mirror of
https://github.com/Derisis13/derisis13.github.io.git
synced 2025-12-06 22:12:48 +01:00
72 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
72 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
---
|
||
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.
|