the device and not a 3rd party solution.

**playbookster** · 05-13-2012, 04:58 PM

Originally Posted by deRusett

I applaud the developer for moving so quickly to bring that function to iOS, I suspect it will be brought to Android as well by the time BB10 launches

the only Advantage RIM will have is it will be defaulted on the device and not a 3rd party solution.

Which is a very big advantage actually.

**TheScionicMan** · 05-13-2012, 04:59 PM

Especially when you'll also have to be jailbroken to get it

**_StephenBB81** · 05-13-2012, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by playbookster

Which is a very big advantage actually.

I agree fully

as the majority of people never change their keyboard.

**Stewartj1** · 05-13-2012, 05:17 PM

Which is why I am so happy RIM has finally learned to keep their big yaps shut.

Amazing how fast that came out.

**Costa84** · 05-13-2012, 05:33 PM

That's what sucks about being so eager to find out more about what RIM has behind the curtains for us, that the copy cats are watching and listening too.

**sahil123** · 05-13-2012, 05:45 PM

I think the key here is that the BlackBerry virtual keyboard has more power on the inside. Remember how Vivek said in the keynote that the keyboard learns your hand movements over time and sort-of becomes tailor made for you, like a glove. But ofcourse most of the 'fancy' features that we saw in that keynote will be successfully transferred to most other platforms eventually.

**BergerKing** · 05-13-2012, 05:46 PM

And we know they're opportunists, to say the least...

**greatwiseone** · 05-13-2012, 05:55 PM

Well, firstly you need to have your iPhone jailbroken...so not that big a deal. RIM's got other cards in its pockets (as Heins says, it needs to keep some secret on BB10...).

**russellwatters** · 05-13-2012, 05:56 PM

yea first party keyboards are way better. ive used third party ones on android and they usually lag when you type too fast.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9330 using Tapatalk

**hurds** · 05-13-2012, 06:21 PM

I wonder if any developers are working on bringing multi-tasking to the iphone

**Kevin Michaluk** · 05-13-2012, 06:27 PM

http://crackberry.com/iphone-users-g...ackberry-users

**_StephenBB81** · 05-13-2012, 06:29 PM

Originally Posted by Kevin Michaluk

http://crackberry.com/iphone-users-g...ackberry-users

spammer

**Premium1** · 05-13-2012, 06:35 PM

Well by the time bb10 is out I am sure much more will be in other OS's and most likely will work better than what it will on a bb.

**byul** · 05-13-2012, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by Kevin Michaluk

http://crackberry.com/iphone-users-g...ackberry-users

Hahah makes me kinda tiresome when i see the guy making words out of the octupus keyboard.
Taking ages to make words yucks. Looks so slow compared to my lightning fast typing on my lovely 9900.

Seriously physical keyboards FTW.

**Premium1** · 05-13-2012, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by Kevin Michaluk

http://crackberry.com/iphone-users-g...ackberry-users

so what people can't discuss it in the forums????

**_StephenBB81** · 05-13-2012, 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by d-backs1

Well by the time bb10 is out I am sure much more will be in other OS's and most likely will work better than what it will on a bb.

I'm sure, the native keyboards on the other platforms have advanced so much since their inceptions they'll obviously continue at their break neck speeds and pass RIM yet again...

**llllBULLSEYE** · 05-13-2012, 06:57 PM

How many people will actually jailbreak their iPhone for this
very few and who knows if that keyboard is actually laggy and crappy
compare to the original iPhone keyboard.
This will not hurt RIM

**Chrisy** · 05-13-2012, 07:07 PM

iPhone is jealous! Go RIM!!!

**Premium1** · 05-13-2012, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by deRusett

I'm sure, the native keyboards on the other platforms have advanced so much since their inceptions they'll obviously continue at their break neck speeds and pass RIM yet again...

yeah because RIM is just such an expert in full touch screen keyboards...oh wait.... Trust me if apple/ms/google want this they will work it to make it just as smooth if not smoother than what it would run on bb.

**JAGWIRE** · 05-13-2012, 07:41 PM

what is it they..."mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery "... or something like that. its not even done yet. it has been slated to launch May 20th. it has the same learning feature that the BB10 TS keyboard has, so not cool. sick-em RIM lawer type people

**r0v3rT3N** · 05-13-2012, 07:46 PM

Maybe RIM Legal, should "persuade" them to take down this video and not release the product.

**southlander** · 05-13-2012, 07:59 PM

Originally Posted by deRusett

I applaud the developer for moving so quickly to bring that function to iOS, I suspect it will be brought to Android as well by the time BB10 launches

the only Advantage RIM will have is it will be defaulted on the device and not a 3rd party solution.

I was hoping RIM had a patent in the pipeline for this. Guess not(?).

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

**Foreverup** · 05-13-2012, 08:22 PM

Originally Posted by d-backs1

yeah because RIM is just such an expert in full touch screen keyboards...oh wait.... Trust me if apple/ms/google want this they will work it to make it just as smooth if not smoother than what it would run on bb.

I don't think I can trust you. I mean that is asking alot and we barely know you