keyboard question

[Guest greenie-uk]

Hi guys. Had a look around to no avail.

As the title suggests which keyboards are good for the vega? I don't like the standard keyboard as it is "full screen" as it has its own dialog box when you click a text box. Are there any alternatives that act similar to the HTC keyboard on my desire HD which just pops up keyboard bottom half of screen and leaves top half as normal?

P.s. my vega FINALLY arrived today! :-)

Cheers!

[Guest removed-14]

Smart Keyboard Pro is a favourite of lots of Vega users. It isn't free but has lots of settings to make it look/function as you want.

[Guest boffboff]

I can wholeheartedly recommend Smart Keyboard Pro - it's the only one I've found that has cursor keys (albeit on the 3rd 'page'). Comes with a few different skins too.

Been using it for a couple of days now and so far, so good....

[Guest greenie-uk]

Thanks guys. When I get home from work ill go ad free. Cook me a Rom up and get it on ;-)!

Can't wait!

[Guest wobblydoggy]

riiiight, I know the stock vega keyboard is bad... but really is it this bad????

I have installed 1.06 and pre-baked rom (no pp) will be purchasing the pp next week.

However this keyboard will barely let me type a couple of letters before either recurring or randomly putting letters in...

I have read about the recurring key problem but this seems as if without any fw upgrade it would be completely unusable?

Was this the same for everyone before flashing with pp????

It's awful took me 5 mins to type my email address in gmail. hope this can be fixed with smart keyboard or something. any advice?

[Guest gingercat]

I'd suggest giving the gingerbread keyboard a try, works really well for me, and even better, it's FREE!

You'll have to search for the .apk here or over on XDA-Developers.

Update: here's the XDA Developers Link

Edited December 21, 2010 by gingercat

[Guest diveboy2]

Smart Keyboard is the best IMO

[Guest vertico]

I'd suggest giving the gingerbread keyboard a try, works really well for me, and even better, it's FREE!

You'll have to search for the .apk here or over on XDA-Developers.

Update: here's the XDA Developers Link

echoing gingercat ..

gingerbread keyboard works really well for me.

hold down letters for numbers, hold down full stop for coma, I can type quite fast on the on-screen keyboard now (about 80% of physical keyboard speed)

[Guest wipeout140]

If you want to pay for a keyboard get Smart Keyboard Pro if don't want to pay or think it will be worth it, get the gingerbread keyboard, both are good keyboards

Edited December 22, 2010 by wipeout140

[Guest arad85]

I've just discovered full keyboard. Whilst it is pretty minimal, it does have all keys and the ability to generate control characters as well as arrow keys. Very useful when you are command line programming, although the only downside is that you have to cycle through 4 keyboards to get back to ABC from the numbers keypad.

This won't be for everyone, but if you edit using emacs/nano by using connectbot, you may find it interesting...

[Guest kfou]

Hey guys, does anyone have this problem with their keyboard... I find when i press the delete key on the bottomish right of the keyboard, it hits the letter L instead and also some other letters i have the same problem with... It's like the touch sensor isn't working properly... Does anyone know whats wrong? Is mine faulty?

[Guest phil-t]

Hey guys, does anyone have this problem with their keyboard... I find when i press the delete key on the bottomish right of the keyboard, it hits the letter L instead and also some other letters i have the same problem with... It's like the touch sensor isn't working properly... Does anyone know whats wrong? Is mine faulty?

This is normal, it's the default calibration for the keyboard that is out.. Smart Keyboard Pro allows you to 'calibrate' the keyboard, and that worked wonders for me, I had the exact same issue..

I confirmed it wasn't the device in 2 ways,

1. Using Multi Touch Visualiser (Or something like that) from the market, you can test your touchscreen, mine seemed perfect...

2. Smart Keyboard Pro had an advanced setting in the full version, it puts a dot where your finger is, and with the default calibration, if I was still pressing on the 'backspace' key, the 'L' was being pressed, so clearly it's a bad default calibration..

As I said, Smart Keyboard Pro's calibration sorted it out, you can download the trial version from free, and it's the first piece of software I've ever bought from the Marketplace!!

[Guest flyingscotno1]

I have to say that I find the gingerbread keyboard to be an excellent choice for free. The only problem I have with gingerbread is that the key height is perhaps a little small but that doesn't seem to affect key accuracy. Certainly better than stock for me, I can type a lot quicker and more accurately on it.

[Guest tdroza]

Thumb Keyboard is pretty good. It splits the keyboard in two so you can reach all the keys with your thumbs while holding the tablet. Several different layouts to choose from.

http://www.doubletwist.com/apps/android/th...t.keyboardplus/

[Guest surly cat]

SlideIT Keyboard is best.

I previously paid for and used Smart Keyboard Pro, based on other's recommendations, but was disappointed by the lack of sliding. I then tried SlideIT Keyboard and haven't looked back. Sliding is a much faster and more convenient way to input text than pressing individual keys. I'm guessing that most users who are currently recommending Smart Keyboard Pro haven't tried a keyboard that allows sliding, because I don't see how you could and then happily go back to tap typing.

[Guest gdwhitehouse]

SlideIT Keyboard is best.

I previously paid for and used Smart Keyboard Pro, based on other's recommendations, but was disappointed by the lack of sliding. I then tried SlideIT Keyboard and haven't looked back. Sliding is a much faster and more convenient way to input text than pressing individual keys. I'm guessing that most users who are currently recommending Smart Keyboard Pro haven't tried a keyboard that allows sliding, because I don't see how you could and then happily go back to tap typing.

As a devoted Swype user on my Desire, and having been disappointed that it doesn't work on the Vega, I thought I would give SlideIt a blast after reading your post. However, as I only really use the Vega in landscape mode, I found the keyboard HUGE and the distance I had too slide just too large to be comfy (just personal opinion).

I do prefer the Swype concept, but I equally like the ability to customize the key size in Smart Keyboard Pro.

I also tried the Gingerbread keyboard, but found those keys too small :-)

Am I fussy or what?

G

[Guest surly cat]

As a devoted Swype user on my Desire, and having been disappointed that it doesn't work on the Vega, I thought I would give SlideIt a blast after reading your post. However, as I only really use the Vega in landscape mode, I found the keyboard HUGE and the distance I had too slide just too large to be comfy (just personal opinion).

I do prefer the Swype concept, but I equally like the ability to customize the key size in Smart Keyboard Pro.

I also tried the Gingerbread keyboard, but found those keys too small :-)

Am I fussy or what?

G

I'm sorry to hear that. I mostly use my Vega in landscape too and really don't find the keyboard's size a problem. I honestly find it quick and easy to use. Of course, if you're already used to sliding on a small screen, then getting used to one that's massive in comparison will take some time. I personally have never used a sliding keyboard on my phone but learned exclusively on my Vega, which probably explains the difference.

It also helps to use a non-grippy screen protector.

[Guest Dmahre]

echoing gingercat ..

gingerbread keyboard works really well for me.

hold down letters for numbers, hold down full stop for coma, I can type quite fast on the on-screen keyboard now (about 80% of physical keyboard speed)

Is there a guide to installing gingerbread keyboard, or how does one go bout doing it?

[Guest godinandroid]

I'm giving the slide it keyboard a go, so far its fantastic, I probably wouldn't have bothered typing such a long post using the old style keyboard. Reckon i'll buy it when the trials over.

[Guest danielj58]

I'll second that thumb keyboard is a superb alternative!

[Guest TeaTimeSoon]

I have been trying both SmartKeyboard Pro and Gingerbread and, just like the stock keyboard, they all suffer from a tendency to multi-press errors. If it is the space key this usually results in a full stop being added and the next letter capitalised. All very irritating.

I have been playing with my son's iPad and the keyboard on that is infinitely better - you can type at speed with a little practice, something I can only dream about on the Vega.

Is the sensitivity to double tapping something that could be fixed (or sensitivity settings made available) in a future release of the OS or this something that is inherent and fixed in the hardware?

At present, the best compromise for me is SmartKeyboard with maximum height keys and a slight sound feedback - which helps when typing fast with the detection of double taps requiring immediate correction).

It would also have been nice if the microphone on the Vega was a little better so voice input could be as amazing as it is on my HTC Hero (what did they use for a mic? a chunk of popcorn? Maybe this could be user upgraded?)

J

[Guest phil-t]

I have been trying both SmartKeyboard Pro and Gingerbread and, just like the stock keyboard, they all suffer from a tendency to multi-press errors. If it is the space key this usually results in a full stop being added and the next letter capitalised. All very irritating.

I have been playing with my son's iPad and the keyboard on that is infinitely better - you can type at speed with a little practice, something I can only dream about on the Vega.

Is the sensitivity to double tapping something that could be fixed (or sensitivity settings made available) in a future release of the OS or this something that is inherent and fixed in the hardware?

At present, the best compromise for me is SmartKeyboard with maximum height keys and a slight sound feedback - which helps when typing fast with the detection of double taps requiring immediate correction).

It would also have been nice if the microphone on the Vega was a little better so voice input could be as amazing as it is on my HTC Hero (what did they use for a mic? a chunk of popcorn? Maybe this could be user upgraded?)

J

Paul has said for R6 of his addon pack there will be a fix for the erratic touch screen!

I've been using a lot of keyboards,, and have bought Smart keyboard pro, as it literally does just about everything you can think of, including calibration, and is well suited for tablets.

[Guest danielj58]

The touch screen is something that will hopefully be fixed in future software releases.

Give thumb keyboard a go, you can adjust the size of the bottom row of keys seperate from the rest, which has reduced the number of double taps, for me at least :(

Deffinatly worth the 60p or so that it cost ;)

I find typing at relative speed particularly easy too ;)

Edit: long press the hide keyboard button to put it in tablet mode.

Edited December 28, 2010 by danielj58

[Guest Dayzee]

have also heard good things about thumb keyboard. currently usings slide it, but I have to agree that in landscape its way too big. the slides take so much longer, and I really miss the track ball on my nexus when I mis type. the touch screen is infuriating when trying to correct typing errors and slide it has no arrow keys.

Having said that, slide it has the brilliant short cuts feature which allows you to do stuff like have your email set up ona three letter shortcut - really very useful. if you haven't discovered this feature yet, press the symbols key (?123) and go to the settings bit that appears at the top and choose shortcuts to delete all the stupid ones, and add your own :(

thinking I might try thumb keyboard at some point

[Guest danielj58]

have also heard good things about thumb keyboard. currently usings slide it, but I have to agree that in landscape its way too big. the slides take so much longer, and I really miss the track ball on my nexus when I mis type. the touch screen is infuriating when trying to correct typing errors and slide it has no arrow keys.

Having said that, slide it has the brilliant short cuts feature which allows you to do stuff like have your email set up ona three letter shortcut - really very useful. if you haven't discovered this feature yet, press the symbols key (?123) and go to the settings bit that appears at the top and choose shortcuts to delete all the stupid ones, and add your own :(

thinking I might try thumb keyboard at some point

You get a set of arrows and numbers in landscape mode on thumb keyboard.

I'd make quite the salesman for this I think :-)