Hey guys,
You guys remember the days of touch pro2, now that was an awesome keyboard phone. But, now with the age of slim being the new trend. Would we see more phones that resemble the keyboard of the touch pro2. So, let's begin the discussion on what you think the future of keyboard phone is. I wish htc goes back to those key features which made it so great....
sorry, if there is another thread like this....
They might disappear eventually, but I think some heavy texters still prefer physical keyboards. With Swype I can almost meet the speed of a physical keyboard, but it's not quite the same. Optional bluetooth keyboards that attach in some way might start to become more prevalent, though.
HTC Universal (Ago 2005)
This was the master of keyboard devices
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Still active and none even close to this beauty
It seems like its only a matter of time before software keyboards get better - there just isn't space to put a physical keyboard on a phone. the swype system seems to be the best currently but anyone might dream up newer and better ways. speech recognition is also getting better all the time.
Tactile screens will probably bring about the real end to physical keyboards as they're the only way to really replace them. It'd be the best of both worlds as well. Imagine a physical keyboard that's context sensitive!
I don't see them dying completely. I know a lot of people crying when Blackberry is brought up, but there are still quite a few people over there that won't give up on a physical kb.
I have even contemplated it myself with a 9900. If not for the bricking issue....it really is an amazing phone, IMO.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk
I think there will continue to be a market for hard keys, but all things have their time.
i approve this message
I'm a fan of the Droid 2 and 3's keyboard, but I rather have a touchscreen now.
I Am Marino said:
I'm a fan of the Droid 2 and 3's keyboard, but I rather have a touchscreen now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, but those keyboards are nothing compared to the keyboard on touchpro2...
Touch screens are annoying sometimes, on keyboard phones you always hit right button, anyway I prefer touch screens (dictionary is very helpful while typing). Today I had a chance to play with speech recognition on iPhone and its preaty cool...Someone should start doing research on mind keyboards, just think instead of typing
I agree that there is still a market for keyboards, but with phones becoming thinner, there's really no way to have a real keyboard anymore. I'm personally all for touchscreen digital keyboards, but I understand some people don't like change.
The strongest point against physical kb is the space issue. Period. It is literally a waste of space. I was on bb for a good while and swore I'd never leave, so loved the keys blah blah blah. Swiftkeyx made me just as fast, and the tech, as everyone has mentioned, is only getting better
Jesus Christ is a real person. If you would like to know more about Him, feel free to ask me.
I could live without physical keys while typing (even though its a struggle) but nothing is ever going to replace physical buttons for playing games.
Pickx said:
I could live without physical keys while typing (even though its a struggle) but nothing is ever going to replace physical buttons for playing games.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Not only do on screen buttons take up space, they aren't as easy to use as physical buttons.
i feel the pain
my work just switched me off the blackberry and onto touch screens..... our hands are to dirty to work them!
I think there will continue to be a market for hard keys
I love my Epic because of the keyboard. For long emails and typing in terminal mode where I have to type a lot of symbols and and numbers, you can't beat a physical keyboard (don't have to keep hitting the symbol key and alphabet key just to switch between symbols, numbers, and letters). Also, while playing emulator games like Street Fighter II, I can use my Game Gripper and it feels just like a controller. Also having that extra half screen of visual real estate while typing does help as well.
I like the HTC Desire Z
lilshortomi said:
I like the HTC Desire Z
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, the desire z was good, but the keyboard was a bit small...
I had a hell of a time finding a qwerty smartphone to replace my G2 (T-Mo branded Desire Z) - ended up with a Captivate Glide and haven't looked back since. I've tried using Swype, but it just isnt the same. I can't see where my finger is and no tactile feedback for on-screen keys, and the OSK covers up (for example) the message I'm trying to reply to...
L4T
Related
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/11/htc-advantage-x7510-now-upgraded-with-16gb-flash-memory/
16GB flash(!); WM6.1 and new keyboard, this baby looks great.
Alas, those magnets are still there
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Luckily is a magnetic keyboard, which means I can still carry without it.
Noticed that the Internet browser button is no longer there? ALso, no joyce stick, ok button, and window buttons.
Yeh... dedicated row of number keys!
2 extra keys per row. This will be challenging to use. No keys for the corresponding soft keys. No more special keys for phones. Looks like a keyboard meant for input only, which is probably a good use of the keyboard space. I'm disappointed that lettter Z is still one character too right. Z should have been directly below the letter A, as is the case with standard keyboard. Should have made the left shift smaller and shift the whole row left by one key.
But the biggest questions are, any vibrating motor (sincere there is no more microdrive) and embedded earpiece?
Anyone care to comment on the google maps, tomtom included, and the video performance relative to the x7500/7501??
I think it looks tasty! The keyboard still looks useless...
I quite like the newer look, pity that there's no okay button I tend to use that quite a lot.
as the camera button is now on the front I wonder what the one on the top right is? seems daft to duplicate it.
Wonder if it would be possible to get the new athena keybaord to the old athena.
fards said:
I quite like the newer look, pity that there's no okay button I tend to use that quite a lot.
as the camera button is now on the front I wonder what the one on the top right is? seems daft to duplicate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that's the voice recorder/com manager. They just shift it to the top.
I also use the ok button quite a bit to minimise application. For example, after a phone call, I press ok to hide it.
Looks nice - but evolution rather than revolution, I want one. Just not enough to make me fork out what it will cost.
How am I supposed to control my music player without the joystick and action button? Now I use it to volume up, volume down, next song, previous song, and off the screen. I also use OK button to bring up the playlist, and browser button to pause/play. With these buttons all gone now, playing music without switching on the screen would be a problem.
So much for the next version being the Next Big Thing. Loosing the joystick and half of the programmable buttons was a bad choice. No mention of vibrate, or gaining a private earpiece, either. No wider+narrow screen and form factor to make it more phone-like with more screen space. That membrane keyboard is going to suck, too. Anyone remember the Atari 400? There's a reason the Atari 800 was much more popular and so many aftermarket keyboards came out for the 400...
Next.
The new full keyboard looks like an improvement. Typing text with numbers or special character is now a nightmare on the advantage.
On the other hand, it looks like the little transparent strip at the back of the keyboard is now solid black. I kinda enjoy the fact that I can see who calls me with the keyboard attached.
Looks like the cut a lot of features from th Advantage where I don't even see what the point could be of losing them. How much space is that going to bring them and why would they need to save space on a device that's basically the same with only a bit of extra flash memory?
kdskamal said:
Alas, those magnets are still there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What did you expect? Snaps? Double sided sticky tape?
Madhadder said:
What did you expect? Snaps? Double sided sticky tape?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On a product like this, Velcro
And on a serious note, I'm loving the look, although I don't know how well it will work without the OK button, its a useful app switcher on the current generation. I could probably live without the joypad. Its a bit rubbish they've decided to drop the infobar thing (I'm assuming so given the 100% opaque keyboard) which is quite nice when your not using it in a case. I do like the look of the keyboard, might be more usable that the current one maybe.
Where are all the buttons? WTF?
We need more hardware buttons not less, and the joystick too Helloooo HTC WTF?
I would have considered it with the 16GB drive, but there is no chance now without buttons, I wanted a dedicated Answer/End buttons, I had the OK/Win buttons remapped as well as every other button with AE Buttons, this gave me Dedicated Answer/End plus Opera or IE and Flashlight all from a quick hardware button press.
I assume they are trying to to everything from TouchFlo instead.
I still would have liked vibrate and a dedicated ear speaker, for when my bluetooth headset is dead.
And the info display, I cant believe that they couldnt fix the damn reed magnet switch so it worked as advertised.
Well, still waiting for the next big thing
G
Madhadder said:
What did you expect? Snaps? Double sided sticky tape?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anything, but, certainly not magnets(!). Why not permantely attach the keyboard or completly do away with it?
I find the Joystick to be most used button on the X7501. I rarely use the device in landscape mode when surfing my favorite blogs. I hold down the joystick to get past all the links on the home pages to get to the current messages. Also use it extensively to page forward in ebooks.
Brad
Here's the official press release: http://www.htc.com/press_room/03-press-080211_01.htm
Interesting that they only mention one camera in this release, yet the pictures show the camera facing the user. So... did the original 3 mp camera get chucked, along with the bright LED? Do you now need to turn the thing around to take a picture?
Other questions: Do the external GPS & cell antenna ports still exist? Does the new camera button (the old browser button) have two positions so you can focus first and then take the pic? What accessories will be included in the box this time (and will it include a belt-ready pouch)?
I think they really missed the boat on this one.
what about the backlight? does this keyboard get light on night?
On this danish site there is a bit more info about the new keyboard, which I don't see here:
http://qtek-user.dk/models.php?id=88 (very slow loading!)
It has what is called "haptic feedback", and it delievers a small vibration when you activate a key, which in my opinion must be an improvement to the old style. Also the numeric keys look great, but the lack of the various hardkeys is strange and probably inconvenient.
And here are the specs:
http://tele-online.dk/product.asp?product=16784&sub=67
Someone asked about GPS and Camera, according to this there are no changes, so both are present.
Found on The Register:
Very cunning idea: "each triangular key has significantly more dead space around it than you’d find on a standard Qwerty layout. Consequently, users are more likely to press the correct key each time they tap."
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Essentially the keyboard takes up the same amount of space, but it's easier not to fat-finger more than one key at a time. I would love to see this for touchscreen-only Android phones. It's patented, sadly (and destined for the iPhone), which begs the question: how hard would this be to implement on the sly? Essentially you're just re-skinning the keyboard, after all.
If you were just reskinning the keyboard then the touchable area would be the same and you would still fat-finger touch the other keys. You would also have to make the touch area different.
cruzzade said:
If you were just reskinning the keyboard then the touchable area would be the same and you would still fat-finger touch the other keys. You would also have to make the touch area different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hell, it might even be worth keeping the visual layout the same and just changing the touchable area; I was thinking of "reskinning" as both, largely because I've seen three different keyboards for the magic so far in different ROMs, at least two of which have different touchable areas due to having different keys.
Personally I just wished that the keyboard looked and behaved the same as the iPhone... In the Google firmware, the buttons are too small and responds differently, mostly it doesn't even recognize me pressing the keys...don't know if it is because it lacks multitouch or something..
bluekieran said:
how hard would this be to implement on the sly? Essentially you're just re-skinning the keyboard, after all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easy peasy!
Skiing a KB is actually quite easy..... several ways to do it but essentially there is one image for each type of key press- its just a matter of editing them in an image editor program- there is a thread about editing KBs in the dream themes and wallpapers section.
Crocodile Keyboard
Hi there,
Its good to get some feedback on my keyboard, some reports give the idea that I only want to get it put onto the iphone, but in reality, I want to get it used as the default keyboard on every touch screen phone.
The website at www.crocodilekeyboards.com was set up because it is almost impossible to show big companies new ideas as they all seem to hide behind the unsolicited ideas rulebook.
You would think that they would actively encorage inventors with a half decent idea by setting up a simple contact point for evaluation purposes.
I had to go public with the idea just to get it in front of them.
The UK patent covers not just the shape of the keys but also the area around them, it also covers variations of the triangular shape.
There seems to be a real need for this keyboard, everyone seems to hate predictive text and touch screens are definately the way forward.
so are you gonna release it for android any time soon?
dustmonkey said:
Hi there,
Its good to get some feedback on my keyboard, some reports give the idea that I only want to get it put onto the iphone, but in reality, I want to get it used as the default keyboard on every touch screen phone.
[...]
There seems to be a real need for this keyboard, everyone seems to hate predictive text and touch screens are definately the way forward.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck! I look forward to trying it out and seeing how it works in practice. It would be nice to be able to move my fat digits a little faster on the screen!
It doesn't matter what the picture of the keyboard looks like. If you don't actually make the space/key bigger, then it won't make any difference. Applephone keyboard is a little easier because the screen is A LITTLE BIGGER.... physically. It has a larger screen. Thats what makes it easier.
Crocodile Keyboard
The actual size of the button is less important than you think.
There is a neat optical effect with the croc board were you see the triangular space around the key which makes it look much bigger, this then gives you a visual clue where the button is as you place your finger over it.
Many people have less than perfect vision and anything that helps determine the button position should help.
As an experiment, put your standard qwerty keyboard on a photocopier and print out a copy. (The full keyboard on my website, www.crocodilekeyboards.com, has a croc version of Apple's aluminium blutooth keyboard)
Then, using a felt tip pen change half the keys on the first few rows to croc keys and compare to the standard keyboard. You will see that you could reduce this on your copier by at least 40% and still easily use the croc keys but start to struggle with the standard ones.
Crocodile Keyboard
I have a question.
Crocodile Keyboards have decided that thier first app will be for the Android powered touch screen phones but have noticed something a bit sneaky in the Android developers agreement.
If you go to:
http://www.android.com/us/developer-distribution-agreement.html
Now look at the last bit of 5.1, "Market and to use the Products to make improvements to the Android platform".
Does this mean that I am about to spend five weeks developing this app and Google can just decide to use it in Android for nothing?
Please somebody tell me I am wrong, I am still waiting for a response from google about this.
From reading it would say that it means they I.E. google can use it for administration and demo.
I'm no legal eagle but i would take it from that they can NOT just steal your idea....... and tbh i dont think it matters what it says i dont think a court would uphold that.
I have seen this keyboard before and the patent is rubbish under prior art.
http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/gallery/artoftrek/klingon-console-st5.jpg
RIM are trying other similar patents with hardware keyboards and three letters on a triangle key. For me this is a vile abuse of the patent system. To change the shape of a key and claim its a new idea is a pile of nonsense. Maybe I will invent and patent the parallelogram keyboard which is very like a triangle.
Krocodile Keyboard
Well untill Google get back to me saying anything different, then this distribution agreement is a contract to which I would be agreeing with. The courts will not agree to disolve an unfair contract just because one of the parties involved couldnt be bothered reading what they were signing.
I have just been speaking to my solicitor and his view is that they would be entitled under the contract to take my app off the store and use it in Android.
Come on Google, what is this?
I'd be more than happy to test it, outside of the market
I doubt google will be getting back to you. Though maybe the Klingons will be visting their solicitors or just come to blast you.
I bought it today, much better, I think. I was looking for an interface to change colors...is that possible? thanks, Cyn
well not many really people use it because either swype or the modified htc ime are still much superior - IMO none of the paid app keyboards are worth using
Swype Micro Download
XDA Modified HTC IME
as you can see this is dead for a reason
swype is superior to anything because once you learn it, the only thing better is a physical keyboard for speed
run the tutorial from the swype settings and you will see why
Is anyone going to make one with an onscreen keyboard? An NES emulator would be all I need for gaming on my nexus one but... nesoid does not work. =(
what we need is a NES/SNES emulator that has an on screen joypad with multitouch. I mean if the multitouch is integrated into other app, such as the dolphin browser, when will someone throw it into a emu is what I'm wondering.
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Something like this would be perfect...
God, I have been waiting for that for forever. I want that so badly.
I'm actually really surprised we don't have something like that. This is my first time looking around for an NES emulator. 1/3 of the screen could easily be controls and still be comfortable viewing.
You mean like Nesoid does right now?
Works great on my Nexus One.
I use Back and Search as A and B.
the author of NESoid has apparently told multiple people that (s)he will make a multi-touch version after getting a nexus
knoxbrder said:
You mean like Nesoid does right now?
Works great on my Nexus One.
I use Back and Search as A and B.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't press the d-pad and the A/B buttons at the same time that way.
huhmuhan said:
Something like this would be perfect...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+100 on this
I contacted the dev for NES/SNESoid the day after the N1 was released and he said that he was working on it.
ShotSkydiver said:
You can't press the d-pad and the A/B buttons at the same time that way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats my problem. Trying to play castlevania 2 and I can't even jump over water. the tilt function to walk left and right works great, I can even jump & walk, but then I cannot go down or up! how can I play a game without having to use my tongue for the volume buttons, one hand to tilt and one hand for action buttons?
The next iteration of the emulators will probably have multitouch.
Snesoid and Nesoid have multi-touch added now and works pretty good. You have to concentrate a bit when playing games like mario though heh, a little too easy to get a wrong touch and die. Did get to the 4th level in super mario world, but it took some doing.
The button placement on snesoid is pretty bad as well, it was ok enough with dpad top-left and buttons lower-right, but the developer changed that around in the last version with buttons top-right...
Anyone that can get in touch with the developer? If the dpad was lower left and he added all four buttons to the lower right if would be near perfect. I don't care if the part of the screen delegated to the game gets smaller, it would just add much to playability on phones without buttons. As it is, it's a little too cramped and doesn't work good enough for platform games and such.
SBS_ said:
Snesoid and Nesoid have multi-touch added now and works pretty good. You have to concentrate a bit when playing games like mario though heh, a little too easy to get a wrong touch and die. Did get to the 4th level in super mario world, but it took some doing.
The button placement on snesoid is pretty bad as well, it was ok enough with dpad top-left and buttons lower-right, but the developer changed that around in the last version with buttons top-right...
Anyone that can get in touch with the developer? If the dpad was lower left and he added all four buttons to the lower right if would be near perfect. I don't care if the part of the screen delegated to the game gets smaller, it would just add much to playability on phones without buttons. As it is, it's a little too cramped and doesn't work good enough for platform games and such.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can move the buttons around in settings.
my problem is the buttons and dpad are too small. theres plenty of screen space to make them bigger.
also a lot of times itll send the wrong key press. like youll hit 'up' and itll send 'x'.
Works great for me, just have to get used to the buttons. I found a torrent a while back with 980 + games 111Mb! If anyone would like a zip emailed to them pm me.
Edit: once unzipped its 200+ mb.
tgwaste said:
you can move the buttons around in settings.
my problem is the buttons and dpad are too small. theres plenty of screen space to make them bigger.
also a lot of times itll send the wrong key press. like youll hit 'up' and itll send 'x'.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should look at the dates on posts you're quoting
But yeah you can move them around now. I've found that the best configuration, that yields the least amount of wrong presses, is dpad top-left and buttons in a row in lower right. Much harder to press the wrong button with that combination in my opinion.
Can anyone tell me where to download the games at?
Theres only 1 thing about the G2X that I am constantly reminded of during daily use, and its that I no longer have a trackball like my MyTouch 3G has. Sure, the phone itself is like 4x (or more) powerful than it, has a nice big screen, a much better touchscreen, and can do everything and more than I ever would want it to do, but I CANT ****ING SCROLL THROUGH TEXT FOR ****!!
Am I doing something wrong here? Why is it that when I'm doing a simple google search that its so terribly difficult to edit the text if its longer than the search box? Its nearly impossible to 'scroll' to the sides, and I usually just end up deleting it and typing it all over again.
Or, when trying to select links or other small buttons without having to pinch zoom or have pin point accuracy. Just a couple swipes of the trackball to highlight it and BAM! Navigating web pages just seemed a bit easier with it....
Oh yeah, and this was brought to my attention when I was staring at the ClockworkMod Recovery trying to figure out how the **** to navigate it Is it just me, or does using the volume buttons and power button to navigate the menus just seem.... wrong?
Man, I really miss my trackball.... (But yes, I still LOOOOOVE my G2X)
..I miss it too .. we should start a petition
Yeah! Get enough signatures and demand they give us a free trackball dongle!
My vote is for this:
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I miss it too.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
I'm really hoping someone will drop some knowledge on this thread and explain some feature that I'm just completely missing that allows you to scroll through text boxes quickly like.... I hate to say it.... the iPhone does. *cringe* It has that magnifying glass when you press on the text and you can slide back and forth easily to select a certain point in the text.
I'm just tired of trying to tap perfectly between the 2 characters where I want the cursor....
If you wait for gingerbread they'll have a cursor thing. The iPhone in my opinion is superior in that area and I hope Google will implement something like that someday.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
I miss it, too. Swype has arrow keys (slide from the Swype key to the symbol key) that mostly eliminate the need for the trackball, but I'm using a different keyboard these days that doesn't have the arrows, and it's a real pain.
milk242 said:
If you wait for gingerbread they'll have a cursor thing. The iPhone in my opinion is superior in that area and I hope Google will implement something like that someday.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh god the iPhone/iPad selection is horrible. Pops up a little magnifying glass with blurry ass text that you can hardly read. Sick.
Gingerbread selection works well. You just click in the body of text then move it around using the pointer.
I do miss my trackball on my N1. Recovery is a big area that needs some kind of navigation control. I'll miss it for games like Frozen Bubble and stuff too. The trackball just seemed perfect for that game.
Well I haven't used an iphone much, but that particular feature seemed nice when not having a method of fine tuned navigation that the trackball has.
I noticed you can scroll text fine in things like this text field or the url field of dolphin browser, but when I use the text field on a web page like google it wont scroll. Is that a general web thing, the browser or android?
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Just ordered my g2x, but I'm definitely going to miss waking up my n1 with trackball, and of course led notifications. The trackball is dead, long live the trackball!
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Say Good Night Gracie
I like the trackpad on the G2 and MyTouch 4G.
I was just looking at the PadKite mouse http://padkite.com
but the G2X isnt on the list of phones.
Also its a whole browser (that doesnt support flash) not just a mouse.
It does look interesting and may have some promise, I'd like to try it.
Unfortunately though with the advent of the tablets, it looks like the track ball
and track pad will soon go the way of floppy discs.
going_home said:
I like the trackpad on the G2 and MyTouch 4G.
I was just looking at the PadKite mouse http://padkite.com
but the G2X isnt on the list of phones.
Also its a whole browser (that doesnt support flash) not just a mouse.
It does look interesting and may have some promise, I'd like to try it.
Unfortunately though with the advent of the tablets, it looks like the track ball
and track pad will soon go the way of floppy discs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know why the G2x doesn't have a trackball/pad and especially any notification LEDs...I don't know why these phone makers omit the notification LED especially...I can live without the trackball (takes some learning as I do miss the trackball on my Nexus One...) but an external notification LED? COME ON...at least that Optimus buttons app works well.
Miss my n1
There is a keyboard in the market called "Thumb Keyboard". It constantly displays directional arrows on the bottom of the keyboard. It comes in handy for moving the cursor and selecting text.
going_home said:
I like the trackpad on the G2 and MyTouch 4G.
I was just looking at the PadKite mouse http://padkite.com
but the G2X isnt on the list of phones.
Also its a whole browser (that doesnt support flash) not just a mouse.
It does look interesting and may have some promise, I'd like to try it.
Unfortunately though with the advent of the tablets, it looks like the track ball
and track pad will soon go the way of floppy discs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, if anything I'd just use the surprising amount of space on the bezel for a small touchscreen beneath or between the touch buttons. It wouldnt even have to be pressable, maybe just tappable. It would simply be another touch screen that you could slide across to navigate like the trackpad.
When I had my G2x when I was surfering or texting and messed and needed to replace text my thumb would automatically go to where the track ball was supposed to be. Then I would be like awe....since I returned my G2x my thumb has been met w/ a trackball every time ....for now :-/
haha same here i had a MT3G also and the trackball grown into me.
wmm said:
I ... Swype has arrow keys (slide from the Swype key to the symbol key) ...
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HOLY SH!T BATMAN!!!
I learned something new today.
OrganizedFellow said:
HOLY SH!T BATMAN!!!
I learned something new today.
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You're welcome.
So I've been using this phone for a while now, and one thing Im really happy about coming from a Blackberry is the new intuitive typing on the keyboard (the Galaxy S line I played with Sept '10 didn't have this). Things like the auto apostrophe, periods after double spaces, etc. Its all semi-intuitive just like the Blackberry was - to a point.
What Im having a hard time getting used to at this point is the lack of a delete key, and the way the keyboards go about capital letters/symbols.
Delete key: On the Blackberry, you had only a backspace key. If you held alt and hit backspace, you got delete. Very nice for quick editing and cursor placement isn't precise. I cant tell you how many times I have fought with the silly cursor placement on my touch screen even with the magnifying glass to get it exactly where I want it. On the BB, getting it "close enough" was much easier/faster since you could backspace or delete from wherever it landed. I have not found a way to delete with the Android keyboard. I also use delete a lot on the PC when editing documents, so this really bothers me. Am I missing something or does this feature not exist?
Capital letters: On the Blackberry, a shortcut to get any capital letter was simply a press and hold, instant capital. Alternatively (maybe more commonly used?), shift and the letter. Numbers/symbols were simply alt and the corresponding key. Anyway, I now find myself aiming for the shift key to try and properly capitalize words/titles/whatever multiple times in messages, then doing a tap & hold at the end to get to punctuation. This seems backwards to me because its much easier to hit the key you're looking for once, hold, and make it a capital versus trying to hit two keys you're looking for to get a capital. Then once you're done, just use a simple two key shift/alt and another key for a punctuation of your choice only one time.
As an example in a message: "we are having problems with an HP Office Jet 6500 printer"
That would require 10 key strokes on the Android keyboard to get the correct capitals and numbers versus the 5 I would need on my BB. This can add up fast, and adds quite a lot of room for error on a touch screen the more you have to use it. The other nice thing was the fact that you could hold any of the shift or alt keys down on the BB then use them repeatedly, or lock them into that mode by a double press as well (yes, Android has shift lock like this). Can the touch display handle multiple inputs for a press and hold feature?
Maybe I used the keyboard differently than others, but is there a keyboard setting I'm missing I can change (doubtful), or an aftermarket one out there (hopeful) that would more closely fit what I'm looking for?
Thanks in advance, I'm loving a lot about this phone none the less, just this one minor gripe so far!
try swift key x, you can get it for free from get jar app store. or try thumb keyboard from the amazon app store. both are much better than the stock sensation keyboard.
+1 for Swiftkey X
I've been using the touchpal keyboard and I like it a lot. It's got some really nice features such as being able to hit a key and then drag up for capitals or down for numbers/symbols. The only thing I don't like about it is that the autocorrect dictionary is a bit wild at first, and it adds in a space after periods.
Swiftkey is what I use. It's very accurate, and you can import from your facebook, gmail, and SMS, so it adds everyone in those categories to auto correct, like names, and maybe company names or abbreviations you use.
Swype beta for sure. Its so much better than htc trace.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G
Im not seeing how any of they keyboards incorporate the shift or alt keys exactly the opposite of the stock system.
I want the long press to give me capitals, and shift to give me numbers and symbols. Doesnt seem too hard, does it?
~T.J.
EDIT: This is what Im talking about. Have the default keyboard look something like these:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Or
Long press makes capital letters, shift key switches to the alternate symbols as displayed on the keys. Have the symbol key bring up the rest of the symbols that arent on the keys. Done and done.
Thumb keyboard. I bought swiftkey x and thumb keyboard kills it.
I have both swiftkey x and thumbboard as well. I have been using swiftkey x for a while and it's been my daily driver for a number of months now. And I have tried pretty much all of them except thumbboard which was recently offered by Amazon the other day. I have to say at this point swiftkey x personally because of it's predictive nature.
But as of trying to match the bb keyboard, I think thumbboard though. Try both and see which you'd prefer.
I prefer smart keyboard very easy to use with lots of features and customizations.
+1 for Swiftkey X
To capitalize just hit the shift key twice and all key strokes will be upper case on HTC keyboard which is my favorite btw.
Hope that helps
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
moshe22 said:
To capitalize just hit the shift key twice and all key strokes will be upper case on HTC keyboard which is my favorite btw.
Hope that helps
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
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No, it doesn't help
If Im typing a company, product, or business name that has regular words that need to be capitalized, then putting caps lock on does not help. Since theyre "regular words" and not names, they wouldnt be automatically case shifted. If I was typing "john" it would case shift to "John", sure. But thats not what Im talking about.
As another example, a book titled: "The Best Book Ever Written" in a text message. You're telling me I should hit shift twice, hit "T", hit shift again to go back to lower case, type "he", shift twice again, type "B", etc. Thats TWICE as bad as hitting shift ONCE to get a captial letter, haha
On my old BB, you would hit "T" and hold for a split second. It became capital. One key stroke, thats it! Then, simply continue typing the rest normally. Another capital letter you say? Simple! Tap and hold! Oh, now you need a punctuation mark or a number? Press shift!
Maybe this is TOO simple? I just don't get why no keyboards seem to offer this...
~T.J.
Swiftkey is good
I'm always changing my keyboards...
but right now my favorites are swift key x
and Thumb keyboard.
i am currently using Thumbs and it is the Truth
Any one know where i can find the droidx multitouch one ?
I come over to Android from Blackberry, first with a desire and now a Sensation and I still miss that damn BB. Android way more fun overall and I wouldn't go back, but as a communication device I still miss the Blackberry.
Favourite keyboard though has to be Swype.
I use the SlideIT keyboard no tapping just slide and once you get used t it ,which is very quick you can type faster than normal message typing in my view.
Getting caps is as simple as normal typing for words it doesnt do automatically.
Its a paid app but you can download a trail version from the market
anlygi said:
I come over to Android from Blackberry, first with a desire and now a Sensation and I still miss that damn BB. Android way more fun overall and I wouldn't go back, but as a communication device I still miss the Blackberry.
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Truth. It looks like I might just have to learn how to make my own dang keyboard, lol
~T.J.