SlideWriter now available for iPad via the App Store

SlideWriter has landed on the iPad with a souped up virtual keyboard that takes cues from a concept video gone viral.

It’s a note taking app which makes it easier to edit text by simply sliding your finger above the keyboard to quickly move the cursor.

But hold your horses, it’s not exactly what you’ve been hoping for…

SlideWriter is a writing app that seems to exist for the sole purpose of capitalizing on the popularity of an awesome iOS keyboard concept by Daniel Hooper.

Kyle Howells’ jailbreak tweak made that concept a reality for jailbroken devices. SlideWriter kinda follows along a similar but not exactly the same route.

It’s important to stress that SlideWriter does not modify the keyboard for all apps because Apple’s rules prevent access to modify the global keyboard.

As such, it could be dismissed as a gimmick of sorts, although your 99 cents still buy you a simplified note taking program with a fully functional keyboard sporting some of the editing techniques akin to Howells’ concept.

Here’s a clip from the developers of SlideWriter.

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And now for the Catch 22: moving the cursor or selecting text requires sliding your finger (or two fingers for twice the speed) above the keyboard. This doesn’t exactly follow Hooper’s vision which calls for a much more elegant solution where you slide your finger across the actual keys.

Yes, I bought it.

Yeah, I’m now feeling buyer’s remorse.

This is what I was holding my breath for!

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You can also double tap above the keyboard to start selecting, then slide the handles to adjust your selection. Of course, several other apps feature a virtual keyboard with an additional row of controls, most notably Quickoffice and Apple’s own Pages.

SlideWriter costs 99 cents and is available for the iPad only.

What do you think, is he just trying to cash in on the popularity of Hooper’s concept?