<s>
A	O
text	B-Device
entry	I-Device
interface	I-Device
or	O
text	B-Device
entry	I-Device
device	I-Device
is	O
an	O
interface	O
that	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
enter	O
text	O
information	O
in	O
an	O
electronic	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
commonly	O
used	O
device	O
is	O
a	O
mechanical	O
computer	B-Device
keyboard	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
laptop	O
computers	O
have	O
an	O
integrated	O
mechanical	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
and	O
desktop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
are	O
usually	O
operated	O
primarily	O
using	O
a	O
keyboard	B-Device
and	O
mouse	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Devices	O
such	O
as	O
smartphones	O
and	O
tablets	O
mean	O
that	O
interfaces	O
such	O
as	O
virtual	B-Device
keyboards	I-Device
and	O
voice	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
are	O
becoming	O
more	O
popular	O
as	O
text	O
entry	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
increasing	O
popularity	O
of	O
mobile	O
electronic	O
information	O
management	O
,	O
the	O
variety	O
in	O
text	B-Device
entry	I-Device
interfaces	I-Device
has	O
developed	O
considerably	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
computer	B-Device
keyboard	I-Device
is	O
a	O
typewriter-style	O
device	O
which	O
uses	O
an	O
arrangement	O
of	O
buttons	O
or	O
keys	O
to	O
act	O
as	O
mechanical	O
levers	O
or	O
electronic	B-Device
switches	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
layout	O
of	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
is	O
like	O
that	O
of	O
a	O
traditional	O
typewriter	O
,	O
although	O
there	O
are	O
some	O
additional	O
keys	O
provided	O
for	O
performing	O
further	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
different	O
keyboard	B-Device
layouts	O
available	O
:	O
QWERTY	O
is	O
the	O
standard	O
English-language	O
keyboard	B-Device
layout	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
first	O
six	O
keys	O
on	O
the	O
row	O
of	O
letters	O
are	O
Q	O
,	O
W	O
,	O
E	O
,	O
R	O
,	O
T	O
and	O
Y	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
keyboards	B-Device
layouts	O
include	O
AZERTY	O
and	O
Dvorak	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AZERTY	O
keyboard	B-Device
is	O
a	O
variation	O
of	O
the	O
standard	O
QWERTY	O
keyboard	B-Device
adapted	O
for	O
French-language	O
input	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
QWERTY	O
and	O
AZERTY	O
keyboards	B-Device
have	O
explicitly	O
labelled	O
keycaps	B-Device
for	O
diacritics	O
(	O
accents	O
)	O
but	O
,	O
given	O
the	O
appropriate	O
keyboard	B-Device
mapping	O
,	O
any	O
keyboard	B-Device
may	O
be	O
used	O
where	O
these	O
letters	O
are	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Dvorak	O
keyboard	B-Device
is	O
designed	O
so	O
that	O
the	O
middle	O
row	O
of	O
keys	O
includes	O
the	O
most	O
common	O
letters	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
allowing	O
greater	O
efficiency	O
and	O
comfort	O
while	O
typing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
keyboards	B-Device
usually	O
contains	O
letters	O
,	O
numbers	O
,	O
currency	O
sign(s )	O
,	O
punctuation	O
,	O
function	O
and	O
control	O
keys	O
,	O
arrow	O
keys	O
,	O
a	O
keypad	O
,	O
and	O
may	O
include	O
a	O
wristpad	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
frequently	O
used	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
predictive	B-General_Concept
text	I-General_Concept
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
T9	O
)	O
entry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
once	O
popular	O
,	O
this	O
system	O
has	O
been	O
mostly	O
displaced	O
with	O
the	O
widespread	O
use	O
of	O
touchscreens	B-Device
on	O
smartphones	O
and	O
is	O
now	O
mostly	O
found	O
on	O
budget	O
feature	B-Device
phones	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Device
keyboards	I-Device
are	O
similar	O
to	O
mechanical	O
keyboards	B-Device
,	O
but	O
do	O
not	O
make	O
use	O
of	O
physical	O
keys	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
individual	O
letters	O
may	O
be	O
selected	O
by	O
touching	O
them	O
as	O
on	O
a	O
touch	B-Device
screen	I-Device
or	O
surface	O
,	O
or	O
by	O
clicking	O
on	O
them	O
with	O
a	O
classical	O
pointing	O
device	O
(	O
a	O
mouse	O
or	O
touchpad	O
)	O
,	O
like	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
virtual	O
computer	B-Device
keyboards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multi-touch	B-Application
screens	O
even	O
support	O
virtual	O
chorded	B-Device
keyboards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
On-screen	B-Device
keyboards	I-Device
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
type	O
and	O
enter	O
data	O
without	O
using	O
the	O
physical	O
keyboard	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
on-screen	B-Device
keyboard	I-Device
may	O
contain	O
all	O
the	O
standard	O
keys	O
including	O
all	O
letters	O
,	O
numbers	O
,	O
symbols	O
,	O
and	O
system	O
keys	O
like	O
Home	O
,	O
End	O
,	O
Insert	O
,	O
Page	O
Up	O
and	O
Page	O
Down	O
,	O
Ctrl	O
,	O
Alt	O
,	O
Caps	O
,	O
and	O
Shift	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
even	O
extend	O
the	O
set	O
of	O
characters	O
available	O
by	O
simulating	O
alternative	O
layouts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
on-screen	B-Device
keyboard	I-Device
is	O
the	O
most	O
common	O
type	O
of	O
virtual	B-Device
keyboard	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
accuracy	O
of	O
this	O
keyboard	B-Device
depends	O
only	O
on	O
hitting	O
the	O
right	O
key	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
purpose	O
of	O
an	O
on-screen	B-Device
keyboard	I-Device
is	O
to	O
provide	O
an	O
alternative	O
mechanism	O
for	O
disabled	O
users	O
who	O
cannot	O
use	O
a	O
physical	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
or	O
to	O
provide	O
text	O
input	O
on	O
devices	O
lacking	O
a	O
physical	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
such	O
as	O
smartphones	O
and	O
tablets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Device
keyboards	I-Device
also	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
enter	O
characters	O
not	O
available	O
on	O
their	O
physical	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
enabling	O
support	O
for	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
languages	O
with	O
only	O
one	O
hardware	O
keyboard	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Devices	O
such	O
as	O
smartphones	O
and	O
tablets	O
come	O
with	O
touchscreens	B-Device
and	O
make	O
use	O
of	O
virtual	B-Device
keyboards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Keyboards	B-Device
vary	O
between	O
operating	O
systems	O
but	O
many	O
third-party	O
applications	O
are	O
available	O
to	O
replace	O
the	O
system	O
keyboard	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mobile	O
virtual	B-Device
keyboards	I-Device
are	O
often	O
used	O
alongside	O
predictive	B-General_Concept
text	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
is	O
a	O
system	O
that	O
allows	O
using	O
one	O
's	O
voice	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
send	O
messages	O
,	O
make	O
phone	O
calls	O
and	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
system	O
can	O
replace	O
or	O
supplement	O
other	O
input	O
devices	O
such	O
as	O
keyboards	B-Device
and	O
different	O
pointing	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
has	O
been	O
developed	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
fast	O
method	O
of	O
writing	O
without	O
using	O
a	O
keyboard	B-Device
and	O
can	O
help	O
people	O
with	O
various	O
disabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
voice	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
applications	O
are	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
well-known	O
systems	O
are	O
Apple	O
Inc.	O
'	O
s	O
Siri	B-Application
and	O
Cortana	B-Application
which	O
is	O
developed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
include	O
television	O
channel	O
naming	O
and	O
text	O
entry	O
in	O
video	O
game	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Sony	B-Operating_System
PSP	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Handwriting	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
(	O
or	O
HWR	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
ability	O
of	O
a	O
computer	O
to	O
receive	O
and	O
interpret	O
intelligible	O
handwritten	O
input	O
from	O
sources	O
such	O
as	O
paper	O
documents	O
,	O
photographs	O
,	O
touch-screens	B-Device
and	O
other	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
touch	B-Device
screen	I-Device
device	O
much	O
like	O
a	O
notepad	O
on	O
which	O
they	O
can	O
write	O
without	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
a	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
and	O
the	O
software	O
finds	O
the	O
closest	O
match	O
in	O
its	O
symbol	O
database	O
to	O
replace	O
the	O
handwritten	O
letters	O
with	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Handwriting	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
primarily	O
uses	O
either	O
optical	O
character	O
recognition	O
which	O
uses	O
an	O
optical	O
scanner	O
to	O
scan	O
the	O
words	O
written	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
determine	O
the	O
best	O
suitable	O
match	O
,	O
or	O
by	O
using	O
a	O
pen-based	O
computer	O
interface	O
to	O
track	O
the	O
movements	O
of	O
the	O
tip	O
of	O
the	O
pen	O
as	O
the	O
user	O
is	O
writing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
light	B-Device
pen	I-Device
is	O
a	O
computer	O
input	O
device	O
used	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
a	O
computer	O
's	O
CRT	O
display	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
light	B-Device
pen	I-Device
can	O
also	O
allow	O
users	O
draw	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
with	O
great	O
positional	O
accuracy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
tip	O
of	O
a	O
light	B-Device
pen	I-Device
is	O
moved	O
over	O
the	O
monitor	O
screen	O
and	O
pen	O
button	O
is	O
pressed	O
,	O
its	O
photocell	O
sensing	O
element	O
detects	O
the	O
screen	O
location	O
and	O
sends	O
the	O
corresponding	O
signal	O
to	O
the	O
CPU	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
light	B-Device
pen	I-Device
was	O
created	O
around	O
1952	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Whirlwind	O
project	O
at	O
MIT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
user	O
was	O
required	O
to	O
hold	O
his/her	O
arm	O
in	O
front	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
for	O
long	O
periods	O
of	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
light	B-Device
pen	I-Device
fell	O
out	O
of	O
use	O
as	O
a	O
general	O
purpose	O
input	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nevertheless	O
,	O
modern	O
touch	B-Device
screens	I-Device
on	O
desktop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
require	O
similar	O
ergonomic	O
behaviour	O
from	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
touchscreen	B-Device
(	O
or	O
touch	B-Device
screen	I-Device
)	O
is	O
a	O
both	O
input	O
and	O
output	O
device	O
and	O
normally	O
layered	O
on	O
an	O
electronic	B-Device
visual	I-Device
display	I-Device
of	O
an	O
information	O
processing	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
user	O
can	O
give	O
input	O
or	O
control	O
the	O
information	O
processing	O
system	O
through	O
simple	O
or	O
multi-touch	B-Application
gestures	O
by	O
touching	O
the	O
screen	O
with	O
a	O
special	O
stylus	B-Device
or	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
fingers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
digital	B-Device
pen	I-Device
is	O
an	O
input	O
device	O
which	O
captures	O
the	O
handwriting	O
or	O
brush	O
strokes	O
of	O
a	O
user	O
,	O
converts	O
handwritten	O
analog	O
information	O
created	O
using	O
"	O
pen	O
and	O
paper	O
"	O
into	O
digital	O
data	O
,	O
enabling	O
the	O
data	O
to	O
be	O
utilized	O
in	O
various	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
data	O
can	O
then	O
be	O
interpreted	O
by	O
handwriting	O
software	O
(	O
OCR	O
)	O
to	O
allow	O
the	O
digital	B-Device
pen	I-Device
to	O
act	O
as	O
a	O
text	B-Device
entry	I-Device
interface	I-Device
and	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
different	O
applications	O
or	O
just	O
as	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
digital	B-Device
pen	I-Device
is	O
generally	O
larger	O
and	O
has	O
more	O
features	O
than	O
a	O
stylus	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
graphics	B-Device
tablet	I-Device
or	O
digitizer	O
is	O
a	O
computer	O
input	O
device	O
that	O
enables	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
hand-draw	O
images	O
,	O
animations	O
and	O
graphics	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
way	O
a	O
person	O
draws	O
images	O
with	O
a	O
pencil	O
and	O
paper	O
,	O
typically	O
using	O
a	O
stylus	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
image	O
is	O
displayed	O
on	O
the	O
computer	O
monitor	O
,	O
although	O
some	O
graphics	B-Device
tablets	I-Device
also	O
have	O
a	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Graphics	B-Device
tablets	I-Device
can	O
be	O
use	O
with	O
handwriting	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
software	O
to	O
input	O
text	O
,	O
using	O
the	O
graphics	B-Device
tablet	I-Device
to	O
write	O
on	O
the	O
handwriting	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
detects	O
the	O
letters	O
and	O
converts	O
it	O
to	O
digital	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
earliest	O
text	B-Device
entry	I-Device
interfaces	I-Device
was	O
the	O
punched	O
card	O
input	O
.	O
</s>
