There have been quite a few apps out there that claim to increase the speed of typing on a smartphone. On iOS devices there is TrueKeyboard and there’s Swype and SwiftKey for Android.

Do we actually need a keyboard replacement for the QWERTY keyboard we’re all so used to? According to MessagEase, the answer is yes. The app is available for both iOS and Android devices and takes a unique approach to starting us out with the keys that we use the most, and lets you swipe and drag to tap other letters and characters.

MessagEase has patented its approach to mobile typing, which it says requires only one finger. The app is free, so I took it for a spin to see if their claims that you could type faster using its keyboard rang true.

One finger salute

Once you download the app and open it up, the first thing you’ll notice is that the keys are huge. I found that this led to less mistakes while typing. It’s going to take you a while to get used to the keyboard, but MessagEase puts focused on what it says are the letters we use the most; A, N, I, H, O, R, T, E, and S.

For letters that sit within the main ones I found it to be surprisingly easy to use the swipe gesture to enter them in. The first thing you should probably do is try to memorize where all of the letters and characters are and try to key in a sentence without looking at the keyboard too closely.

The second thing you should do is play a few rounds of the built-in game that serves as a pretty good tutorial for MessagEase. The company says that the record for the game is 63 words per minute, which is faster than some people can type on a regular desktop keyboard.

Once you’ve gotten familiar with the layout and swiping gestures you can start using the app to take notes or send emails, texts, tweets, or search for something on Google.

If you’re a heavy note-taker on your smartphone, MessagEase is definitely worth giving a try. If you can save a bunch of keystrokes and mistakes by using the keyboard, the price of admission (free) is most certainly worth the download. Change is difficult, but when it comes to saving a few minutes here and there it might just be worth it. If change scares you that much, check out the demo video below, as it’s rather impressive:

➤ MessagEase for iOS and Android

Prideaux was born without a left arm, and had to go to extra lengths to use his cell phone.

Thanks to help from Nokia and medical experts in Great Britain, Prideaux now has a Nokia C7 embedded in his prosthetic arm, which makes texting and calling his friends and family infinitely easier.

Prideaux says this about the medical marvel:

I think this is the first time this has ever been done in the world – and it is brilliant

Seeing medical technology merge with communications is extremely exciting, as we’ve seen amazing life-changing stories in the past thanks to technology achievements and creativity.

Let me repeat the question: Would you turn your house into a billboard to live mortgage free?

Yes? You are in luck! Because one advertising company named Adzookie is doing just that: turning homes into billboards and helping homeowners pay their mortgage. Adzookie was first a free, mobile advertising company, but they’ve decided to take a bit of a pivot So far 223 homeowners have contacted them as well as 12 businesses, 7 restaurants and 1 church.

“Adzookie.com is a free mobile advertising company. We help local businesses reach new customers by placing free advertisements where ads get noticed the most, on smart phones,” says Romeo Mendoza, Adzookie’s CEO. “Promoting our business in a way that’s outrageous and fun just make sense.”

Mendoza says he was inspired while driving his daughter home from school.

“I saw signs outside homes saying ‘bank-owned’ and suddenly I felt for the families I imagined lived there,” said Mendoza. “I was trying really hard to think of ways to help …then it hit me. Our company buys advertising all the time. We could buy ad space on their house and pay them for it.”

To qualify, you must own your home; no renters or leasers allowed. Adzookie must be able to paint the entire outside of the house, minus the roof, the windows and any awnings. Having your house painted takes about 3-5 days. In exchange, Adzookie will pay the mortgage every month for as long as the house is painted, up to one year.

Interested homeowners apply here and please, please send us pictures. All hilarity aside, Mendoza is serious about this house painting business. And in the end, isn’t the whole promotion a great way for him to get the Adzookie name out there?

Ah, the crazy world of advertising. Interested in outdoor advertising? Don’t miss our recent interview with NYC’s disruptive darling, AdStruc.