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First off: I text A LOT, so having decent text input options is very important to me. I send upwards of 3500 sms per month
I have known of Swype for a long time now. I enthused about it when i first saw it demoed, but later found it to be less than efficient; but that was on the Windows Mobile platform. Now I might have been a little bit harsh on swype in the past but seeing the final Beta up for open testing i felt I HAD to give it another chance. This is a new operating system after all, and there has been plenty of time to iron out any flaws. So here is my take on it:
it is well designed and feels like a lot of work has gone into it BUT I just don't see how it could EVER be faster than typing with the default Froyo keyboard. For one, you can only use ONE finger, standard keyboard lets me use TWO, thereby doubling PRODuctivity (!); for two, much as Swype's predictive algorithms are GOOD, the fact that the standard keyboard shows suggestions along the top bar as you TYPE is a lot more efficient. In the event Swype gets it wrong you have to highlight the word, press the Swype button in the corner and choose the alternative word. You also hit a stumbling block when it comes to punctuations too as Swype doesn't seem to suggest possessives or other grammatical nuances. So there it is: I'll be Swyping Swype from my Android phone and forever wondering why it even exists.
What do other people think?
leoni1980 said:
What do other people think?
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I think its terrible, horrible and YUK
Kev
Swype has a learning curve. Most people who learn to use it find that they type much much faster with a single thumb than with two.
I swype probably 5 times faster than I type, now that I have gotten the hang of it. Just keep practicing. At first it is slow and sucks. Give it a chance. Now I can't imagine typing on my Nexus without it. I really hate it when I have to go terminal to do something and then have to switch to HTC or standard keyboard to get the emulator to take the input.
moved this thread to general, which is the better place for discussions like this.
So if would type with three fingers you would get triple the productivity? Sorry, but this is BS mate. Same with making mistakes. I don't know about you, but I was making mistakes way too often on HTC_IME, and had to go back as well, or choose a different word from the suggestion list (which brakes my train of thought).
At the end of the day it is all about WPM and if you can squeeze more words on a traditional soft keyboard then do it. I swype almost as fast on my phone as I type on my laptop which in my case means really fast.
I can't imagine using anything other than Swype these days. I switched to it from HTC_IME a few weeks ago and immediately felt an increase in composition speed. However, Swype's dictionary can get a little odd sometimes and there is a definite learning curve when it comes to using punctuation. However, once you get used to it, it's better.
Also, if you are having trouble with possessives, just spell out the noun. Then, drag down to the apostrophe then back to the S. Swype will automatically put the correct suffix on the noun.
Swype has a steep learning curve. But once you've mastered it, it's painful to go back to the primitive way of typing. I think Swype will ultimately become the standard of touch interface. It's perfect for tablets too, knowing that you'll always have one hand holding the tablet and only one hand available to type.
I agree, after mastering swype, it blows everything else away. Also, you are ALLOWED to make mistakes with it versus if I made a mistake on a regular keyboard, it usually screwed up the word prediction.
I say give it a try, man. I disliked it at first too tbh, but now I won't text without it.
I like swype a lot. Just got it last night. It does have word prediction if you want it.
I usually use Swype instead of my Milestone's hardware keyboard!
I would hate to have to revert to the standard software keyboard since Swype is so quick and easy to use once you've practiced a bit.
The new Swype auto-punctuates for you (eg. dont will be don't). Each to their own really, I use Swype when I need to be one handed as I have the hardware keyboard for two hand times, it is a useful setup.
Swype is the faster keyboard, but is my opinion only
when the swype beta on my phone ran out for that day i felt handicapped trying to type on the default keyboard again
once you get used to it, its amazing
Forgot to say, read up up on the tips and tricks. It will amaze you how much faster it can become even after mastering it.
It is my #1 must have, most used app by a mile! I feel awkward even trying to type on a regular keyboard now. There is definitely a learning curve but once you get used to it, it is amazing!
After I got used to swype it's way faster. According to my own speed tests (timed by a stopwatch). I can finish a 40 word paragraph roughly 6 second quicker using swype, and I can FLY using tap keyboards.
It's far more accurate for me personally. For sure had a learning curve but I'd feel naked without it now.
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This might sound odd, but one thing I do like a lot about Swype is that it is fun. I like challenging it sometimes with super-long words, and it amazes me how it recognizes the swiping patterns. Now admittedly, I'm not a "power user" who needs to text and email constantly, so I could understand why people might tire of it, but for longer emails I actually find it very useful, and I think if I had to use my phone constantly, it'd grow on me even more and become invaluable. What I do love, and this is what make Android so versatile for me, is that we get the choice. It's easy to switch from the stock keyboard to Swype in a second, and that's valuable in itself, because so many other smart phones don't allow the user that much choice.
One other thing I forgot to mention is that unlike with the stock Froyo keyboard if you type with Swype you have to put in EVERY letter, much like with the old number pad T9. Just for example, almost every word I am currently typing with the stock keyboard requires only half or less of the actual word to be tapped out before it guesses and autocompletes it with a press of the spacebar. This is how I am able to type so fast. It basically ups your word productivity by about 50% at a guess.
A while ago I did some tests and found roughly the following order for my particular fingers (greater means faster):
Swype portrait N1 > landscape iPod Touch > landscape stock Android N1 > portrait iPod Touch > portrait stock Android N1 > landscape Swype N1
In landscape Swype is truly awful... the spacing is just too awkward to make it work. But it's very handy in portrait. Currently I'm on my Milestone so it works out nicely. For my N1 it would be nice to be able to choose separate keyboard options for portrait & landscape modes.
cmstlist said:
A while ago I did some tests and found roughly the following order for my particular fingers (greater means faster):
Swype portrait N1 > landscape iPod Touch > landscape stock Android N1 > portrait iPod Touch > portrait stock Android N1 > landscape Swype N1
In landscape Swype is truly awful... the spacing is just too awkward to make it work. But it's very handy in portrait. Currently I'm on my Milestone so it works out nicely. For my N1 it would be nice to be able to choose separate keyboard options for portrait & landscape modes.
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Agreed. I really wish I could have Swype in portrait and HTC_IME in landscape.
Hello guys. I am a Windows Mobile user going into the HTC Evo. I have been looking around for days for a keyboard that has a TAB option or at least a customizable keyboard that will allow me to add a TAB key. I know a lot of you are rolling your eyes now but this is a need for me as I am a writer and do most of my work on my phone with Documents to Go on Android.
Can anyone point me to one or who can I contact to create one? I like the stock keyboard just needs a TAB key.
Thank you
I use swype, to do tab you press shift then space. Dunno if that's a lot better than hitting space a few times on a different keyboard in your case, but just giving you some options.
I found one that seems like it will work but the recognition seems a bit slow. It is called Smart Keyboard Pro and is 2.99 I think on the market. Comes with iPhone skin, HTC skin, Android skin, and a few original. Seems like it will work out pretty well.
Which of these keyboards have the biggest keys when using the phone in portrait mode; the android keyboard, the ime mod keyboard or better keyboard? I am looking for one that makes it less likely for those of us with fat fingers to fat finger what we are typing.
Um, i'd have to say Smart Keyboard Pro with the HTC Skin has the biggests keys. And it's not as big of a file as the HTC IME mod so there isn't that much lag when using it
come keyboards i have used
There is a keyboard called thick buttons which resizes the keys as you type making the keys that are most likely the next letter in the word larger and the rest smaller, you can also set the resize rate (small,medium, large)
SwiftKey is a pretty cool keyboard that scans your chat history to try to predict what word you will type next. They keys are pretty much the same size as the htc keyboard though. feature updates to the app will be able to scan sms, twitter, email and then create different recommendations based on the app you are typing in i.e. sms, email, or twitter.
Right now my fav keyboard app is touchpal. Don't be afraid that a lot of the text about the app is in chinese in particular parts of the tutorial they board can be set to english and all your txt recommendations will be in english. This keyboard has three layouts (my fav is the compact keyboard which gives you two letters per key but with txt prediction enabled typing is not a problem. they keys in this layout are pretty big to making it hard to miss the one you want) What is really cool about this keyboard is the ability to swipe either side ways to change keyboard layouts or down to access the secondary key (e.g. swiping down on say e will give you a 3) or in full quwerty keyboard swiping up gives you the capital letter of the letter.
Another keyboard you might want to put on your radar is blindtype. It is not out yet but it looks really awesome. It functions similar to swype but instead of swiping your finger across the keys you type normally. Look it up and you can see videos of it being demoed. It is not aval right now though but it looks like the keyboard to have for us with big fingers lol
blindtype DOES look amazing!
cant wait for it.
umm, it does not show up in my market. wth
you might want to check out ultra keyboard it allows you to re-size the keyboard making it bigger or smaller and it also has incorporated swype style typing and it also allows you to use better keyboard themes it's a paid app but in my opinion well worth it
been using big buttons keyboard for months. since i only type one handed in portrait this works perfect. it's laid out different but within a minute of typing im a pro.
itrackit said:
umm, it does not show up in my market. wth
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No offense if you looking for blindtype they said in the post its not in the market. Don't feel bad I didn't completely read it the first time
Sent from Froyo 2.2 Super Hero
I remember seeing a few months/weeks back about an updated version of SwiftKey that was designed specifically for use in landscape mode for the galaxy tab. In all the current keyboards that I have tried, the keys are extremely short which makes it difficult to type with all my fingers (yes, I am trying to learn).
My question is if anyone knows of a really good keyboard that I can download that has taller keys to make it easier to type in landscape.
Thanks,
caveman999
I use Thumb Keyboard. In the preferences you can adjust the height of the keys (you can have different settings for portrait if you so wish). Personally I find the default setting to be the best compromise between key height and screen view: much higher and the keyboard covers too much of the screen for my taste
Thumb Keyboard and Notion Ink's keyboard have been the least painful for me to use.
Thumb keyboard is really great in that you barely have to move your hands to get access to the entire alphabet, unlike most keyboards which just scale up and require you to move your hands quite a bit to type a full sentence.
The Notion Ink keyboard is also great in that it feels like a full keyboard on the 7'' screen. Ctrl, Fn, Arrow keys, and it looks great to boot (Thumb keyboard is a bit of an eye sore)
Smart Keyboard is height adjustable independantly of each mode (portrait/landscape).
It'd be quite nice if you could stop the input box taking up the entire top half of the screen in any keyboard though as it makes them a lot less useful to use with IM apps.
Link3737 said:
Thumb Keyboard and Notion Ink's keyboard have been the least painful for me to use.
Thumb keyboard is really great in that you barely have to move your hands to get access to the entire alphabet, unlike most keyboards which just scale up and require you to move your hands quite a bit to type a full sentence.
The Notion Ink keyboard is also great in that it feels like a full keyboard on the 7'' screen. Ctrl, Fn, Arrow keys, and it looks great to boot (Thumb keyboard is a bit of an eye sore)
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Thanks, I have started using both of the keyboards and so far I really like thumb Keyboard, but you are right, it is kind of ugly.
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy Tab using XDA App
U realize there are themes? Or do u mean the layout?
From the Tab.
www.twitter.com/ayman07
Just a question, can you edit layout too in thumb keyboard?
thanks
knightnz said:
Smart Keyboard is height adjustable independantly of each mode (portrait/landscape).
It'd be quite nice if you could stop the input box taking up the entire top half of the screen in any keyboard though as it makes them a lot less useful to use with IM apps.
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thumb keyboard has the option to disable full screen take over
natious said:
thumb keyboard has the option to disable full screen take over
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As does Smart Keyboard Pro
Any of these thump keyboards with danish letters? (thinking æøå) Tried thump keyboard but couldn't find danish letters for it.
PsymonDK said:
Any of these thump keyboards with danish letters? (thinking æøå) Tried thump keyboard but couldn't find danish letters for it.
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When you turn off "long press for numbers and symbols" you get little popup keyboards above the letters from which you can choose accented letters: the æ and å are accessible by long pressing the a, the ø by long pressing the o.
A scandinavian keyboard with those letters right on the main keyboard (not as popup key entries) will be released soon.
hey guys,
i'm new to the TPT and i do like it a lot so far. root went well and bloatware is down. since there are so many apps that are device specific, i was curious if there are any different soft keyboard apps that you could recommend. on the SGS2 i am using swype, so when i switch devices, i'm somehow missing that a little.
possible to install other keys and if so, anything to recommend? maybe even something for the stylus? (i figure that either my handwriting sucks, or the detection for regular writing just sucks)
sorry for beginners questions, but i couldn't find anything about it yet ..
I tried several and settled on SwiftKey Tablet X. Works best for me.
I use Thumb Keyboard. It has a split design and has numbers and arrows. It works good with this wide fellow.
I use it on my phone, but was disappointed that it didn't translate well to tablet, for me.
I use Swype and like it a lot
I use FlexT9, it does swype as well as dictation and some other nifty stuff.
Swift Key tablet version is my favorite, not to much of a fan of Swype but thats just my personal preference. its either stock android or swift key
If you like the full keyboard like I do, i recommend the Hacker's Keyboard. Not exactly sure why its called that but it uses a full QWERTY keyboard with arrow keys. Another is the Logitech Keyboard (still in beta but I havent had any issues) that has a full QWERTY that also you can swipe across the keyboard to show another keyboard that doubles as a technical keyboard or calculator.
If you like lots of buttons, is more open to customizing (button row/column height/width adjustments), either one would work great.
Duece
rangercaptain said:
I use Thumb Keyboard. It has a split design and has numbers and arrows. It works good with this wide fellow.
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I prefer Thumb Keyboard too. I like that you can choose different themes for it. And for the most part, the themes they offer match a lot of flashable themes/roms for different devices.
Dueces99 said:
If you like the full keyboard like I do, i recommend the Hacker's Keyboard. Not exactly sure why its called that but it uses a full QWERTY keyboard with arrow keys. Another is the Logitech Keyboard (still in beta but I havent had any issues) that has a full QWERTY that also you can swipe across the keyboard to show another keyboard that doubles as a technical keyboard or calculator.
If you like lots of buttons, is more open to customizing (button row/column height/width adjustments), either one would work great.
Duece
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+1 for Hacker's Keyboard. I usually use my tablet in the folio case so I have a nice hardware keyboard. However there have been plenty of times where I have had it out of the folio and been editing a document or posting on a forum and the hackers keyboard has come in extremely handy. It would be something I was willing to spend money on, but since it is free, it's an even better deal.
Sent from my ThinkPad Tablet using xda premium
Hackers Keyboard ist the best, it is for free you can use 5 row style (numbers and letters) and you can download different languages for auto correctur.
In portrait mode I usually use Swype, which is great even at 10inch!
In landscape mode and for things like SSH/Terminal, I use Hacker's Keyboard, which feels almost like the real thing
Dueces beat me to it. HACKERS KEYBOARD for the closest simulation of a desktop keyboard (I've) found so far. Not only are the keys big and bold, perhaps more importantly they are scalable (as is the entire keyboard).
coydroid
SwiftKey Tablet X for me as I use SwiftKey 3 on my SGS3 and I just can't go back to anything else anymore...I might have to give this hacker's keyboard a crack though, thanks for the suggestion.
For those who like Swype, I strongly recommend the TouchPal keyboard. Its implementation of the swype input method is terrific.
MaxBuck said:
For those who like Swype, I strongly recommend the TouchPal keyboard. Its implementation of the swype input method is terrific.
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I was just looking for a way to get the stock swype like keyboard back after installing cm 10.
Touchpal is even better!
Sent from my ThinkPadTablet using xda app-developers app
keyboard
I use Jelly Bean keyboard Pro, has a lot of options but no swyping
---------- Post added at 11:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:08 AM ----------
I use Jelly Bean keyboard Pro, has a lot of options but no swyping
I use original JB 4.1.2 keyboard, it's good but when I want to use thumb the Thumb Keyboard is invaluable
Great keyboard is original ICS from Sony smartphone's but it does not work on no Sony hardware, unfortunely...