Develop Bugs

switched from iPhone to Desire. Keyboard alternatives?

And so far i'm so glad i did. My only gripe is that the keyboard on the iPhone seems much easier to use. does anyone else agree? What good keyboard mods are there out there which could help?

coriron said:
And so far i'm so glad i did. My only gripe is that the keyboard on the iPhone seems much easier to use. does anyone else agree? What good keyboard mods are there out there which could help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has me totally lost. You switched from an iPhone keyboard to a Desire one, and are glad you did, but you find the iPhone one easier to use?
No offense but that isn't making too much sense to me
Do you mean you had an iphone and now have a Desire but would like a new iPhone type keyboard on it?

socktug said:
This has me totally lost. You switched from an iPhone keyboard to a Desire one, and are glad you did, but you find the iPhone one easier to use?
No offense but that isn't making too much sense to me
Do you mean you had an iphone and now have a Desire but would like a new iPhone type keyboard on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry...the topic wasnt really correct...
I've switched from the iphone to the HTC Desire, and i really like the desire, however i find the keyboard harder to use than the iphones one. just want an alternative keyboard that maybe has the buttons spaced better. just find i'm mis-typing a lot. (i know you can go landscape, and i know you can have compact qwerty etc but i want a normal portrait keyboard)

Not exactly what you are asking for, but you could do a search for swype.
It's a keyboard that you just swipe your finger across the correct letters and it somehow works out what you want to type! It's really very accurate.
Failing that you could try better keyboard or smart keyboard pro. I can't remember which, but one of them has skins and iPhone is an option on it.

I recommend Smart Keyboard Pro. Has an iPhone setting I believe.

sbdags said:
I recommend Smart Keyboard Pro. Has an iPhone setting I believe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i second smartkeyboard pro, very similar to the iphone keyboard.
fwiw i understood your question, seemed pretty clear to me

coriron said:
And so far i'm so glad i did. My only gripe is that the keyboard on the iPhone seems much easier to use. does anyone else agree? What good keyboard mods are there out there which could help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll have to live with this problem mate. It's not the keyboard that's the problem. The iPhone has a feature that guesses which letter your gonna press and it works perfect. Android doesn't have this feature so you have to press the correct key most of the time coz prediction isn't always correct. One tried all the downloadable keyboards but they are not as good as the HTC keyboard. Which Is a shame coz that's not too clever.
P.S
I'm still not used to the keyboard after 2 months. I'm constantly making mistakes.
I now use the phone keypad as its faster to type and more accurate.

swype is the way forward.......imo

Get a swype keyboard.
Start it. Feel frustrated and think what's the hype?
Type some random stuff for fifteen minutes.
You will never look back.

I went with "better keyboard" and have it set to put a dot on the key after it is pressed.
After typing a word, I notice how often I've pressed the wrong keys, yet still it has predicted the correct word/spelling.
Have tried swype, and whilst it's got a certain wow factor, I prefer to touch like a traditional keyboard

.Hodgy. said:
swype is the way forward.......imo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Swype ... FTW!!!!

doinbox said:
You'll have to live with this problem mate. It's not the keyboard that's the problem. The iPhone has a feature that guesses which letter your gonna press and it works perfect. Android doesn't have this feature so you have to press the correct key most of the time coz prediction isn't always correct.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Errrr, wrong.

JohnSteveDoe said:
Errrr, wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
youtube is blocked at my work....cant see what you've posted

ceratti said:
Get a swype keyboard.
Start it. Feel frustrated and think what's the hype?
Type some random stuff for fifteen minutes.
You will never look back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm...gotta try and fine somewhere to download it from now as the beta has closed....

JohnSteveDoe said:
Errrr, wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's your point?
Thats nothing like an iPhone keyboard.
But that looks like a good solution so thanks for posting that.

coriron said:
youtube is blocked at my work....cant see what you've posted
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Click to collapse
Just tried this its called thickbuttons and its free on the market.
It's terrible. It moves keys about as you type so you can only type slowly. So thanks but no thanks.

I found a really good replacement. I'm using it to type this and its awsome. It's called swiftkey. And its free to use. Search for it on the market. You'll be massively impressed.

What is a good swype keyboard then? As the market comes up blank when searching for swype

SwiftKey is fantastic for me. Has replaced my custom htc ime mod keyboard.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

I like the guessing features in swiftkey a lot. But my wish is to have swiftkey work on the phone keypad layout. This is much faster for me and easier to use one handed. At the moment it's only on qwerty type layouts.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Multitouch when keyboard is open

I don't know if this is just me, but when I'm using an app that has multitouch enabled, such as the browser or gallery, when I open my physical keyboard it can only read one point instead of two. I verified this by using the Multitouch Visualizer 2 app from the Android market. Apparently when I have my physical keyboard open the phone will read one point like normal, but when I lay a second finger on the screen it freezes the first point and that's it. The point stays frozen until I take one finger off the screen. Does anybody else have this problem?
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App

Anartic said:
I don't know if this is just me, but when I'm using an app that has multitouch enabled, such as the browser or gallery, when I open my physical keyboard it can only read one point instead of two. I verified this by using the Multitouch Visualizer 2 app from the Android market. Apparently when I have my physical keyboard open the phone will read one point like normal, but when I lay a second finger on the screen it freezes the first point and that's it. The point stays frozen until I take one finger off the screen. Does anybody else have this problem?
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure I follow you. With the keyboard open and I am on the internet. I can expand and squeeze what I am reading and looking at is that what you mean?

Are you using slidemeroot5r1? I think it's just a bug because multitouch doesn't work when I have the keyboard slid open either. What I do is hit the menu key or the back key and multitouch works. Just kind of have to live with it or flash a different rom.

nomadrider123 said:
Not sure I follow you. With the keyboard open and I am on the internet. I can expand and squeeze what I am reading and looking at is that what you mean?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I'm talking about, when I have my keyboard open, my phone can't do that. When the keyboard is open, the screen can only recognize one of my finger's touch, instead of two.
kcbboy said:
Are you using slidemeroot5r1? I think it's just a bug because multitouch doesn't work when I have the keyboard slid open either. What I do is hit the menu key or the back key and multitouch works. Just kind of have to live with it or flash a different rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm still using stock rom currently.

Im not sure about the problem but maybe its a connection problem with the ribbons idk maybe its like partialy on and when u open it up that multitouch feature is disabled ?? who knows. If u still have warrenty take your sd card out and get a new mts

Anartic said:
That's what I'm talking about, when I have my keyboard open, my phone can't do that. When the keyboard is open, the screen can only recognize one of my finger's touch, instead of two.
I'm still using stock rom currently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed you need to take it back to tmo.

Well try the tricks that i gave you but if it really bugs you that much (no pun intended) just return it like everyone else said.
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App

kcbboy said:
Well try the tricks that i gave you but if it really bugs you that much (no pun intended) just return it like everyone else said.
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The trick you gave me worked, but I'll probably go replace this with T-Mobile if I'm part of a small group that has experienced this problem out of the hundreds that have been sold.

Keyboard calibration?

Is there a way to do this? I can't stand Swype... I like the predictive text of the Android keyboard (how it shows words at the top)... but for some reason my calibration seems off and I keep mistyping words.
Any alternative keyboard with the same predictive text feature of the stock android keyboard.

Why don't you just turn swype off in menu, settings, keyboard, uncheck swype.

I did turn off swype. I'm using the stock android keyboard... but the calibration seems a little off, and I'm kind of annoyed with how i'm pressing a button and it's registering the button to the left of it when I'm pretty accurate.
Just looking for an alternative that's similar to the Stock, or a calibration feature.

Try SwiftKey

Same thing is happening to me. Annoying as heck!

I know that it used to be possible to install the htc_ime even if you weren't rooted. Is there an htc_ime out there that will run on 2.2? I had one running on my CM5.0.8 G1. The HTC keyboard also has a calibration tool and was MUCH better than the standard VK.

http://androidforums.com/incredible-tips-tricks/163341-official-htc-screen-calibration-apk.html
Not sure if it'll work but you and try it. Report back.

Wow, thanks man I'll def try this.

I don't know if it's the placebo effect but it appears to be working. Before, anytime I hit the JKLMN keys and the delete key it would hit the key to the left of it.
Time will tell. Thanks!

thickbuttons is pretty good

sinistersai4d4d said:
Wow, thanks man I'll def try this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sinistersai4d4d said:
I don't know if it's the placebo effect but it appears to be working. Before, anytime I hit the JKLMN keys and the delete key it would hit the key to the left of it.
Time will tell. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats cool. I had not idea it was going to work. I just googled "android keyboard calibration apk" and found that.

elopez2808 said:
found this on the nexus one forums.
I installed the froyo version and it works great
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=624416
credit goes to Jonasl
just thought I'd share it with those that don't have it and what not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update! The keyboard in the thread I just quoted above is the best keyboard you'll ever use if u aren't a Swype fan. Better than any vk I've ever used. And it comes with a calibration tool that's fantastic.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

[Q] Samsung Keyboard Autocorrect

Before you post the link to the XDA noob video, no, this isn't a question about 'how to enable autocorrect on the stock keyboard'
It's actually a question about autocorrect on the stock Samsung Keyboard.
Is there any way to force the autocorrect bar to permanently stay above the keyboard when XT9 is enabled, like the Gingerbread keyboard? When typing in, say, the Messaging app, the autocorrect bar pops up when I enter something and disappears when I hit space, making the little text entry box go up-and-down-and-up-and-down making me quite dizzy since my eyes have to bob up and down.
I would just use the gingerbread keyboard but the banding on that kb is annoying.
If it matters, GT-i9100, VR1.1, pulser_g2's KE2 multi-CSC package (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=14254203#post14254203)
Thanks!

Im currently using the Gingerbread Keyboard from Marketplace, as far as im aware there is nothing at the moment that can be done to stop the autocorrection box appearing/Disappearing !
i think the samsung keyboard is rather annoying, the space bar is way too small causing me to press the . button atleast 1 in every 5 words.. annoyance !

i have been looking everywhere for a fix, nothing so far!
i hope this thread will get enough attention and the keyboard can be modded.
the only reason im not using samsung keyboard is because of this issue

OK, I just downloaded the version from the Market (the free one from Steven Lin, right?).
No banding )) but vibrate on keypress doesn't do anything.
Can you test on yours and see if vibe works?
Thanks!

X9 in settings that is what enables it. Though doesn't work on custom roms I have no idea why.
Cheers.

You mean to enable autocorrect for the stock Samsung keyboard?
Re-read my post. I have no problem enabling it, but it's the execution that is annoying.
If only I could get vibration working for the Gingerbread keyboard (the apk I got off xda works, but there's noticeable banding, while the one off the market has no banding but vibe doesn't work).

Greenie-UK said:
Im currently using the Gingerbread Keyboard from Marketplace, as far as im aware there is nothing at the moment that can be done to stop the autocorrection box appearing/Disappearing !
i think the samsung keyboard is rather annoying, the space bar is way too small causing me to press the . button atleast 1 in every 5 words.. annoyance !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I am also using the Gingerbread Keyboard and it is 100% better, more responsive and better with predictive text than the crappy Samsung KB.

At the end of the day I got HTC_IME installed and will probably be sticking with that.
No banding, vibration works, autocorrect is great & doesn't give me a seizure. Only problem is that it crashes the Samsung Email app (but I use the stock Gmail app so it's not a problem).
Does anyone know how to get vibration working on the Market GB kb?
Thanks!

yamanote said:
OK, I just downloaded the version from the Market (the free one from Steven Lin, right?).
No banding )) but vibrate on keypress doesn't do anything.
Can you test on yours and see if vibe works?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you use gingerbread KB you need to change the Vibrate setting to "normal" in advanced settings and it should work !
Thanked you accidentally too Lol. but you can keep it

Greenie-UK said:
if you use gingerbread KB you need to change the Vibrate setting to "normal" in advanced settings and it should work !
Thanked you accidentally too Lol. but you can keep it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why thank you very much. I have returned the favor
Well actually I would have thanked you either way, since setting the vibe intensity to Normal as you suggested worked.
Thanks again

I'd recommend Thumb Keyboard or Swiftkey X Beta. both a LOT better than the Samsung KB and both offer superior prediction and customisation. Thumb has split KB and customisation too.

yamanote said:
Why thank you very much. I have returned the favor
Well actually I would have thanked you either way, since setting the vibe intensity to Normal as you suggested worked.
Thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol no problem.
only figured how to sort it out over Frustration at no vibration when typing lol !
glad it all works if you get the paid version you can have different haptic Vibes on the keyboard, pretty neat !

robbiekhan said:
I'd recommend Thumb Keyboard or Swiftkey X Beta. both a LOT better than the Samsung KB and both offer superior prediction and customisation. Thumb has split KB and customisation too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently downloading the English pack for SwiftKey X. Looks pretty cool. Thanks for the suggestion!
Got it installed. I like how it can personalize my autocorrect via my Facebook account and SMSes. Autocorrect is great. Thanks again.
Greenie-UK said:
Lol no problem.
only figured how to sort it out over Frustration at no vibration when typing lol !
glad it all works if you get the paid version you can have different haptic Vibes on the keyboard, pretty neat !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it just me or does the vibrate seem to be a bit stronger than other keyboards (particularly the Samsung one)? Just a minor niggle lol.
whoo hundredth post! I'm a senior member now

Smart Keyboard Pro for me.

Another keyboard to consider is Smart Keyboard Pro. It has tons of options to configure.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Ahh I'm going to have 50 input methods by the end of the day
I'll try that out tomorrow, thanks for the suggestions!

yamanote said:
Ahh I'm going to have 50 input methods by the end of the day
I'll try that out tomorrow, thanks for the suggestions!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the world of Android.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Can you still use swype with one of these keyboard apps?

I use swiftkey x and swype alternatively depending on what I'm typing. The prediction in swiftkey is spooky good.

I bought Smart Keyboard Pro. Autocorrect is as good as the others and I like the themes. Which one should I stick with...
paranoid2007 said:
Welcome to the world of Android.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL thanks. Not my first Android phone though On the others I just stuck with the stock kb (HTC_IME and the SE ime) which weren't too bad. The Samsung one is just that bad (anything which gives me a headache ain't good).
sgupta1 said:
Can you still use swype with one of these keyboard apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, just press & hold the text box and select Input Method.

Shift/Caps and Alt Functionality on CM9

I have just flashed over to the latest version of CM9 (Beta 12) from a MIUI.us ROM. Once thing that has been extremely irritating that I have found with ICS based ROMs (I've tried other ICS ROM as well) it's how the physical keyboard's Alt and Shift/Caps key functions.
On every other ROM I've used those keys have functioned in the exact same way. Hit Alt once, the next key you hit will be the alternate number or symbol above the main function of the key. Hit Alt twice, it locks Alt on so all the keys you hit next will be the alternate character. And you can cycle through these by hitting Alt multiple times and you see the typing cursor change with a different triangle symbol above the cursor. The Shift/Caps key works the same way, but just capitalizes the key instead of the Alt function.
On ICS ROMs the keys function completely different. If you hit the Shift/Caps key once it essentially turns Caps Lock on, making all characters I type capitals. And if I want to turn it off I have to hit it one more type, type another capital character and then it's back to normal. Along with this the symbols above the typing cursor are now gone making it difficult to know when I have caps lock on. The Alt key locks the same way.
Now I don't know if this is "working as intended" or not, but I would really like to figure out a way to revert it back to the normal, and logical, way of typing.

Something is wrong with your keyboard. Using both stock and Swiftkey X I have my keyboard behave as you originally lay out, which is the default behavior.
Which keyboard are you running? The behavior you mention is actually a bug with the new Swiftkey 3 and I opened a ticket on their site about it, but Swiftkey X works wonderfully.
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium

I think he's talking about the hardware keyboard and not the on screen.
I think you need to reinstall and whipe your ROM because on my ICS Beta 12 eveything works as you discribed in Gingerbread ROM's

It's not normal. It normally behaves with CM9 as it ever has on every ROM I've tried, you've got a weird problem there. If it's not the keyboard bug that is mentioned in the second post, try a fresh install, or try posting in the CM9 topic, maybe someone else got that problem and knows how to fix it.

Carlovn said:
I think he's talking about the hardware keyboard and not the on screen.
I think you need to reinstall and whipe your ROM because on my ICS Beta 12 eveything works as you discribed in Gingerbread ROM's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mirko935 said:
It's not normal. It normally behaves with CM9 as it ever has on every ROM I've tried, you've got a weird problem there. If it's not the keyboard bug that is mentioned in the second post, try a fresh install, or try posting in the CM9 topic, maybe someone else got that problem and knows how to fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You realize that software keyboards apply to your hardware keyboard right? For instance, if you use Swift Key X it (can) actually applies auto-complete to the *hardware* keyboard. It just obviously doesn't overlay the QWERTY keys.
As I said, with SwiftKey 3 beta the behavior described in the OP is observed when using the hardware keyboard -- so the OP needs to check what keyboard he's using, because ICS stock & SwiftKey X do not cause his issue.

blk_jack said:
You realize that software keyboards apply to your hardware keyboard right? For instance, if you use Swift Key X it (can) actually applies auto-complete to the *hardware* keyboard. It just obviously doesn't overlay the QWERTY keys.
As I said, with SwiftKey 3 beta the behavior described in the OP is observed when using the hardware keyboard -- so the OP needs to check what keyboard he's using, because ICS stock & SwiftKey X do not cause his issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course, that's why I said that he should try wiping if it's not the problem that you mentioned. I guess you misunderstood my post.

blk_jack said:
As I said, with SwiftKey 3 beta the behavior described in the OP is observed when using the hardware keyboard -- so the OP needs to check what keyboard he's using, because ICS stock & SwiftKey X do not cause his issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was the issue, the SwiftKey 3 Beta was making my physical keyboard Alt and Shift/Caps key function incorrectly. So now I'm back to SwiftKey X and everything is working perfectly!
Thanks for the help.

Quinnelton said:
This was the issue, the SwiftKey 3 Beta was making my physical keyboard Alt and Shift/Caps key function incorrectly. So now I'm back to SwiftKey X and everything is working perfectly!
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try to find the link to the bug I filed on the SwiftKey forms. Maybe we can get some people to bump it and see the issue resolved in the next beta?
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium

I see the same thing, is swiftkey X worse than beta 3?

rhcp1253 said:
I see the same thing, is swiftkey X worse than beta 3?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worse? No way, some consider it better. It's definitely better for the DZ/G2 since it doesn't have a crippling bug that makes the hardware keyboard basically unusable.
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium

Hey guys, upvote this bug here to hopefully get it fixed in SwiftKey 3: http://support.swiftkey.net/forums/...2-fn-key-into-lockmode-on-htc-desire-z-hardkb

I did it few months ago, but without response from swiftkey it is sad
Enviado desde mi HTC Vision usando Tapatalk 2

I up-voted this bug. Still can't believe it's around!

Upvoted. I'm going to have to go thru some old Titanium back ups and see if I still have Swiftkey X. Getting fed up with this tbh.

blk_jack said:
Hey guys, upvote this bug here to hopefully get it fixed in SwiftKey 3: http://support.swiftkey.net/forums/...2-fn-key-into-lockmode-on-htc-desire-z-hardkb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you guys still care about this issue, Swiftkey responded to the original post last week (March 4, 2013)
SwiftKey Dev Team (Admin, SwiftKey) responded · Mar 4, 2013
Hi everyone, we are looking into making SwiftKey work better on devices with hard keyboards, we’ll let you know when we have more information or an ETA.
To achieve this we will ask you to give us a few more details to narrow down the problem:
- What brand and model is your device?
- What Android version are you running and is it a custom ROM or stock Android provided by the manufacturer?
Thanks​

jinxtedium said:
If you guys still care about this issue, Swiftkey responded to the original post last week (March 4, 2013)
[/INDENT][/I]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers for that. Responded, hopefully they'll get it finally sorted.

SHIFT and ALT hard key functionality implementation in ICS...?
blk_jack said:
Worse? No way, some consider it better. It's definitely better for the DZ/G2 since it doesn't have a crippling bug that makes the hardware keyboard basically unusable.
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
We are working on a device which contains physical keyboard with OS version 4.0.4(ICS)(Note: looks like Blackberry bold model).
In that device *Shift Key (*KEYCODE_SHIFT_LEFT*) and *ALT key* (*KEYCODE_ALT_LEFT*)is not working.
We are getting the proper KEYCODEs when we press those buttons in PhoneWindowMAnager.java.
Now where we have to handle those keys and what exactly functionality needs to be implement when press those hard keys.
Otherwise in ICS, is already handled those keys in some other files??
Generally when we press once the SHIFT key, for eg: when I press and hold shift key after that if I press 'a'character then 'A' needs to be printed.
This kind of functionality needs to be implement for SHIFT key.
And when we press ALT key it has to be display Special Character.
Is anybody is having any idea about this...
Regards,
abhay

H4rry said:
Cheers for that. Responded, hopefully they'll get it finally sorted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeees! they fixed the issue, you need to update your app though. I can confirm the problems been fixed on my g2. Thanks to Swiftkey and the people who upvoted!
COMPLETED ·
ADMIN
Evan Tapper (Admin, SwiftKey) responded · Mar 26, 2013
This issue with the hard keyboard has been resolved in the update of 4.0.1 which we just released today.
You can also see what version you are using within the “About” submenu within SwiftKey.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks for the heads up. I had gotten so annoyed with swiftkey not working on the keyboard I'd switched back to stock.
Sheer bliss to have it back.