Computers keep getting smaller, but our need to type still demands space, be it a cramped screen keyboard of clunky peripheral. Thus the Tap Strap, a flexible plastic gadget that slots onto you fingers.

The operation is simple: tap your thumb on a surface to turn it on, then begin tapping away on that same surface and let a micro-controller unit relay your typing via Bluetooth to phones, tablets, TVs or computers. That surface can be just about anything, from your own forearm to a tabletop or even the top of your head.

Of course, there is a learning curve, but the makers also made Tap Genius, which helps teach users the required gestures. Supposedly it only takes an hour to learn the basics (but presumably not to get to normal typing speed, special characters, numbers and all). The battery lasts for up to three days of idle time or four hours of continuous use, then recharges via micro-USB.

This may or may not be the next quantum leap in input methods, but it does suggest there is room for other configurations than QWERTY, particularly as predictive tech takes off in parallel. It could also be a great game input device and way to interact with virtual reality simulations where you are up and moving.

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The QWERTY keyboard we use on all of our devices today was designed 140 years ago with specifications that met the needs of typewriter users. The placement of the keys helped ensure that the most often-used keys wouldn’t get stuck and interfere with your typing. But modern keyboards don’t need the special placement; we just keep using the layout because it’s convenient and familiar.

Swiss startup icoaching wants to shake up the whole world of typing with its honeycomb-like keyboard layout. They call it WRIO, and it’s supposed to be a whole lot faster for typing on your mobile device than the traditional setup. The larger keys and unique letter placement let your thumbs move around faster than on the typical flat keyboard layout, and the size of the letters makes it harder to fat-finger an unintelligible sentence.

The letters’ positions aren’t really changed too much, but they are arranged on five levels rather than three and situated around two central space keys.The most commonly used special characters are right there on the main layer so you don’t have to push an extra key or two to get to them. The company is developing autocorrect software that is user-guided, so slang words and unusual contexts won’t constantly prompt annoying and inaccurate corrections.

WRIO also includes gestures to make texting and typing even easier. A swipe to the left is like hitting backspace, a swipe to the right adds a space (if you prefer to avoid the two space keys) and an upwards swipe acts as a “shift” key so you don’t have to go looking for it. For all of the wacky keyboard redesigns people have come up with over the years, this seems like one we would actually use and like. The designers say that after a couple of months, WRIO will become like second nature and you’ll never want to go back to a standard keypad.

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We’ve all had days when we feel like punching our computers, but until now no one has done anything to make that compulsion useful. Fashion and design studio Bless created the N°41 Workout Computer as part of their larger Retroperspective Home project.

The computer consists of a monitor and a range of punching bags that function as the keyboard. Typing becomes a full-body sport as you kick, punch, and step to form every word.

The designers considered it an outdated concept that we have separate periods of the day for work and play. They wanted to experiment with the idea that work and fitness can be combined.

By combining the functions of work and play, the Workout Computer can keep the brain stimulated and the body strong. If we had to hunt and peck for every letter and then throw a punch to enter it, the emails we send would be a whole lot more succinct.

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It’s no secret that we’ve got a love/hate relationship going on with on-screen virtual keyboards. Love the convenience, hate actually trying to hit the right little squares on the screen. We prefer the tactile feel of keyboard, and Brian Min of Qwerkytoys has made us squee with delight at the Qwerkywriter, a USB and Bluetooth-enabled keyboard with the sensory satisfaction of an old-fashioned typewriter.

The Qwerkywriter is a mechanical keyboard that gives the lovely clicky feels and sounds that today’s keyboards lack. As you press each key, it gives that satisfying clunk – and the makers are planning to add a return bar function to it in the future, hopefully complete with the jaunty bell sound that vintage typewriters sport.

Able to connect via USB or Bluetooth to your desktop, laptop, or tablet, the 84-key Qwerkywriter comes in a standard US Windows configuration, but Mac and International layouts are also available. A tablet up to 5/8″ thick can fit onto the keyboard’s little platform, which creates a nice little hybrid machine that looks surprisingly futuristic.

These photos depict a hand-made proof of concept prototype. The mass production of the unusual typewriter was funded by a Kickstarter campaign that raised far more than its goal. Early orders for the keyboard ran $289-$299, but at the moment it’s not clear what the retail price will be for the finalized product.

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Typing on mobile devices with on-screen keyboards sucks. Even the portable Bluetooth keyboards for your tablet aren’t great – particularly for people with fingers too big for those miniature keys. AirType could be a crazy useful new way to type without the need to carry around a separate keyboard.

AirType is a pair of cuff-like devices that fit around your hands to detect the movement of your fingers. The premise seems to be that you make the same hand movements that you do when using a keyboard and the AirType cuffs register those movements as alphanumerical input.

For those who never learned touch typing, it seems that the AirType could prove more problematic than an actual mini-keyboard since there is no option to hunt and peck. But the creators say that the device learns from you, adapting to your personal typing style and habits.

The accompanying app includes dynamic text prediction and real-time correction, which could mean that your tablet computer typing experience is about to get much, much easier. Or it could mean that auto-correct disasters are about to get a lot worse. Either way, we’re intrigued to see what the AirType team brings to the table in the coming months.

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