RIM Patents Blackberry 10 Text Prediction Keyboard

 One of the most anticipated features that is a part of Blackberry 10 would definitely have to be the new touchscreen keyboard that RIM previewed about 2 months ago and was just granted a patent for the technology that it uses.

Information about the Blackberry 10 keyboard has been sparse, but what is known for certain is that it uses logic-based text prediction. As such, it doesn’t just check for spelling errors and typos, but actually attempts to predict the next word the user is about to type based on a number of factors.

Of course the patent filing itself is very technical, but some of the factors that RIM acknowledges are used include the words around the word that is being typed and the frequency which certain words are used. Until Blackberry 10 is actually made available however, there is no indication of how accurate the text prediction on the keyboard really is.

One interesting point in the patent filing is that RIM confirms that it licenses SwiftKey’s technology for the keyboard. That being said, in the preview the manner in which the keyboard appears to display predicted words and the swipes that are used to select those words do seem rather unique.

Although RIM hasn’t released any further news about the Blackberry 10 or its keyboard, the hope is that since the latter is now patented the smartphone manufacturer may feel safer about releasing further details and maybe even providing a more comprehensive preview.

For all those who don’t like predictive text, the good news is that it can be turned off as well with a password.

Considering the Blackberry 10 is RIM’s answer to heavy competition from Android and iOS devices, their focus on the user experience with their new keyboard is certainly a step in the right direction. Still, until more details are provided the jury is still out., Porsche P’9881