1) At first I thought it was like SMS numberpad entry, but it looks like they're chorded - with the combination of the directional and number you could enter keys pretty fast.
2) It's geared to gamers and anyone comfortable with a console gamepad will pick this up quickly.
3) Strategically, it could push consoles (specifically Steam-powered ones) as the best interface with which to enter text in a TV environment. In particular, it seems potentially better than Boxee's controller keyboard or the iOS Remote app's soft-keyboard, leave alone any console key-entry system to date.
If they haven''t patented this method, it'd be nice to see some implementation of it show up in XBMC / Plex / etc.
1) At first I thought it was like SMS numberpad entry, but it looks like they're chorded - with the combination of the directional and number you could enter keys pretty fast.
2) It's geared to gamers and anyone comfortable with a console gamepad will pick this up quickly.
3) Strategically, it could push consoles (specifically Steam-powered ones) as the best interface with which to enter text in a TV environment. In particular, it seems potentially better than Boxee's controller keyboard or the iOS Remote app's soft-keyboard, leave alone any console key-entry system to date.
If they haven''t patented this method, it'd be nice to see some implementation of it show up in XBMC / Plex / etc.