This is the spectacular CharaChorder keyboard with which you can write 500 words per minute

Do you like to write? Do you like to type fast, type at breakneck speed and capture ideas on the screen as they take shape in your head? If so, watch this. In the US there is a startup with a device that —according to its managers— can help us write 500 words per minute, more than the 300 reached by stenographers with their special machines and much more than the 120 achieved today by users very accustomed to QWERTY keyboard.

The device is called CharaChorder and at first glance it looks more like dumbbells than a writing device. It basically consists of two pieces connected with a central bar and equipped with nine joysticks each. Those 18 small touch controls they move in multiple directions and offer some important advantages to the typer: they do not need to lift their fingers from the keyboard, they save time and travel, and they allow typing with fewer movements.

What really helps CharaChorder to shorten writing times at the speed at which we think —at least that is what the company says— are its “chords”, a system with which the user enters several letters at the same time so that your program detects them and predictively generates a word. Instead of writing Hello, for example, combine the letters “h, e, l, o”.

Rethink QWERTY

The system is similar to the one used by stenographers, although with important differences, of course. The company ensures that the device has more than 17,000 million of possible chord combinations and can even be created on the fly without the need for specific software. Obviously, getting the most out of CharaChorder requires more than just buying it: the user needs to practice with its peculiar joystick configuration. And do it a lot.

“The switches detect movement in three dimensions so that users have access to more than 300 unique inputs without their fingers breaking contact with the device,” its managers comment to Vice, which have already surpassed even the 500 words per minute mark; far, but very far, from the 40 that most people reach with normal keyboards.

“CharaChorder’s mission is to raise the average text transmission speed of 40 words per minute, above and beyond the average text comprehension speed of 250 words per minute,” says the US company: “We believe that ‘typewriter style’ writing is the result of habit rather than human ingenuity and we know that to break this habit we need to offer something completely surprising”.

@rileyandrichy #stitch with @shane.duffy My cool thing is the world’s first chording enabled keyboard. Thanks for asking 😊 #⌨️ #typing #keyboard #productivity #charachorder #tech #cool ♬ original sound – Riley and Richy Keen

@rileyandrichy Reply to @johnathan284 A couple months ago I didn’t think this was possible #techtok #technology #keyboard #charachorder ♬ original sound – Sleepy

The CharaCHoreder costs $249.99, although the company also has a much more conventional keyboard, the CharaChorder Lite for $199.99, which —he notes— already allows for shorter typing times. The company presented its device at CES and in networks you can also see users handling it, including the person in charge of the company, Riley Keen. His speed would have already earned him declassification in the Monkeytype tests.

Images | Chara Chorder