Apple tablet text input possibilities outlined

The Apple iTablet/iSlate/Tablet (or whatever you want to call it for now) slated (excuse the pun) for announcement January 27th will undoubtedly offer some sort of Apple-esque transformation in the way we use tablets (that is, assuming it even exists). One of the main ways Apple could do this is to alter the way the users input data. There are numerous ways this could be approached, and Macworld has rounded up nine possible techniques, outlining the odds of the approach Apple may take.

To summarize, it is something like this:

1. Integrated physical keyboard – Odds: 500 to 1
2. Wireless physical keyboard – Odds: 750 to 1 (for Bluetooth only); 75 to 1 (Bluetooth as an option)
3. Virtual keyboard (iPhone version) – Odds: 50 to 1 (standard iPhone keyboard); 10 to 1 (something clever like that split keyboard model)
4. Virtual keyboard (MacBook version) – Odds: 300 to 1
5. Stylus – Odds: 200 to 1
6. Finger-based – Odds: 75 to 1
7. Voice recognition – Odds: 100 to 1 (by itself); 10 to 1 (as an option)
8. No text entry – Odds: 150 to 1
9. And now for something completely different – Odds: 20 to 1

There is obviously a good deal of reasoning behind the options that you can read at Macworld’s site, but this list does offer some creative ideas. While I don’t necessarily agree with the odds they have chosen for each option, I do think Macworld offers some great analysis on each of the possibilities . Who knows, maybe one of more of them will come true later this month!

Via [MacWorld]

Image via [Gizmodo]