Crawling back out of the primordial ooze... without wires (hopefully)

It has been a long while. Since my last post, I've enjoyed my Alphagrip thoroughly as a World of Warcraft controller, but have not logged enough typing time to make any significant speed improvements. I've since quit World of Warcraft, in favor of spending (wasting) less time there, and more in the real world.

Despite my Alphagrip atrophy, however, I've been keeping up with what other fellow 'Grippers' are up to. One aspect of the AG-5 we've discussed and researched quite a bit is the fact that it is inherently mobile, and yet has a cord attached. Wireless USB doesn't appear to be ready for prime time yet, so I've suggested that an existing Bluetooth keyboard could be cannibalized and hacked into an AG-5.

I'm no electrical or industrial engineer, so this hack may turn out to be out of my league. I'm going to give it a try anyway though. My goals include:

1. Study the feasibility of a wireless Bluetooth AG-5 (AG-5W?) using the current model
2. Determine the feasibility of the wireless AG-5 as a community hack to existing models.
3. Document the process, come success or failure.
4. If successful with wireless, upgrade to rechargeable lithium-ion batteries with a modified base that charges the AG-5 when not in use.
5. Crossing my fingers and hoping for lots of luck.

--Adrian

First Typing Numbers are in.

Feb 13th, 2006
All QUERTY statistics come from a Laptop Keyboard (Compaq Armada M700)

Tests were done shortly after 11PM, and I was pretty tired. I may get more numbers when I'm awake and fully caffinated. I'm also curious to see what my QUERTY skills are like on a normal full-size keyboard. I will post those numbers as my schedule permits.
The Typing Tutor
Tutor Used = QUERTY: Letters Only
Auto Difficulty = ON
Detailed Score = ON
Mistakes = Buffer
Count Down = 50
Score = 51
Accuracy = 100
Speed = 83
Difficulty = 16

Tutor Used = Alphagrip-basic
Auto Difficulty = ON
Detailed Score = ON
Mistakes = Buffer
Count Down = 50
Score = 17
Accuracy = 100
Speed = 50
Difficulty = 1

Typingtest.com
QUERTY (Laptop Keyboard)
Test Name: Strategic Alliances with Competitors
Gross Speed = 59 WPM
Errors = 0 words
Net Speed = 59 WPM
Accuracy = 100%

Alphagrip
Test Name: Strategic Alliances with Competitors
Gross Speed = 9 WPM
Errors = 0 words
Net Speed = 9 WPM
Accuracy = 100%

First Alphagrip Hack!

Carl Anderson has remapped the keys of the Alphagrip using a free application called "Autohotkey".

Here are some images showing what the remapping looks like, and links to the INI file necessary to use this in AutoHotkey. The idea is to keep all the typing on the back keys, and put all the modifiers on the easily accessible top-front row. Carl's main problem stemmed from the fact that he uses modifiers such as ALT and CTRL often, and many keyboard shortcuts are difficult due to their default placement.

My question is: how do you get used to the new mapping when you look at your Alphagrip? Do you make stickers and put them on the keys, or do you just not look at the "grip" itself while you type?




Download the Alphagrip Autohotkey Remapping, Release 1 as a RAR file, or ZIP file

--Sawaba

A skeptical and negative press...

I've been Googleing Alphagrip quite a bit, and coming up with more and more on it. However, I've also been running into Alphagrip articles when I'm not looking for them. Proof that more and more people are interested in it! The downside? Everything I've seen has been negative.

• Wired calls it Vaporware (#9 on their 2005 top ten list).
• Engaget (via Joystiq) calls it "incomprehendable" (I'm not sure this is a word, they probably meant "incomprehensible").
• Joystiq calls it "Keyboard and gamepad's unholy love child".

What do they all have in common? They've never touched an Alphagrip AG-5. I'm all for heckling vaporware vendors (hello Infinium Labs, your Phantom concept is getting a bit old as well...) but this ain't vapor in my hands right now. If you use the Alphagrip and hate it, flame and rant all you want. However, since it is available now (shipping may still take a while, this thing isn't exactly availabe at CompUSA yet), I'm eager to see some actual hands-on reviews besides my own.

Not to get defensive, but anyone who is boggled at the sight of an AG-5 (which is understandable) hasn't held one in their hands. Honestly, I've probably shown mine to over 30 friends, family, and coworkers, and the initial reaction is always the same ("that's crazy!"). Ironically, their reaction after actually holding the Alphagrip, have been equally consistant: the complete opposite. I've heard, "Ohhhhh, ok. That makes sense. I see..." about 30 times now.

Sit on a chair without arms, or on a sofa, with your legs slightly apart (bear with me). Shake out your hands until they are relaxed, and lower them to your lap, towards the insides of your thighs (bearing with me still?). Your hands are probably open with the palms facing partially up. The space between your palms, fingers, and thumbs is the shape of the Alphagrip. This is how you type with an AG-5. If this feels comfortable and familiar, it is probably because you've logged some time with a game controller. There is a major difference between holding the AG-5 and a game controller though. See the fleshy part of your hand between your thumb and first finger? Two flanges on the Alphagrip allow it to rest here. This is why the Alphagrip can be held comfortably without hitting keys by mistake. You don't use your fingers to hold it, like with a game controller.

--Avery

P.S. - Been busy with work lately. REALLY busy, so I haven't had a chance to benchmark my typing speeds yet.

The Alphagrip disassembled

So, yeah, my Alphagrip typing skills are not too quick yet, so I got curious and took the Alphagrip apart. I thought I'd post some pictures, since I know there are those of you interested in seeing the guts of expensive/exotic gadgets (it is really a sick habit - you should get help), I thought I'd take a few pictures. It is a pretty simple and elegant little package, basically a two-part 3-dimentional keyboard connected by three connectors and eight screws. The type of buttons and the soft membrane remind me of a blackberry's thumb-board (yes, I've taken one of those apart also).

This is the front half of the Alphagrip. Attached to it are the circuit board for the front upper keys, the lower-front keys and membrane, and the rubber feet. You can also make out the three white connectors that connect the front to the back.



This is the back half of the Alphagrip. This houses all the electronics for the back keys, the front lower keys, and the USB ports. You can see the wire bundles that connect to the three white connectors on the front half. You can also see four green LCDs, which indicate (from left to right) the status of NumLock, Pause, CapsLock, and FunctionLock.



By the way, if you have an AG-5, and plan on taking it apart, do it with the controller face-down. Everything in the back half will stay together, but the keys and membrane in the front half are loose when separated from the back half.

And in case you were wondering, yes - I did get the AG-5 back together without incidient, and yes, it still works.

--Adrian

Pictures of the Alphagrip

Everyone has compared the size and shape of the Alphagrip to that of an XBox controller, so I thought I would take some pictures:


Here is the size and shape of the Alphagrip when compared to a two year old boy.



He's already pulling 80 wpm. The boy's putting me to shame. His hands don't even fit the thing.

So, what's the question?

"Is the learning curve of the Alphagrip worth the obvious benefits?"

Stay tuned, and I'll let you know!

My Alphagrip has arrived!

Mike at Alphagrip sent me an email to let me know that my Alphagrip was likely to show up at my doorstep today. Sure enough, I saw (from work) on Fedex.com that it arrived at 1:48PM. A few minutes later my wife called.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Your geek toy is here."

I could hardly concentrate for the next hour at work. Slowly though, I got sucked back into work. We ended up going out to dinner with some friends, and left the moment I got home from work. We got back and put our son to bed (waaaay past his bedtime) just in time to watch one of our favorite weekly TV shows, Battlestar Galactica. It wasn't until the first commercial break that I remembered that the Alphagrip AG-5 I had been eagerly awaiting for the last 14 months was here!

The package was much smaller than I expected. Actually, I'm not quite sure what I was expecting. It was hard to believe that something with the potential to be so revolutionary could come in such a small nondescript cardboard box. I popped it open, and there it was: the Alphagrip AG-5.

It is exactly the size and shape I expected from the pictures on the website. The feel of the buttons (read: keys) are in between those on a laptop and those on a normal keyboard. The feedback varies slightly between buttons of different sizes, but is remarkably uniform overall considering the variation in shape and size. The trackball is as smooth and precise as a trackball can be.

Aside from the AG-5, the box also contained some brief documentation, a stand for the AG-5, a standard 6' USB cable (flat connector on one side, square on the other), and a set of stickers to put on the front of the device. The stickers show the layout of the rear buttons, so that you don't have to flip the device over to look. These stickers are essential when using the AG-5!

So, I now had a dilemma. The main Windows PC was upstairs, but I didn't want to miss any of Battlestar. I then recalled that the AG-5 shouldn't require drivers in most operating systems, since it just shows up as a standard keyboard and mouse. I grabbed my Linux laptop (Gentoo, for those that care) during the next commercial break, and plugged the Alphagrip in.

I already had the laptop booted, up and was running KDE3 with a few webpages open. It started working instantly. All the keyboard buttons did exactly what the labels said, and the trackball took over mouse duties with no fuss. A quick look at dmesg output showed this:

usb 1-1: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 2
hub 1-1:1.0: USB hub found
hub 1-1:1.0: 4 ports detected
usb 1-1.1: new low speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 3
input: USB HID v1.10 Keyboard [SEJIN AlphaGrip AG5 USB Keyboard] on usb-0000:00:07.2-1.1
input: USB HID v1.10 Mouse [SEJIN AlphaGrip AG5 USB Keyboard] on usb-0000:00:07.2-1.1

Beautiful. Awesome. This is what I've been waiting for.

My Initial Reaction
Good: Looks to have delivered everything promised

Bad: Learning how to type on the thing

Ugly: The included stand for the Alphagrip is made of the thinnest, cheapest plastic. It already had several tears in it before I took it out of the box. It isn't pretty, but it does it's job. This isn't a big deal though. If the Alphagrip takes off, and starts selling on a large scale, I predict there will be several manufacturers making a variety of aftermarket carrying cases and stands for the AG-5.

P.S. - My next post will be written with the Alphagrip, and I hope to include some initial numbers (WPM) on typing speed. Expect numbers similar to your grandma attempting Graffiti on a Palm for the first time. I'll get there though, I'm sure of it.