Database Users

Any big time texters on the nexus one?

Just wondering if any of you nexus one owners happen to text frequently and if you have a hard time with the virtual keyboard. I can type at light speed on my G1 and frankly, the only thing that worries me about the nexus I ordered is not having this physical keyboard. So let's hear it. Is it awful, usable, good, or downright amazing?

That has been my largest worry as well. I'm a G1 user who is very fond of the hardware keyboard. However, I am forcing myself with the Nexus One to learn to love the Onscreen. It seemed like all the best and newer phones were not coming with keyboards, or when they did the keyboard was not very pleasant to use. At least once I(we) get over the hump of getting used to the onscreen with the N1 we can then go to ANY other android phone and be satisfied.
My Nexus One SHOULD be waiting for me on the counter when I get home... will pop my SIM in and away I go.

I'm in the same boat although I've noticed on my G1 I'm better with the HTC_IME keyboard than the stock. I'm hoping we can push the HTC_IME keyboard to the N1.

It's actually not as bad as i thought it would be. I wish it had the HTC IME, so I wouldn't have to click a button for numbers or exclamation points. FYI: I installed HTC IME, but it doesn't look that great on the screen.

I don't have a nexus one and part of the reason why I love my G1 is because of the physical keyboard and I also like the HTC IME over the android one by leaps and bounds. I am currently using "shapewriter" from the market and it took about a few days to get used to and see the benefits but since i got used to it, my texting is now almost twice as fast as the keyboard. I haven't used the keyboard for texting for a couple weeks now whereas before i would only use the keyboard during texts. Shapewriter is making me really consider getting a nexus.

The keyboard in landscape mode is great. Plus I've been using the voice input to send texts and its pretty accurate for the most part, awesome new feature. I'm not missing my G1 keyboard at all.

I'm sure the VK will be good. My G1 physical spacebar broke (go figure..) and I have been using the HTC_IME on it for months now :\. Can't wait for the N1 though. It should be here tomorrow

Glad to hear all that! I've switched to using on vk on my G1 to get ready lol. But unfortunately I'm using HTC_IME and it's awesome. I think cyanogen said he plans on porting the HTC_IME for nexus shortly. Let's keep our fingers crossed

Well I have never used the HTC IME and always had a hardware keyboard (except the Artemis where I used a stowaway bluetooth when heavy typing).
I can not type at the speed I could on the G1 keyboard but it is not bad. I do not like that I can not see my IMs/SMS when typing in landscape but the keyboard is good for the most part. In portrait mode I rely a lot more on autocorrect but mistakes are not terrible there either. Of course I have only been using an on screen keyboard for about 2 hours so hopefully with experience it will get easier. Even now though for texting where typos are not a huge concern it gets the job done.
It is a trade off, no hardware keyboard but it is very thin. I would have gone the other direction but I can understand the choice.

I went from a g1 to an iphone and really missed the keyboard. Once I got used to the iphone I was able to type quickly and accurately. I send/receive about 2200 texts a month so I would say I'm an avid texter (not a fan of talking except to certain people).
I expect the n1 to be similar to the iphone in terms of texting.

matt_stang said:
Just wondering if any of you nexus one owners happen to text frequently and if you have a hard time with the virtual keyboard. I can type at light speed on my G1 and frankly, the only thing that worries me about the nexus I ordered is not having this physical keyboard. So let's hear it. Is it awful, usable, good, or downright amazing?
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I send about 2K-3K texts a month in addition to my email, Web browsing and other keyboard use. The physical keyboard was a must for me for years. Two months ago I traded one of my G1s for a myTouch. I decided to play with the myTouch and then ended up using it. While I sometimes miss the keyboard I got very used to the onscreen keyboard. Now that I have the N1 I can say that I don't miss the keyboard at all. Besides, with ShapeWriter (simply amazing) and Swype (haven't tried it yet but will now that I have an N1), onscreen keyboards are very good.

So far, I have found that using speaking to send the texts are remarkably easy and accurate. I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of speaking to "type" my texts.
The VK isn't that bad though... seems really accurate and there is no lag so its easy to deal with.

Speech to text has removed my need for keyboard use of anykind at home/work/walking.
On screen is accurate enough not to annoy me when speaking out loud would look weird.
I would try better keyboard if default is no good. User dictionary is a must.

I was really worried about this, too -- I got really used to the physical keyboard on my G1 and was really fast at it, although I sometimes used the HTC IME (the Android one sucks).
Now that I have my N1, I'm finding that both Swype and ShapeWriter are AMAZING and with them I can type nearly as fast as I could on a physical keyboard. Definitely give them a try.

i typed a couple hundred text messages yesterday without really any issues, and i come from the ultimate text whore from the Bold 9700 but i had the mt3g b4 then so im not a total noob haha

mlevin said:
I was really worried about this, too -- I got really used to the physical keyboard on my G1 and was really fast at it, although I sometimes used the HTC IME (the Android one sucks).
Now that I have my N1, I'm finding that both Swype and ShapeWriter are AMAZING and with them I can type nearly as fast as I could on a physical keyboard. Definitely give them a try.
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I have to agree with you about Swype. I've not owned a phone without a physical keyboard since before 2005 and I was worried about the N1 not having a physical keyboard as I'm a big texter/GTalker. The standard keyboard is 'OK' but Swype is pretty damn good. It takes a little getting used to but when you've learned the basics, you get pretty quick at typing out long texts/messages.
Can I ask if it's the beta that was released for the Droid that you're using? I get a silly message box every time I switch to landscape or open the camera app.

Every phone I've owned has had a physical keyboard until my MyTouch, although I still used my G1 as my main line, but I can say that while I would prefer a physical keyboard, I don't really miss it. The screens big enough that it's really easy to type, I use Better Keyboard which doesn't have the voice key, but I'm not that interested in the voice typing. I'm not having any problems or regrets though.

When using this phone in landscape mode, I type as fast and accurately as I did with my Tmo wing. It's very responsive and the keyboard is plenty big.

The HTC keyboard does work on the nexus one, the person on this video has it running
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB8Xv3qpEDs

Almost all my phones have had physical keyboards and i text a lot... I've been using the nexus one for only about a day now and the keyboard is OK but... sometimes it doesn't register keys. I don't know if it has to due with the lack of multi touch but it doesn't catch some of my button presses especially space bar.
i owned an iphone for about 4 months and while I'm not a huge fan of the iphone I have to admit that their virtual keyboard works a LOT better...

Desperate for a new phone with a keyboard but....

I could be persuaded to use this instead?
Whats the on-screen keyboard like? I know the screen is HUGE so i'm guessing the on-screen is fairly big? I need to be able to type fairly fast for taking notes in meetings etc and this is why I normaly buy phones with keyboards.
Thanks!!!
(please be honest, i'm about to spend £400 on this and I don't want that to be a waste of money)

The onscreen keyboard is good, but don't expect magic - if you feel you need a hardware keyboard then you will most likely be disappointed with what the HD2 offers.
In all fairness I never owned a WM phone with a full hardware keyboard, but I still make mistakes on the HD2's virtual keyboard same as I did with the virtual keyboard on my previous phone - so my conclusion is that it's not perfect.
Personally, I find FingerKeyboard better than HTC's anyway, I use that most of the time. Swype is good as well for accuracy but I find typing stuff is a bit slow because you're having to swipe your finger across a huge screen without lifting off to enter words.

I normally prefer hardware keyboards, however I have found that the HD2's screen is fairly large enough to work with. Also, use XT9 and go at it like you don't care if you misspell words, generally it will auto-correct you fairly well.

I personally prefer touchscreen keyboards rather than hardware keybaords, I find hardware keyboards a bit fidly to use.
The HD2 keyboard is pretty good, I think it's as good as the one on iphone, which I have just come from. The keyboard automatically corrects the majority of your mistakes, but you will still make the odd one. However, I also make the odd mistake using any keyboard, such as my laptop. In fact I probably make more errors typing on a PC/laptop keyboard as there is no auto correct function.

there's a thread about this on here somewhere with a lot of people complaining about the keyboard. it seems you either love it or really hate it. I would suggest going in a shop and ask to try it before you buy it. me personally I think its fine but don't take mine or anyone else's word for it, like I said a lot of people hate it, WITH A PASSION!

I owned a touch pro 2, which has the best hardware keyboard out there, and sure i was afraid i'll lose that sweat keyboard, but in the end i can say that i'm happy with the hd2's keyboard. Sure, i'm not as fast as i used to be on my tp2 but still...
I think you will be fine.

I've always had a HW keyboard since 2005, but after a few weeks practice with Swype, I'm very fast and more than happy given it means my phone is much thinner.

thanks for all input guys, very much appreciated!

Some touchscreen keyboards are ok, some are usable and some are good. Don't think that because a touchscreen keyboard on X device is good, therefore the HD2's will be good too. It isn't. It's a pig of a keyboard. Typing on it is one of the most frustrating tasks known to man. Sure it's a great device but you're asking specifically about typing on it.....and typing on it is horrendous. YMMV.

I can Swype faster than a HW keyboard

eskasi said:
I can Swype faster than a HW keyboard
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A lot of people prefer to type rather than sliding their fingers around in a whole new style. It shouldn't be necessary that we have to install new keyboards and get used to whole new styles of inputting text, just because the supplied keyboard isn't up to scratch. Personally I don't want to learn how to 'swype'.

Swype is the best solution for 1 handed typing. I dont see how its better than the regular keyboard unless you prefer to use 1 hand to type all the time.

sunking101 said:
A lot of people prefer to type rather than sliding their fingers around in a whole new style. It shouldn't be necessary that we have to install new keyboards and get used to whole new styles of inputting text, just because the supplied keyboard isn't up to scratch. Personally I don't want to learn how to 'swype'.
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Jeez, lighten up - there's nothing to learn, you just swipe your finger on the letters and that's it. If I wanted to type 'jerk' I would put my finger on J, drag to E, then drag to R and finally drag to K and that's it.
Hardly involves a learning curve... plus, that's just one option. If you don't like HTC's keyboard try another normal QWERTY keyboard, nobody's forcing you to try one of these newfangled keyboards. FingerKeyboard is a standard one and works better than HTC's IMO.

I use the standard HTC keyboard. I grip the device with my palms and type using my thumbs. My hands are freaking huge.
I can get approx 30wpm.
The auto-correct feature is simply amazing

I just came from a TYTNII with Hardware keyboard and we VERY worried about getting the HD2 without a keyboard as i type e-mail and SMS from my phone regularly for work purposes. So my choices were the HD2 or Touch Pro 2... The HD2 just had WAY too many PROS compared to the Touch Pro 2, so i took the plunge and got the HD2 and resolved myself to if i can't type well enough, then i'll just put up with the frustration or wait till i get back to the office to reply. Well, i was pleasantly surprised and can type fairly fast, probably SLIGHTLY slower than the hardware keyboard. I also have FAT fingers. I think the capacitive screen and multi-touch work in its favor to make typing a bit better on this phone than a normal (old type) touch screen. So, all in all, VERY happy with the HD2 without hardware keyboard. Oh, and i type in PORTRAIT mode, not Landscape!!! If i could marry my HD2, i would!

stickydonkey said:
If i could marry my HD2, i would!
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Hmm, I think that's in legal in Kentucky actually.

Well, in my country, our president just married his 5th wife with another on the way. He now has 18 children (of his own)! There should be no problems marrying my HD2...

stickydonkey said:
I just came from a TYTNII with Hardware keyboard and we VERY worried about getting the HD2 without a keyboard as i type e-mail and SMS from my phone regularly for work purposes. So my choices were the HD2 or Touch Pro 2... The HD2 just had WAY too many PROS compared to the Touch Pro 2, so i took the plunge and got the HD2 and resolved myself to if i can't type well enough, then i'll just put up with the frustration or wait till i get back to the office to reply. Well, i was pleasantly surprised and can type fairly fast, probably SLIGHTLY slower than the hardware keyboard. I also have FAT fingers. I think the capacitive screen and multi-touch work in its favor to make typing a bit better on this phone than a normal (old type) touch screen. So, all in all, VERY happy with the HD2 without hardware keyboard. Oh, and i type in PORTRAIT mode, not Landscape!!! If i could marry my HD2, i would!
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He he nice! I love my HD2 too. I came from a Kaiser as well and my reservation was losing the superb hardware keyboard.
I found the HD2's standard keyboard flawed. The problem isn't the sensitivity as such but the fact that the keys are too small and close together. With an improved design it could be great.
BUT I found my solution, SWYPE! What a god send! I'm actually significantly faster with Swype than I was with my old Kaiser hardware keyboard. It really is that good. I am almost as fast as a PC keyboard.
And as for learning it, well it takes no time. I have demonstrated it to several people who have had a go and within a minute they are Oooing and arrring as they Swype words with ease. It's so intuitive there really is very little learning or adaptation required.

next samsung/sprint keyboard phone

We all know that Samsung is coming out with the SGS2, and there is always a constant theme since 4th Q of 2009, the Hero/Moment, Evo/Epic. So is there a chance that the Samsung/Sprint variant of the SGS2 would come with a keyboard and 3d?. I would pass on the evo3d if the sgs2 for sprint came with a keyboard and 3d.

I am not sure if they are gonna make the SGSII with a keyboard. I really hope they don't because the phone is extremely thin and at this point id rather have a slim phone then a keyboard that skips when i start typing too fast.

difrent7 said:
I am not sure if they are gonna make the SGSII with a keyboard. I really hope they don't because the phone is extremely thin and at this point id rather have a slim phone then a keyboard that skips when i start typing too fast.
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+1 on not having a keyboard. I type so much faster without it.

I'm going to be extremely angry if the next galaxy that comes with sprint has a keyboard.

I have to say that I could live without a keyboard at this point as well.
Previously, when the largest screen was only 3.2", I still needed it for my big hands. But with the Epic, I've noticed that I can do either way with plenty of room to spare.
I'd buy a slim SGSII if it was offered and it was a significant, practical upgrade.

markot86 said:
I'm going to be extremely angry if the next galaxy that comes with sprint has a keyboard.
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Hah! To funny.
I will be extremely pissed if it doesn't!
While I can do w/o the keyboard for texting and such, there is no way I could live w/o one for my SNES and NES games.

DCRocks said:
Hah! To funny.
I will be extremely pissed if it doesn't!
While I can do w/o the keyboard for texting and such, there is no way I could live w/o one for my SNES and NES games.
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Yeah the keyboard is real nice for emulation, but phone+case makes this phone way too thick, and after comparing my phone with the Verizon fascinate I was fairly astonished at how much thinner they could make essentially the exact same phone without a keyboard.

I like the keyboard for emulators and sometimes to email or text if im doing a super long message...
Mainly i always want a keyboard for gaming tho...
so i want another keyboard phone!!!

Way too thick? Are you guys looney? lmao
How much thinner does it need to be!?
It's all relative. I think the phone thickness is perfectly fine, even with the keyboard. The next generation with a keyboard would be even thinner, though it's not necessary for me personally.
I really hope we continue to see hardware keyboards on the high end smartphones.

brickwall99 said:
Way too thick? Are you guys looney? lmao
How much thinner does it need to be!?
It's all relative. I think the phone thickness is perfectly fine, even with the keyboard. The next generation with a keyboard would be even thinner, though it's not necessary for me personally.
I really hope we continue to see hardware keyboards on the high end smartphones.
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Do you keep your phone in a case? I agree that case-less it's close to the thinness I need, but I view a case as a necessity so that kind of screws things up.

Coming from a phone that only had a virtual kb I love a physical kb. I never type with vkb unless I'm sending a 2-3 lettered text.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

a sliding hardware keyboard is a must for me. i can't see myself buying a phone without one.

Meh, I'm rather split about having a keyboard or not. I'd love having an ultra slim keyboardless phone, but at the same time I'd miss the convenience of a keyboard, especially for really long messages... just like I did now writing this post. Lol

it has to have keyboard AND 3d screen for me not to get the evo3d. if just the keyboard. im not sure i would get it.

I prefer a physical keyboard. It's why I passed on EVO and waited for the Epic in the first place.

These ppl are crazy talking about "no keyboard". Man please, I'm using a keyboard now with this. Go get the next gen evo or something. The keyboard is a plus, screw a "thin phone" that's petty.
I hate "Top Flight Security Mods"

yeah, i mean, i don't want a thick as a brick phone, but i'd rather have an Epic with a KB than any of the other Galaxy S phones. any future phone model that adds that amount of thickness with a KB over a no KB model will be thin enough for me.

A physical keyboard and better camera are prerequisites to replacing my Epic.

davidrules7778 said:
I like the keyboard for emulators and sometimes to email or text if im doing a super long message...
Mainly i always want a keyboard for gaming tho...
so i want another keyboard phone!!!
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I agree. I sue the screen for texting and light typing, but I like having the hardware option. It's something else for devs to play with and it's a MUST for emulators (especially since the bluetooth game-gripper got shot down).

If they improved the keyboard I'd be sold. That's my only gripe...I got this phone because of the keyboard and then it doesn't even work properly. It misses keys so I barely use it. If it functioned as I needed it to I'd be good. I love the phone.

Yet another reason to love my tab

I've been loving my tab since I bought it, it's light, has a beautiful screen and aside from not doing my laundry, it can do no wrong by me. Today, however, I took a look at Swype for the first time and tried it out.
I am now officially in love. I have never had a chance to try Swype until now and it's an input method I have completely fallen in love with. Not often does something stun me speechless (i talk alot) with how amazing it is. I went down the hall and showed another coworker (who owns a transformer) and his first question was "Why don't I have that?!" and he ran off to install it.
Thank you for giving me yet another reason to love my tab, Samsung.

sinbsd said:
I've been loving my tab since I bought it, it's light, has a beautiful screen and aside from not doing my laundry, it can do no wrong by me. Today, however, I took a look at Swype for the first time and tried it out.
I am now officially in love. I have never had a chance to try Swype until now and it's an input method I have completely fallen in love with. Not often does something stun me speechless (i talk alot) with how amazing it is. I went down the hall and showed another coworker (who owns a transformer) and his first question was "Why don't I have that?!" and he ran off to install it.
Thank you for giving me yet another reason to love my tab, Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do love swype, but i can type faster when a normal keyboard, swype just slows me down. I'm just so used to a normal keyboard since i use computer soo often.

Swype
I will agree that I can type faster with a keyboard but on the tablet, I find the onscreen keyboard causes my typing to slow down too much with errors and swype feels much more natural and in its element when combined with the tab.
It's just nice to know there are always new things to discover with the tab and android.. one of the many reasons I vacated the iPad camp.

I use Swype exclusively on my phone, but wasn't too fond of it on my Tab. Using the Swiftkey tablet beta and I really like it. The split keyboard layout makes holding and typing so much easier.

I tried Swype today for the first time. It was interesting, but I still prefer Swiftkey for tablets.

Sold. This is the endorsement I was looking for.

I love swype, but I mostly use it as a normal keyboard. I just love the look and feel, the layout also seems to fit my needs far better than any other ive used

I love swype on my nexus s 4g, but only use thumb keyboard on my tab.

I absolutely love swype on the tab as well. Since I generally lay the tablet on my lap, it's the fastest input method for me, and I guess I'm an epic nerd, because it's fun, too.

Swype is great on my Evo but I use thumb keyboard on my Tab.

mrsbelpit said:
I absolutely love swype on the tab as well. Since I generally lay the tablet on my lap, it's the fastest input method for me, and I guess I'm an epic nerd, because it's fun, too.
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It totally is fun. Nice to have another way to differentiate the tab from those failpads.

Using Swype in mini-mode is excellent for e-mail and such. It's like using it on a phone and it greatly reduces the distance your hand travels.

MINUS Stl said:
I use Swype exclusively on my phone, but wasn't too fond of it on my Tab. Using the Swiftkey tablet beta and I really like it. The split keyboard layout makes holding and typing so much easier.
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Plus One on SwiftKey and it split keyboard layout... Also love how you can easy it is to jump to a regular layout keyboard to.
Sent from my Galaxy10.1 TouchWiz/ADWex equipped Starship.

Sad things is it doesnt work well when trying to type websites.

+1 for Thumb Keyboard. I got it when it was free on the Amazon App Store. It's highly customizable and makes typing that much better. Now if only I could get the stupid cursor to go where I want it to by touch. Most annoying honeycomb issue IMO.

I love SwiftKey Tablet X. It has an awesome split keyboard when in landscape mode. It also can analyze your facebook and twitter feeds to suggest to you words in a manner you are a custom. Sometimes I don't even have to type when testing someone from GV. I highly recommend.

After using Swiftkey Tablet X for a while, it is uncanny the predictions it is making. I have found myself just pressing [space] [space] [space]

True
acefiredx said:
Sad things is it doesnt work well when trying to type websites.
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True, not the best for websites but it is a keyboard as well. You don't have to use the swype function. I find that suitable. Checking out Swiftkey as well.. Sounds good.

SouthPhilly said:
Plus One on SwiftKey and it split keyboard layout... Also love how you can easy it is to jump to a regular layout keyboard to.
Sent from my Galaxy10.1 TouchWiz/ADWex equipped Starship.
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I agree, having used the trial version I'm definitely going to buy it.

+1 for thumb keyboard, it's great. For the phone I have come to like swiftkey over swype.

Going from physical keyboard to full touch screen

I have had some of the best pqk (physical qwerty keyboard) phone's around from BlackBerry Bolds to the HTC G2 and even recently the Xperia Mini Pro. About a week ago I decided to give the newest version of Samsungs Galaxy line a try and figured if i did not like it, well I could always bring it back. I can say for sure I am not returning it.
Yes the Phone is fast and thin and the battery lasts longer than any other phone i can remember since having a blackberry but what really does it for me is the ability to type quickly and without error on a virtual keyboard. This is achieved using SwiftKey X as it corrects spelling and suggests common words before your done typing. The camera is absolutely amazing as it takes photos as quickly as you can press the button.
So for all you die hard physical keyboard guys out there... You have another option now and its really amazing.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

As awesome as the s3 is, I will definitely be selling it once the photon q or another high end slider is released... a physical keyboard transforms the phone from a toy to a tool... even this message was a pain to type out on the virtual kb

Hermetics said:
I have had some of the best pqk (physical qwerty keyboard) phone's around from BlackBerry Bolds to the HTC G2 and even recently the Xperia Mini Pro. About a week ago I decided to give the newest version of Samsungs Galaxy line a try and figured if i did not like it, well I could always bring it back. I can say for sure I am not returning it.
Yes the Phone is fast and thin and the battery lasts longer than any other phone i can remember since having a blackberry but what really does it for me is the ability to type quickly and without error on a virtual keyboard. This is achieved using SwiftKey X as it corrects spelling and suggests common words before your done typing. The camera is absolutely amazing as it takes photos as quickly as you can press the button.
So for all you die hard physical keyboard guys out there... You have another option now and its really amazing.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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I've heard really good thing about Swiftkey 3 lately. I'm too used to Swype though, you should try that too.

Why SwiftKey x, get SwiftKey 3. It's amazing.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2

I also came from the HTC G2, when I heard HTC going away with their physical keyboard line..I was really upset that there won't be a G3. I mean the G1 was the first Android phone.
Swiftkey 3 has made having a on screen keyboard bearable. I haven't used by G2 for a week, but no matter how good on screen boards will get, a physical keyboard will always win for me. I used the G2 today and I do miss it a lot; being able to browse the web and have no keyboard covering half the screen was amazing.
Before I used to think HTC was the best makers of android phones, but now I think Samsung is. Until Samsung makes a physical keyboard phone, I will stick to on screen keyboards.

I got SwiftKey for free from Amazon last year. I didn't know amazon had updated its version to v3 as well. Very neat.

jaytxvo said:
Until Samsung makes a physical keyboard phone, I will stick to on screen keyboards.
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They do. It's called the Epic 4G or Stratosphere.
Sent from my cm_tenderloin using xda premium

Ascertion said:
I got SwiftKey for free from Amazon last year. I didn't know amazon had updated its version to v3 as well. Very neat.
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Same here.

bobloblaw1 said:
They do. It's called the Epic 4G or Stratosphere.
Sent from my cm_tenderloin using xda premium
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Maybe I was too into HTC at the time, but are those phones top tier phones? I never heard of them.

There hasn't been a top tier slider since the og droid.
They were basically middle of the pack but high end for a slider since they were the first keyboard phones to have 4g. Stratosphere is the Verizon version and epic is sprints variant.
Sent from my cm_tenderloin using xda premium

RTbar said:
As awesome as the s3 is, I will definitely be selling it once the photon q or another high end slider is released... a physical keyboard transforms the phone from a toy to a tool... even this message was a pain to type out on the virtual kb
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how long have you been on w/o a physical it takes some getting used to. I highly recommend swiftkey

Seriously, if you use SwiftKey 3 for a couple weeks, going back to even a physical keyboard seems dumb. SwiftKey is perfect.

Actually using SwiftKey keyboard is preferred when trying to keep spelling mistakes to a minimum. I use my SG3 for business so no typos allowed.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

hockey4life0099 said:
how long have you been on w/o a physical it takes some getting used to. I highly recommend swiftkey
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I just tried it, it's just ok IMO... I like the keyboard for other reasons besides typing though
Automatically switch to landscape when the keyboard is flipped open
Easier to hold in landscape
Added thickness is more ergonomic
Easier to browse (space bar is page down, arrrow keys, shortcuts, ect)
Keyboard doesnt take up the whole screen (especcially useful in Splashtop or orther remote desktop apps)

RTbar said:
I just tried it, it's just ok IMO... I like the keyboard for other reasons besides typing though
Automatically switch to landscape when the keyboard is flipped open
Easier to hold in landscape
Added thickness is more ergonomic
Easier to browse (space bar is page down, arrrow keys, shortcuts, ect).
Keyboard doesnt take up the whole screen (especcially useful in Splashtop or orther remote desktop apps)
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Click to collapse
This.. just because its easy to become efficient with the virtual kb, doesn't mean a physical one isn't better. It offers a lot more than just typing. One thing I'm gonna miss from my d3 is playing emulators w/ physical keys. I guess a sixaxis will suffice

Just like with anything new there is a learning curve. So give yourself time to adapt. Also my favorite keyboard and I think the best one by far is Swype!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

I came from a Droid 3, and before that the OG Droid, and I haven't had any problems using the virtual keyboard on my S3. It helps a lot that the screen is so big. I couldn't imagine trying to do it on a 3.5" screen.

The S3 is legit but theres def no beating a onboard keyboard. It's easier to type long messages without even having to look at the screen. The what I miss most about the keyboard. Im to the point that even after using swype and a few other keyboard apps, typos were still everywhere. It helps, but it wont ever be as good as a physical keyboard. With that said, Im forcing myself to get used to this virtual keyboard. each day passing, I get better at it.. but itll never compare to a onboard keyboard..
S3 is a keeper for me though

I Am really struggling with the virtual keyboard. All of my previous phones had sliders and o just left the HTC Evo Shift. This week I was on my first business trip there I do a ton of emails and it was painful on the s3. Ini fact I even put the Shift back on a second line and linked all phones to google voice so I can use either. I am definitely keeping the S3 and will really enjoy it for everything but typing ..,maybe two phones are bad since I like having a backup, The only keyboard I didn't try on the s3 was the swift 3 . I used that on my tablet but preferred the thumb keyboard for that device.
does anyone know if there are any hi end sliders in the product plans for Htc o Samsung?

I was an all physical keyboard guy until this phone. My phone for the last two years was HTC's G2. This is also my first non HTC phone (been a hardcore HTC fan) but lately HTC has kinda been slacking in the slider keyboard department. I was surprised how quickly I adapted to an all touch phone, and I'll be giving Swiftkey 3 a look soon as well. Going from the G2 to this was such a big upgrade that I was able to ignore my reservations and fully embrace the thing. I usually avoid Samsung devices because they've always been too light for their size but this phone is different, though still lacking in terms of materials (would have got the One X if it were on T-Mo for that reason).
That said, once a new high end slider hits the market I'll be selling the S3, so long as the screen is large and it's from a manufacturer I can trust.