Phone Case Lets You Type Text Without Looking At Display

Years ago, people were able to type text messages and dial phone numbers without looking at their mobile phones. This is because older cellular phones had protruding keypads that, once memorized, can be used to do a variety of things without the need to look at them. Those who used familiar phones like the legendary Nokia 3310 know how this works.

When smartphones arrived, however, people started having the need to look at their devices as they typed simply because these technologically advanced communication devices didn’t have physical keypads anymore. These devices use virtual keyboards that are virtually impossible to use without looking at them.

A UK-based designer named Dougie Mann sought to address this issue and worked on creating a new kind of smartphone case that will free users from the need to look at the device display when typing. This case is called the TypeCase.

The TypeCase is a smartphone case that features some tech inside it. It has five buttons -four on the left and one on the right- that are used to type letters and navigate through the smartphone’s UI just like a wireless keyboard can.

Typing using the TypeCase is relatively easy once smartphone owners get used to what Mann calls “chording,” a process by which users will press a combination of buttons that correspond to a certain letter.

A photo shown on TypeCase’s product page reveals that the letter “A,” for example, can be typed by pressing one particular button. The letter “O,” on the other hand, requires pressing one button placed in another location. The letter “B” and “V” can each be typed by pressing different combinations of four buttons.

Gizmodo noted that the process of learning the chording process might require some effort because of the learning curve, but it will be useful in the long run. It can streamline one-handed typing, and will free users from typing in cramped areas as well.

The TypeCase can also connect to computers to be used as a keyboard. It can also be used as a wireless mouse thanks to its embedded motion sensors that allow for gesture controls.

Mann’s revolutionary TypeCase phone case looks and sounds promising. It is, however, still a prototype. As it is, mass production and eventual release remain unknown at the moment.