post: 8VIM review

_posts/2024-07-26-8vim.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "8VIM review"
+tag: "tech review"
+---
+
+8VIM is an alternative keyboard created by Ravi Agarwal.
+ Its premise is to replace the traditional target-based typing on touchscreens with more ergonomic, fast, and memorable gestures.
+ It promises better accuracy, speed, and helpful shortcuts for editing text while typing.
+ After one month of learning and then six months of exclusive usage on mobile, I’m ready to give my review.
+ I'm comparing it to OpenBoard, my previous keyboard app, in both cases using the Hungarian layout, as I need to write using the language's special (umlaut) characters.
+
+
+# Getting used to
+
+Just like regular vim, usage is initially limited by a lack of practice.
+ As mentioned above, it took me a month to stop learning, meaning that I ceased to see any improvement in my speed or accuracy.
+ The reason I’m hesitant to say I've mastered it is that neither aspect was to my liking—it was neither faster nor more accurate than OpenBoard.
+
+
+
+# The good
+
+The clipboard is very well done.
+Having a paste gesture is convenient and the clipboard history is a first-class implementation.
+The one thing I didn't understand is, why pasting is disabled when typing passwords.
+As autofill is still broken within my password manager, this made it really troublesome to log in.
+Since most of my passwords are unique, and I rely on a manager to keep track of them, this was a real hindrance.
+
+Navigation gestures are also the best I've experienced.
+They are a strong selling point of the application, there's a good reason why Termux also includes arrow keys in its auxiliary keybar.
+Speaking of Termux, the control modifier can also be useful, but most of the time apps don't expect it, so it's not as useful as I wished it was.
+
+But the primary reason I wanted to use 8VIM was the ability to touch type.
+With vibration feedback, I could look away from the screen and still be sure what I was typing was correct - although it was slower than looking at my input.
+I've never tried any keyboard for the visually impaired, but 8VIM might hold its ground against them - assuming you can learn it blindly - at least for letters, that is.
+
+
+# The bad
+
+It may have been due to my aged (4-year-old) phone, but 8VIM sometimes just froze and took no further input.
+It never lasted longer than a few seconds, but it was still annoying, even for that short time.
+
+Since changing capitalization requires a full turn (which is longer than typing any character), an auto-capitalization would have been welcome.
+This problem is exacerbated by the annoyance of correcting mistakes: first finish the word, then swipe back, then correct the letter, and if you're not careful, you insert an extra space you have to clean up.
+It's not impossible, just tedious.
+
+But the worst experience is with symbols and numbers.
+To type them you have to use a numpad, reverting to the old targeting method, instead of the gestures.
+It's really annoying, especially when mixed with letters (for example ham callsigns).
+I wish they were more ergonomic, meaning I could input them blindly, and preferably without lifting my finger (literally).
+
+
+# The ugly
+
+In May, I started to grow suspicious of my speed and accuracy when typing, so I reverted to OpenBoard, just for comparison.
+As much as I wished it were not the case, I was neither slower nor did I make more mistakes.
+But the easy access to the numbers and the vast array of available symbols (something that was limited to four or five times less in 8VIM) were refreshingly convenient.
+
+OpenBoard's clipboard history is just as good as 8VIM's and is not hidden when I need it the most.
+Navigation is not as smooth as in 8VIM, but I can still swipe the spacebar to go left or right, which is almost as good.
+
+Another big improvement (that shouldn't be one) is that OpenBoard can function in landscape mode - something that 8VIM developers just didn't bother to fix.
+And while the enter "key" in 8VIM is inconsistent - sometimes inserting newline (eg. in Facebook Messenger), sometimes sending the message (eg. in Discord) - OpenBoard's enter always puts newline.
+
+
+# Verdict
+
+8VIM remains a party trick - a way to make your phone unusable for others - but no more.
+The touch typing promise is limited by the inability to input numbers and symbols blindly, and the promise of one-handedness is limited by the one hand's grip without the thumb (as it's used for typing).
+So unless you're blind, have only one hand and only type telegraphs, it's not for you.