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Consumer Reports joined Into Tomorrow this week to tell us about the Word Flow Keyboard:
If you own a plus-size phone like the iPhone 6s Plus, you’re probably familiar with how difficult it is for one-handed typing. But Microsoft Word Flow could be just the solution, so says Consumer Reports. Their electronics spokesman James McQueen is here to explain why.
The new iOS keyboard app, Word Flow, is nearly identical to the innovative Windows Phone keyboard. And after using it for two days with my iPhone 6S, I think it’s a substantial improvement over Apple’s basic keyboard.
Word Flow has many of the features you’d expect from a keyboard app. In addition to offering word suggestions to save you typing time, and learning your most frequently used words, the app lets you swipe to spell by dragging your fingers across the required letters. Word Flow seems to predict the correct word more often than not. Swiping isn’t a new idea, but it’s got added power in combination with the Word Flow feature that is unique: Arc Mode.
Arc Mode is a keyboard layout that’s designed to make one-handed typing easy. It transforms your keyboard from the classic rectangular grid into an arc of keys that sits on whichever side of the screen you prefer. The rounded shape is ideal for thumb typing with one hand, and even scrolling through its spinning emoji wheel is cool, though the weird layout means a steep learning curve.
For more info on this story, visit ConsumerReports.org.
The Team recommended apps they’ve been playing with:
I’ve talked about the first aid app from the American Red Cross before. Now, I’d like to talk about their Pet First Aid app. This 99 cent app will put veterinary advice in the palm of your hand. The app has first aid steps for common pet situations through a combination of text, video and images. There’s an early warning sign checker to alert you to potential health problems as well as step by step, size specific CPR procedures for your dog or cat. There’s even a quiz that can help you stay at the top of your game when it comes to caring for your pet, and you can enter your vet’s info so that you can make an appointment right from the app. The Pet First Aid by American Red Cross app is 99 cents and is available for iOS and Android.
The ICE Contact App is the FREE personal safety app that will deliver instant & delayed messages in the event there is an emergency. It works as simple as creating a message and choosing friends and family members to contact. You can set up this App to send a delayed message if you have not made it to a destination in time. The great thing about this app is that your contacts don’t need it in order to receive your emergency messages. The app is called ICE Contact and it is FREE for both iOS and Android.
