QuickAdvice: Clear Text - Type As You're Out And About
Clear Text ($0.99) by f-PrimeStudios is an app that allows you to type while utilizing the back camera so you can see what is going on in front of you.
Everyday, we become more and more engrossed in our mobile devices that we may not pay attention anymore while we walk (maybe not everyone though!). But there are apps out there that try to help us out with that, like Clear Text.
When you launch Clear Text, the first thing you'll see is whatever the camera viewfinder is capturing being displayed as the background, and a message saying 'Tap the text (or anywhere on the screen) to edit.' Once you do that, a keyboard will pop up and you begin typing away!
The keyboard is different from the standard iPhone keyboard - it's completely clear and shows the letters and other keyboard buttons with a reflection underneath them. Because the keyboard is different, I found it difficult to type with. I'll describe this in more detail soon.
Once you have some text written, hit the check mark at the top corner to save it. Then, if you're in Portrait mode, you can hit the arrow on the bottom left to go to a listing of all your text snippets, which are called Notes. Any of them can be selected, or you can tap the arrow in the bottom right to go back to the latest note you created.
When you're on a selected note screen, tap the arrow at the bottom right again for a slew of options. You can send this text to Facebook, Twitter, in-app email or SMS. The text can also be copied to the device clipboard. Your Facebook and Twitter credentials can be entered in the Settings (represented with the big gear icon).
What if you don't like the camera viewfinder as the background because it makes it hard to see? Despite this being the entire point of the app, you can choose to set the background of the app as Black & White, which can then be toggled for either Black on White or White on Black. To toggle between these two colors, just tap that semi-circle at the top when you're typing out something. Simple.
The only problem I am having with this app is the keyboard. While it looks great, I found that it's a lot more difficult to type with than the standard iPhone keyboard. I found myself needing to tap a letter a couple of times to get it to register, which slowed down my typing by a lot. Also, there isn't any letter magnification like with the regular iPhone keyboard, so I couldn't exactly tell when I was hitting a letter or not. In a way, there was NO feedback which makes it extremely difficult to type quickly, which I have mastered with over 2 years of using the iPhone.
Perhaps it's just me, but with the keyboard lacking in usability I think the point of the app is kinda rendered moot. Unless you want to have your phone right up in your face to make sure you hit a letter on that glassy looking keyboard.
The idea is great - see what is in front of you as you type away. But the keyboard needs a lot of improvement in order to make the app useable in everyday situations. It's a bit unpractical to have to slow down your typing drastically in order to concentrate, which will probably distract you from the background camera too.
Bottom line: Good concept, poorly implemented with the keyboard. Wait for an update in which the keyboard is a lot more likable and useable.
