Typing on an all touch keyboard can be a chore to learn, especially if you have a phone that is all touch. Every manufacturer has their own keyboard they use so it can even be confusing if you upgrade phones. Most phones also have the stock android keyboard installed, so if you decide to try that you can easily switch to it and try it out. But how?
To switch keyboards all you have to do is go into an app that has a spot to type, for example I will use the “Messaging” app. Simply press and hold on the area where you would be typing and look for a popup that says “input method”. When you choose that it will give you a list of installed keyboards.
So what if it doesn’t show any keyboard installed? First double check in your settings menu under “language and keyboard” and see what is listed there. If there isn’t a check mark next to an option, it won’t show up in the “input method” list.
So now you are probably asking yourself, “Where can I try out more keyboards?”. And the answer to that lies in the rest of this post. Here are a few keyboard apps to try out and see what you think. (Plus a bonus Amazon Appstore free keyboard of the day for 7/21/11.)
 | Name: SwiftKey X |
| Description: SwiftKey X is a next-generation AI keyboard, now with unrivaled prediction and personalization. SwiftKey X for smartphones builds on TouchType’s SwiftKey keyboard to offer cloud personalization, a new prediction engine, and a host of new UI improvements. Using artificial intelligence breakthroughs, the SwiftKey X keyboard accurately predicts your most likely next word based on what you’ve already written. It can also scan your sent messages, and learn as you use it to make predictions even more accurately over time. The more you get to know your SwiftKey keyboard, the more it will get to know you. | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/VwvNj (Amazon) |
| Name: Keyboard from Android 2.3 |
| Description: If your phone isn’t updated to gingerbread yet you can get the keyboard from 2.3 and load it right on your phone. Features: 1. Multitouch keyboard 2. User dictionary, built-in dictionary 3. Auto correction 4. Redesigned and optimized keyboard layout and style 5. Speech to text 6. Split main keyboard app and dictionaries. | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/ms99g |
| Name: Better keyboard 8 |
| Description: Better keyboard is the best and the most popular keyboard on the android market Supports many languages: Arabic, Czech, Danish, Deutsch, English, Espanol, Finnish, French, Hungarian, Hebrew, Italiano, Korean, Netherlands, Norwegian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Swedish | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/gbEBT |
| Name: Perfect keyboard |
| Description: Take command of your Android device’s touchpad keypad with a Perfect and smart Keyboard for android. You can customize the look of the keyboard with eight different themes and add additional functionality to your device. Perfect Keyboard lets you use custom dictionaries, control background and text colors, and adjust the keyboard’s vibration density. In short, Perfect Keyboard allows you to setup your Android phone or tablet’s touchpad keyboard so that it works best for you. Note: Perfect Keyboard works only on Android 2.2 and up | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/W9BSX |
| Name: Swype Beta |
| Description: -Swype v3 introduces two major new features: Tap Correction and Horizontal Word Choice List -Our Tap Correction engine utilizes many of the concepts that make swyping so accurate. Seamlessly go from typing to swyping and back without missing a beat! -The Horizontal Word Choice List replaces our popup word choice window, giving users an experience more in-line with evolving Android standards. It also makes dictionary control and word selection faster and easier. -Swype v3 is available for devices with HVGA, WVGA, FWVGA, QVGA, WQVGA, WSVGA, qHD screen sizes -Introducing a special Honeycomb-only WXGA version for Android tablets, with features like “moveable keyboard” that you won’t find anywhere else! -To see which languages are supported on your device, check the language and resolution table -Improved licensing: Swype will no longer be disabled after a reboot on some devices; added support for devices that don’t have a cellular radio (wifi-only tablets); no more license failures for CDMA devices in airplane mode. -Simplified registration by allowing users to authenticate their email address directly through the installer -Too many other improvements to list! Download Swype v3 NOW to explore everything the next generation of Swype has to offer! -Limited End User Support – mostly via our forum -If your phone came pre-installed with Swype -DO NOT download this beta (it won’t work) | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/1yfdg |
