The new Keyboard is absolutely fantastic..

Androidjunkee · Dec 17, 2011

So I owned every iphone that had been introduced by apple, except the 4S, and have been with Android for about a year now. The one thing that really always bothered me since I text so much is that every keyboard I had/downloaded was far inferior to the iphones as far as accuracy and the relative ease it takes when typing on the iphones keyboard.

I purchased the Gnex yesterday and it is an absolute joy to type on. My girlfriend still owns an iphone and I had to play on her keyboard tonight to see if it really does beat it out and in my opinion I would definitely rather type on the ICS's new keyboard. The accuracy, even when typing fast, is just unbelievable and the text prediction at the top is spot on. The only android keyboard that I think that comes close is swiftkey's but even that is far inferior to the new keyboard. Just one small thing in a completely revamped operating system that makes ICS the future of android and really shows just how far the entire OS has come. It is also just one thing that I have been more than happy with. The entire OS and phone is just absolutely amazing.

xliderider · Dec 17, 2011

Have you tried Swiftkey? That's the one I love.

z28fun · Dec 17, 2011

i like the stock keyboard so far...but i do miss this .com key. I've had far less miss typed words on this keyboard then the other phones i've had.

GreatGoo · Dec 17, 2011

Does swiftkey work on ics? I tried it the other day and wasn't working well.

P M · Dec 17, 2011

How exactly do you change the keyboard on the phone? I tried going to settings and checking the keyboard I want, and also doing the long-touch on a keyboard input field but nothing ever pops up.

Thanks in advance!

breadnatty08 · Dec 17, 2011

P M said:
How exactly do you change the keyboard on the phone? I tried going to settings and checking the keyboard I want, and also doing the long-touch on a keyboard input field but nothing ever pops up.

Thanks in advance!

This was one thing that was really frustrating me!
Basically, when you go into Settings->Language and Input-> make sure Swiftkey is installed and set up (or if you're using another one) and the box is checked for it.
The long press doesn't work and I'm not sure if you can easily toggle multiple KBs within apps (unless someone can figure it out). Kind of sucks.

Jersey Tom · Dec 17, 2011

I miss Swype.

P M · Dec 17, 2011

dreadnatty08 said:
This was one thing that was really frustrating me!
Basically, when you go into Settings->Language and Input-> make sure Swiftkey is installed and set up (or if you're using another one) and the box is checked for it.
The long press doesn't work and I'm not sure if you can easily toggle multiple KBs within apps (unless someone can figure it out). Kind of sucks.

See I can somehow get the input keyboard selection screen to pop-up, but am not sure HOW it's doing it... when you go to type let's say text message on the default nexus program there is a keyboard icon on the upper left (very small). I THINK, (though am not 100% sure) when you touch this, it prompts the input selection screen if you check your status bar updater.

actually it really does do the PROMPT it wow... hallelujah!

breadnatty08 · Dec 17, 2011

P M said:
See I can somehow get the input keyboard selection screen to pop-up, but am not sure HOW it's doing it... when you go to type let's say text message on the default nexus program there is a keyboard icon on the upper left (very small). I THINK, (though am not 100% sure) when you touch this, it prompts the input selection screen if you check your status bar updater.

actually it really does do the PROMPT it wow... hallelujah!

wow i'm so happy now, i totally prefer shapewriter keyboard (the apk is online somewhere):
http://vivin.net/pub/shapewriter/com.shapewriter.android.softkeyboard.apk

anyways this is free, and i think more intuitive than touchpal, THOUGH i did wish it would scale with the screen resolution (keyboard is so small on the large real estate of the nexus).

w00t!

Ha, I just saw this while writing a text in Handcent. Didn't have any idea what it was about. Great tip!

pool_shark · Dec 17, 2011

I restored better keyboard 8 from backup. I prefer keyboards with accent characters so I don't have to hit the sym button.

captainm27 · Dec 17, 2011

SwiftKey is the greatest. You get so many options on it compared to the stock keyboard. You can even change things like how long the motor vibrates with every keypress and even adjust the height of the keyboard itself. The stock keyboard reminds me too much of iPhone keyboard. SwiftKey looks very much like the Sense keyboard, which I love, especially on the white theme.

Roroco · Dec 17, 2011

pool_shark said:
I restored better keyboard 8 from backup. I prefer keyboards with accent characters so I don't have to hit the sym button.

Hold the letter down to get accented characters.

pool_shark · Dec 17, 2011

Roroco said:
Hold the letter down to get accented characters.

It doesn't have nearly the same number of accent characters as BK8.

markdmac · Dec 17, 2011

The stock keyboard is certainly bettter, but I find "Smart Keyboard Pro" is the best. Aside from offering numbers and punctuation via a long key press, it also can add arrows which makes text corrections a lot easier. At under $3 it is well worth the price.

substring · Dec 17, 2011

Sorry if I am going off topic. But when I select SwiftKey in the phone setting, I was prompted with a warning that the application can collect key strokes information, including password. Is it a concern to anyone?

Dubbin1 · Dec 17, 2011

markdmac said:
The stock keyboard is certainly bettter, but I find "Smart Keyboard Pro" is the best. Aside from offering numbers and punctuation via a long key press, it also can add arrows which makes text corrections a lot easier. At under $3 it is well worth the price.

Yup Smart Keyboard Pro is awesome!!! I have been using it for a while now and no longer even bother trying other keyboards.

lightsout · Dec 17, 2011

The keys feel so small with the stock board. I like swiftkey. The prediction is much better, sometimes you can write your whole message just using predictions.

xliderider · Dec 17, 2011

substring said:
Sorry if I am going off topic. But when I select SwiftKey in the phone setting, I was prompted with a warning that the application can collect key strokes information, including password. Is it a concern to anyone?

I'm pretty sure it's a standard warning, because the app "learns" from your keystrokes. After a while, it will start to predict your next word, based on your previous entries and writing "style", it's way cool. :cool:

fillyo · Dec 17, 2011

I miss the arrows on the htc keyboard as well as the button to hide the keyboard

Appleanche · Dec 17, 2011

I agree with the OP, I think the keyboard is amazing. Android's keyboards have always been very meh with me.. I just couldn't really get used to Swype since it tended to make errors a lot.

This keyboard is the first to sort of match the iPhone, and it probably helps that the GN has a great touch screen with a lot of responsiveness. My OG Droid's screen has always been pretty crappy and *****y when it comes to responsiveness and that made typing on screen a headache.

SwinePunk · Dec 17, 2011

substring said:
Sorry if I am going off topic. But when I select SwiftKey in the phone setting, I was prompted with a warning that the application can collect key strokes information, including password. Is it a concern to anyone?

Any 3rd party keyboard will trigger this warning.

eyc · Dec 17, 2011

Agree with OP. Keyboard is the best on the market.

Despite all the movies I watch, games I play, websites I surf, typing is the MOST important thing on the phone for my use. The keyboard on the Rezound and the Razr do not even hold a candle to this phone. Granted, they will get ICS soon enough.

X24 · Dec 17, 2011

I was worried coming from the OG, as I actually used the hard keyboard fairly regularly.

Well, the software keyboard on the Gnex blows every other software keyboard i've used out of the water. And those times I'd use the hardware keyboard? I find the speak to text feature so excellent, that a hardware keyboard just isn't necessary.

noamrotem · Dec 17, 2011

A.I.type Keyboard is the best in prediction, customization, accuracy and everything else. If you say otherwise, it's obvious you never tried A.I.type.

Protonus · Dec 17, 2011

Swype is the ONLY good way to type on a touch only phone. Swype is the reason I don't have a hardware keyboard. None of the others come close to the speed/accuracy you can get with Swype, they just don't! So I really miss it! For now, SlideIT on the market, is a rip off of Swype that works good enough for now... still not nearly as good, but better than all the standard keyboards like swiftkey, stock, etc.

The new Keyboard is absolutely fantastic..

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