21 May 2016, 23:33
Wireless dongle(s) - not Bluetooth. No support for mobile devices and bad support for machines with few USB ports in this version but they write in their FAQ that they want mobile support in future devices.
That's not four buttons on the top - those are tracks for the thumb. They had used a joystick for their prototype but decided to go with touch sensing instead (like a SteamBox gamepad).
The "keyboard" input system is gesture-based with strokes along those tracks. I like that it requires no force to press but has tactile feedback.
It reminds me of an older input system for the PalmPilot called "Quickwriting" which had eight segments (directions) instead of only four. Quickwriting was like a pie-menu: you started in the centre, went in one direction and then back or another direction along the circumference.
This new system is different in that it has only four segments and that the gestures were chosen to resemble letters of the alphabet. It is also different in that some character gestures are composed of smaller gestures.
In both systems, it seems that a small gesture can be ended either by lifting the thumb/stylus or simply returning on the centre.
When I first saw it, I thought it was going to be a "wand" for pointing, like the Nintendo Wii controller and a few rare TV remotes.
But no... the mouse function is the touchpad on the opposite side of the "typing" area.
A gyro or accelerometer seems to be in it, but it is used to find which side is facing up - used to switch between trackpad and "keyboard" functionality that apparently can't be used at once.
I also get the feeling that they have yet not completely thought out the models for using the device. For instance, they could add wand-gestures (waving the device around) and that some areas on the device are touch-sensitive but unused, but the description is vague about those things.
