Swoosh test group

I am Thomas and I am a retired computer programmer. I have Tardive Dyskinesia, (I used to suffer from drug induced Parkinson’s but after years of being off Risperidone my symptoms dissipated). My Dyskinesia not only affects my mouth and jaw, it affects my chest, neck, arms and hands. It got so I could barely use my phone anymore, so I built a new kind of keyboard to help type. I’m looking for testers!

I know first hand how incredibly frustrating a movement disorder can be trying to type on a standard smartphone keyboard when your hands just won't cooperate. The tiny keys, the constant typos, and the struggle to hit the right letter made texting exhausting for me.

Because I couldn't find a keyboard that actually worked for my needs, I decided to build
one myself. I call it Swoosh, and I'm currently running a Google test program for it. I
would love to invite this community to try it out and let me know if it helps you as much as
it has helped me.
Come see at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.swoosh.keyboard

What makes Swoosh different?
Swoosh is designed specifically for single-finger, flat-phone typing, for people with motor difficulties in mind (whether from TD, Parkinson's, or other movement disorders).

Here is how it works:

• Half-QWERTY Design: Instead of cramming all the keys onto the screen, Swoosh only
shows half of the keyboard at a time (left or right). The keys are much larger and easier
to hit.
• Smart Auto-Switching: The keyboard automatically switches between the left and
right halves based on a programmed prediction of what letter you are most likely to type next. And if it didn’t just switch, just Swoosh your finger across the keyboard. The keyboard is also smart. If it Swooshed a letter from under your finger and you type the letter on the other half of the keyboard by mistake, don’t bother backspacing, just keep typing and when you press SPACE or ENTER to type the next word Swoosh says “I know what you meant to type” and just fixes it. Limits backspacing 50% - 90%.
• Incredibly Forgiving Tap Zones: I built the tap zones to be generous. If your finger
shakes or hand tremors and you slightly miss the center of the key, the keyboard is designed to forgive the mistake and figure out what you meant. Swoosh detection is also conservative to prevent accidental half-switches, and adjustable in the easy settings to your needs. As you get used to Swoosh your reactions will change and Swoosh changes with you.
• Visual Predictions: The keys light up with colored borders (Green, Yellow, Red) to guide
you to the most likely next letters, reducing the cognitive load of searching for the next
key.



• Stutter-Friendly Voice Typing: If your hands need a break, you can hold the SPACE bar
to activate voice typing. Unlike standard voice typing that cuts you off if you pause,
Swoosh's voice typing stays on (except on Samsung phones where it stops, but you can resume right where you left off with a click. It’s a non-programable design choice.) On other phone models there is a delay where you can pause, stutter, or take your time gathering your thoughts without the microphone turning off.

I built it because I needed it. All the “Default” settings for Swoosh are MY personal settings that make my life easier, and are completely changeable to meet your needs too, but my biggest hope is that it can make daily communication a little easier for others in our community.

The program has 100% of the keyboards features usable and free forever. There is a donation screen that will appear once in a while for a 4.99 donation to help me continue to take suggestions and make upgrades, just click “Maybe later” and it goes away, but free is free and if it is a real hardship and you love the keyboard tell me how it helps you and I’ll send you a copy without the donation popup and instructions for installing.

If you are interested in joining the Google test program and giving it a try, please use the link above. If you like it, tell me. If you hate it, tell me how I can fix it. The link is above.

English