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Easy to type?

I currently have the MDA Vario 2 (or Hermes) which has a full slide out keyboard. I'd love to get a slimmer phone with all the features the polaris has, but not convinced that I could type fast on the on-screen keyboard. Is it easy to use it? Can you type out a lot of text without hitting wrong buttons etc? Can you use 2 thumbs? Thanks.

I would suggest to get yourself one of the better SIP's like Cootek's TouchPal or the PCM soft keyboard.
Personally I recommend the TouchPal as I have it on my Kaiser and I rarely find myself using the built-in slide out keyboard.

Would this work in the polaris? Cause then I definitely wouldn't want the keybaord and the thickness that comes with it.

Ofcourse that will work on the Polaris. It's WM6, so those SIPs will work. I think the Polaris also comes with an improved HTC keyboard which should type a bit better.
PocketCM Keyboard is a nice one as well which will work for sure on the Polaris.
As for typing on a keyboard, I never used anything else. Well, I did give a slide out keyboard a few tries, but it was almost just as awkward as the screen keyboard. With the only difference you get the key feedback from a slide out keyboard.
Are there any SIPs yet with a very small vibrate feedback while typing? Anyways, that would be nice .
I never had a problem with onscreen typing, and looking at the size of the Polaris typing with two thumbs shouldn't be a problem either. Especially when switching to landscape view.

Actually TouchPal should work better on the Polaris than on the Kaiser.
This is so because for certain "Gestures" you have to move your finger to the extreme right or left of the screen at times. The Polaris like the Touch has a flush fitted screen (no raised borders) so it is easy to make those gestures. On the Kaiser the raised screen borders sometimes obstruct your finger movement making this a bit frustrating.
My comment comes from my experience of using the TouchPal on both the Kaiser and the HTC Touch.

Thanks for the info

I tried out a friends Touch yesterday. I like the flush screen which is key to using the gestures and even full use of the keyboards lower register of letters, but in addition it has a different feel to it, almost like it feels harder and more glass like than most other PDA screens. It is still not as responsive (for finger taps) as the iPhone, but it is much better than any PDA phone I have tried. Not worlds better mind you, but for how often I need to use an on screen keyboard, it will do.

As I said, I've tried touchpal and I'm disappointed.
They've promised a lot for the new release and offered only little (actually so they did for previous versions).
Currently I'm using a better keyboard, I've attached the CAB so you can try it.
It runs smooth, has some kind of fast typing system, that I've never seen to other products, all in one, it does a hell of a job. Enjoy!

srmz said:
Personally I recommend the TouchPal as I have it on my Kaiser and I rarely find myself using the built-in slide out keyboard.
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Thumb Keyboard 4.0 Beta (Amazing TF Keyboard)

If you haven't tried Thumb Keyboard yet, give the free 4.0 Beta a try. It has changed my TF experience for the better in a huge way. Link here.
The Beta lasts for another week, and I'll buy the full release without hesitation.
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The iPad skin is awsome

cowballz69 said:
The iPad skin is awsome
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IPad skin? Unless you're joking I didn't see it.

IIJBII said:
IPad skin? Unless you're joking I didn't see it.
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It comes with custom skins but you can also find and install customs.

I've been trying the betas for quite a while and agree its the best one around. As long as you turn off predictive text, it doesnt lag at all. It's only getting better with updates. Will purchase it too if it ever comes out.

I purchased v3 not so long ago (but before the beta came out).. am I gonna get stiffed and have to buy v4 all over again when that eventually launches? I know its only a few quid but it'll be a pain if I do..

jms_uk said:
I purchased v3 not so long ago (but before the beta came out).. am I gonna get stiffed and have to buy v4 all over again when that eventually launches? I know its only a few quid but it'll be a pain if I do..
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nope, it will be a free update from v3 to v4. just upddate from market

Schweet! Ta muchly

this is a must for any tablet user IMHO

Love thumb keyboard
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

is there a thumb typing lesson that i can do online. this is great and convenient but unless you're trained to do it, it can slow you down even more.

Thanks! This really made typing a lot easier while holding the device.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

The cursor keys work on ssh terminal programs like connectbot, but the tab key does not.

it's a beta, let them know and hopefully it's something that can be fixed before the final release.

How come I don't see it listed in the keyboard list after I installed the apk?

junks2010 said:
How come I don't see it listed in the keyboard list after I installed the apk?
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I had to reboot to get it to show up on mine.

I cannot figure out how to change the buttons....I picked large buttons and now I want to change it to small ones and see the difference...it said that you can change but did not say where to do that. I looked in settings and could not see where to change it.

stuntdouble said:
I had to reboot to get it to show up on mine.
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Thank you.

original thread by developer http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1056976

Thanks for pointing this out. Absolutely brilliant - have to say one of the best features is the option to instantly switch between split layout, full screen and half screen keyboard. Plus, none of the lag or missed keypresses, even with prediction on...

Help to request for bluetooth keyboard (slider) [Samsung Galaxy S]

I have been craving for this kind of bluetooth slider keyboard for my Galaxy S for way too long.
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http://www.boxwave.com/iphone-4/keyboard-buddy-iphone-4-case/bwpdd/pkz-twvc
Recently I found out that boxwave actually takes requests for a product and might release them if there is enough requests. If you are like me and want a physical keyboard so badly, click on the link below and request for it! Thanks!
http://www.boxwave.com/community/request/request_model.cfm?productid=504

why not just buy an epic?

jake921660 said:
why not just buy an epic?
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not everybody is from the US bro...
and even if i'm from US, because i've already bought galaxy s i9000 and i am satisfied with it, i wouldn't sell it and buy a new phone :/
so this is the only thing i can do

I requested...lets see...

Requested. Fingers crossed.

If you use the SEARCH button you will find a couple of bluetooth keyboards out there....simples
Insanity cm 014/glitch

slaphead20 said:
If you use the SEARCH button you will find a couple of bluetooth keyboards out there....simples
Insanity cm 014/glitch
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yes, i am well aware of that. but none of it can be attached to galaxy s and become a slider keyboard. if you find any, i would very appreciate it if you post the links here. thanks

Good idea to start this thread. Just sent in a request to boxwave with a url to this forum, hopefully they will notice the level of interest here!

why do u need bluetooth keyboard while u can type faster with SWYPE or SLIDEIT keyboard?
last time i used to aim for only qwerty keyboard smartphone,
but after i got myself capacitive screens smartphone, i think it is not necessary for a qwerty keyboard, it is even slower

tcboy88 said:
why do u need bluetooth keyboard while u can type faster with SWYPE or SLIDEIT keyboard?
last time i used to aim for only qwerty keyboard smartphone,
but after i got myself capacitive screens smartphone, i think it is not necessary for a qwerty keyboard, it is even slower
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i personally do like soft keyboard, but not swype. when the screen gets smudged, swype will make it more messy.
my favourite is gingerbread keyboard, but even that gives me errors. a hard keyboard, to me, although require more practice, but will get the job done once you get used to it. i've tried and liked it.
another thing is, playing games using a hard keyboard is so much easier.

Holy crap, it looks amazing! But phone will look like a fat brick... hmmm request sendet afterall

request Done

REquest send also!

Requested!!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Requested!

(now with pictures!) Just bought Thumb Keyboard...

I have just recently bought Thumb keyboard when trying to find a good split keyboard for the Tab Plus and I do have say say it is VERY nice.
The keyboard split is much easier on the thumbs for typing in Landscape mode. In between the two keypads are more keys and you also hold down a key and a numeric pad comes on top of the keyboard and goes away when you let it go. If some people have hands that are on the smaller side (like me) I highly recommend this keyboard it's so much more comfortable than the ones that come stock.
I will also note I did try SwiftKey Tablet X and I didn't like it as much. The landscape keys were slightly smaller and the portrait mode for had REALLY small keys and it only had 3 themes to play with.
Thumb Keyboard comes with 29 themes and the ability to adjust the size of the keyboard all on it's own (default being 100% and can go all the way to 100%) along with different layouts and optimized layouts for different tablet sizes (eg 7 inch, another 7 inch, 10.1 inch) and you can customize it to your liking.
My only gripe is the portrait mode keyboard is a little odd but not enough for me to completely dislike if anything it's easier to use.
In the end it is $2.29, but to me it was well worth it and should be given a try.
And I would put pictures of it up but I can't seem to screen cap the keyboard... :'(
Edit:
Go to the 4th post to see pictures! or click here

Screenshot ER for screen shots of the keyboard.
Sent from my ICS powered Galaxy S2

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Sent from my ICS'd themed Galaxy Tab 7+

Ah thank you! Now I can put up some pictures!
1. This is the landscape keyboard:
2. This is the landscape while holding the numeric button (which still can just be pressed) to bring up other functions and quick numeric pad:
3. This is the portrait mode. The pads are a little odd but it works for me. I could probably change it just haven't messed with it enough yet:

You can actually get a different portait layout so it doesn't look like that. I use this for my soft keyboard on my tablet as well and it's my favorite. It would get even better if they were to put a see-thru/transparency control. My peeve with soft keyboards is they usually take up so much screen space you can't see what you're typing. Making the keys transparent to a degree solves that.

I agree about being able to see through the keyboard. That would be an interesting feature to have and decently useful too.
And thanks for letting me know that I can change the portrait mode keyboard layout, but I might even end up change it back since I'm getting used to it.

tnx for sharing this out , well thumb keyboard has been out for like one year ! everybody knows its the best keyboard on the market specially for tabs , i have been using it with my Gtab7,Gtab7+ and the Gtab10.1, works the best for me from all.

Well still, I'm completely new to Android so this was a good find to me and needed to tell the world about it... Or at least people who actually care about Android...

Well I am trying it out as we speak. So far so good. Gonna take some getting used to though. Just have to play with the settings and what not. Nice on my 7+....

Finally a new landscape mode keyboard phone...kind of

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It's not a real tactile keyboard but at least it's a new landscape keyboard-ish phone with new hardware. I'm disappointed it is a screen but if it's customizable then that would make a bit more sense instead of it just being a silly gimmick. I don't need a camera button on my keyboard, I'm not sure what's beside the 1 key or the left/right arrows, I don't need a symbol button where backspace should be and it looks like a whole row worth of space is wasted where there is just the speaker symbol.
It might be better than the landscape mode blackberry options though but there's no way I'll be able to type on it without looking as well as having a tactile and real physical keyboard. At first I thought it was a real keyboard and got so excited. I have come down off that high now.

pimpmasters said:
It's not a real tactile keyboard but at least it's a new landscape keyboard-ish phone with new hardware. I'm disappointed it is a screen but if it's customizable then that would make a bit more sense instead of it just being a silly gimmick. I don't need a camera button on my keyboard, I'm not sure what's beside the 1 key or the left/right arrows, I don't need a symbol button where backspace should be and it looks like a whole row worth of space is wasted where there is just the speaker symbol.
It might be better than the landscape mode blackberry options though but there's no way I'll be able to type on it without looking as well as having a tactile and real physical keyboard. At first I thought it was a real keyboard and got so excited. I have come down off that high now.
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Damn...it was a hoax. Just some sort of concept art someone was using to get their name out there for graphic design.
https://thetechreviewer.com/tech-news/samsung-galaxy-oxygen/

https://www.readyfx.com/
Not sure if this was posted previously, please share. Coming from the same folks that developed a keyboard mod for the Moto z phones
Sincerely hope the device is successful
I have a love for QWERTYs (look at my past phones). Spread the word please!

gtmaster303 said:
https://www.readyfx.com/
Not sure if this was posted previously, please share. Coming from the same folks that developed a keyboard mod for the Moto z phones
Sincerely hope the device is successful
I have a love for QWERTYs (look at my past phones). Spread the word please!
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Just discovered this tonight via another website. Looks great.

pimpmasters said:
Damn...it was a hoax. Just some sort of concept art someone was using to get their name out there for graphic design.
https://thetechreviewer.com/tech-news/samsung-galaxy-oxygen/
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instead of adding that in a 2nd post, you should edit your OP to remove the unsourced clickbait fake pic and rumors... then replace it all with the actual *factual* new landscape slider, which *is real*, has *legit sources*, and details could be found since mid to late 2018, now directly at https://www.fxtec.com/pro1 or just delete this "fake news" thread entirely.