One of my biggest concerns with a lot of the new devices that launch is that none seem to have a d-pad any more.
I use that more than anything on my current phone and wonder if those who also were fond of their d-pads are suffering w/out it or do you just adjust and not look back?
I don't like doing everything on screen and prefer hard static buttons...makes it easier to do stuff sans looking
I came from the Nexus One with a trackball. I don't really miss it, but it was nice when I could use it to go back in a sentence to fix any problems. Other than that, it has not been missed.
At first you'll curse every time you need to scroll pages or navigate around, but you'll quickly get used to it
I came from a Droid 1 and honestly I dont miss the keyboard or d-pad one bit.
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Android is great. It looks better than every WinMo build I've seen, it's got a real browser (Skyfire is horrible, IMHO) and apparently its also faster.
I just refrain from using it on regular basis for to the stress it puts upon the HD2's crappy hardware buttons (I allready had them replaced once, took 2 frigging months!).
I mean, you have to push the back and home button like all the time to navigate, mostly due to the lack of something like a taskbar. The buttons will a) start to disolve over time (seriously, they should use that material on plastic bags and such, one more enviroment issue solved) and b) become looser and looser to the point where they just feel horrible.
So question: Is there such a thing as a workaround for problem? Like a hidden gesture-input that puts you back to homescreen, or a ROM/App/whatever that introduces a taskbar? Is it possible to use Android without mashing those poor buttons nonstop?
ps.: This is like my first post, so I just want to thank the guys who put their time and effort into ROM developement and publish it for free. You guys rock.
i too am little bothered with pressing the hardware buttons..in winmo i rarely used them except the end key to open/ close the screen
i would prefer something like swiping on the screen to the left would take me back and other similar gestures..........
any devs listening??
I think it's the way they code Android apps, nothing devs here can do about it.
Hey so I don't know if anyone else has been experiencing this but whenever I type on the A7 (using the standard keyboard), I always get random letters that I didn't even touch getting typed in. i.e. If I try to type "right" I would get something like "riyught" or if I type in one letter like "l" I would get "lmj" or something like that. I don't know if that's clear but it's really hard to type anything basically and it's very frustrating. I notice this more when I type fast (which I have come accustomed to do). I can't type a single word without having to backspace the errors (and I can type relatively error free on my evo). Even hitting backspace types in a bunch of random letters!
Any alternative keyboards anyone is using that may work better than the standard keyboard? Don't know if it's a software or calibration issue.
I'm not a huge fan of the built-in keyboard either, but my wife doesn't seem to mind too much and the less change for her, the better for me.
I will say, however, that I absolutely hated the keyboard on my Incredible. I did some testing with various options and ended up going with SwiftKey. I absolutely love it. Testing it on the A7 is on my list of things to do.
I'm a big fan of Graffiti. I'm an old Palm OS user from back in the day, and always found it to be intuitive. Tehre is a learning curve, but its good. The newest version includes annoying adds. See if you can find an older version.
Gingerbread (Android 2.3) Keyboard
1. your issue is probably coming from typing too fast. I've found that if I pause just a bit, the keyboard works great.
2. That said, I love the ports of the Android 2.3 keyboard. There is a new one (just search market for gingerbread keyboard) it's free and works great.
Thanks for the suggestions guys- I've tried swype-like keyboards and with the size of the screen it was a little difficult to slide around to type. palm based keyboards were more my thing when I used a stylus. airball, I just downloaded the ginerbread keyboard and it is MUCH better. I can type my normal fast pace and only have an error or two. thanks!
Keyboard feedback...
I noticed today that I was going a little crazy with my phone with the gingerbread keyboard and upbruptly the feedback sort of died. It was like that until I restarted the phone. I remember on my vibrant that you could adjust the vibration intensity and I would set it lower but haven't seen such a setting on this phone. Has anyone else experienced their feedback dying on them? I was actually scared that i might have broken it but it came back normal after restarting. A bug maybe?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
[Q] Keyboard Issues
Has anyone been noticing any issues with the keyboard on the Nexus S? At times I cannot type anything onto the screen or a the "Force Close" dialog box will appear.
Yeah.. I had this problem the other day. I posted a thread about it and didn't get any replies.. lol. It happened to me when I tried to use the voice action for the first time on the keyboard.
anyone else have keyboard issues
As im texting or typing into the keyboard on the net etc sometimes its just not responsive. Like some letters just wont click.
Im using stock 2.3.1.
Ditto. This is one of the most disappointing things. It's a shame Google's stock Android keyboard doesn't offer any deep features for custom text and custom auto texts like Smart Keyboard Pro does. They have an opportunity to really deviate and advance from the iPhone's keyboard, but Google seems content in just copying Apple in respect to the keyboard functions and lack thereof of more features, which I don't understand.
Unfortunately, even Smart Keyboard Pro has hiccups and miss-presses (especially with the space bar; you often get words likethis. Very frustrating).
Hopefully the keyboard will get better with future updates. Gingerbread, in general, is chalk full of hiccups. It is not lag free as most reviews claim.
I have the same issue. It doesn't happen all of the time but when it does it is annoying. It's weird because letters around the one I am trying to push work sometimes.
I just have to delete the letter before it and keep trying to enter it again
I didn't have any problems with the Gingerbread keyboard when I installed the APK on my Vibrant. Weird.
never had this problem.
Only problem I have with the Gingerbread keyboard is that I wish the space bar were just a bit longer and taller because I often hit the "B" key rather than space.
But no, none of the issues you've reported on CM7 Alpha2
unremarked said:
Only problem I have with the Gingerbread keyboard is that I wish the space bar were just a bit longer and taller because I often hit the "B" key rather than space.
But no, none of the issues you've reported on CM7 Alpha2
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I was just thinking that. The length doesn't bother me so much, but I feel like I have to shove my finger into the very bottom of the screen to hit space. I've taken to just using the word suggestion bar to auto-space instead.
But to address the OP, no, haven't noticed any issues with responsiveness yet.
unremarked said:
Only problem I have with the Gingerbread keyboard is that I wish the space bar were just a bit longer and taller because I often hit the "B" key rather than space.
But no, none of the issues you've reported on CM7 Alpha2
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This is why I don't really like most android keyboards, the space bar is wayy too small. I've been alternative between the "iPhone Keyboard Emulator" and Swype.
I can type on an iphone (or even an ipod) more confidently than I can on any Android device. The Android keyboard on Gingerbread is without question improved over previous iterations, but still a far cry from the accuracy and responsiveness of iphones/ipods. It's also unfortunate Google doesn't take their keyboard past Apple's in terms of customization and ability to add auto correct and other features. For example, I don't understand why we still can't long press to get every alternative symbol.
I like the Gingerbread keyboard fine, space bar aside. I liked Swype better, but unless I'm mistaken, that can't be downloaded from the Market. Not willing to pay to try SlideIT, now that we're down to fifteen-minute trials.
I have been nothing but in love with the stock keyboard
I use Smart Keyboard Pro, best keyboard imo and I've tried them all.
ikon8 said:
I use Smart Keyboard Pro, best keyboard imo and I've tried them all.
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SKP is amazing. The customization and features are robust and fantastic. However, don't you find it often misses space bar presses on the NS? Very often you'll get words likethis. It's so bad I reverted back to using stock Android keyboard.
When is Google going to implement Blindtype, which they recently bought back in October? I'm excited for the potential of this, because as is, the Android keyboard is poor when typing fast - it's error prone, it misses keys (particularly the space bar), the auto-correct is not as smart as it claims it is, there's virtually no customization (a cue unwisely taken from Apple), it sometimes doubles up on letters like sso, and etc.
I'm not attempting to start any immature wars, as I know this can happen anytime someone mentions the iPhone, but has anyone here actually typed on an iPhone, or even an iPod? If there's one thing that the iPhone commands respect in, its the keyboard. If you get a chance, try it sometime. The responsiveness is perfect. I truly wish I can say the same about Android's keyboard. Those who have tried both will understand the difference.
Has anyone heard any news regarding implementing Blindtype? Improvements are sorely needed. For those who need a refresh of what Blindtype is, check out the video demo: http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2010/10/google-acquires-blindtype-to-improve.html
Maybe it's because of how I type, but I don't think my old iPod had much on my new Nexus S in terms of its keyboard. It could just be because Android has had the benefit of a year of improvements since my iPod was functional, though.
Bump.
Anyone notice when trying to type "I'm" (letter i then m) really fast, it often spells out "km" instead? And even when you clearly hit the letter i, as you're moving toward the letter m, it hits the k inadvertently, and results in "km"? Anyone else? It's quite frustrating.
Not sure if this has been mentioned (I didn't read through every response), but the first NS I got seemed to have a grounding issue with its screen, making a portion of the keyboard unusable at times. Holding it differently or using my other hand to press the keys would work.
I was able to confirm that it was an issue with the screen rather than the keyboard by using one of the Multitouch test apps and setting the new Nexus Live Wallpaper as my background to test those portions of the screen when it was acting up.
Best Buy gave me no trouble exchanging it (just a long line).
On my second Nexus S I have noticed what seems to be a similar issue. My troubled area seems to be the L M key region. Ill give it a few more days to make sure it's not just me and if need be I'll exchange it.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I am having a lot of problems typing with my keyboad dock. I type with only 2 fingers and 2 thumbs but I am quite quick. However I am finding that after just a few words my text is really messed up because the cursor has decided to move up three lines and back 2 words - or similar. This is my third attempt at this post because in each of the previous two attempts the whole message has been 'magically' selected and as I didn't notice in time, my next key deleted everything (does anyone know of an undo?).
I don't know if I'm continually mistyping, but unless I slow right down as I'm doing now it happens everytime.
Anyone else had similar problems?
topcat098 said:
I am having a lot of problems typing with my keyboad dock. I type with only 2 fingers and 2 thumbs but I am quite quick. However I am finding that after just a few words my text is really messed up because the cursor has decided to move up three lines and back 2 words - or similar. This is my third attempt at this post because in each of the previous two attempts the whole message has been 'magically' selected and as I didn't notice in time, my next key deleted everything (does anyone know of an undo?).
I don't know if I'm continually mistyping, but unless I slow right down as I'm doing now it happens everytime.
Anyone else had similar problems?
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Yes, hundreds others. The touchpad is quite sensitive. Disable it while you type long messages.
These problems seem to be tied to the stock browser. I have far less issues with Opera 11.
jadesse said:
These problems seem to be tied to the stock browser. I have far less issues with Opera 11.
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+1
Same for me...this hits me much more often in the stock browser.
Well I'm just starting to use Opera, so perhaps I'll be all right. Thanks for the help.
I have this problems with both stock browser, dolphin browser, and any text editing app. Is there any other solution than turning off the mouse every time I want to type for a while?
Thank god I'm not the only one. It realled pissed me off at first and still sort of does. As much as people say this is like a laptop or netbook and want it to be one the keyboard lag really holds it back.
First off overclocking makes the keyboard SOOOO much better. It is actually able to keep up with my typing and deleting. It seems worse on this site but much better with OC. Second on the keyboard dock if you push the key that turns off the keys (it looks like a mouse with a box around it) it stops the typing form automagically? Skipping down the page if you press space delete.
But as the others said you need to disable the touchpad. That's the real culprit for the skipping text. It's a pain to work around but it becomes much more enjoyable if you do that.
Oh and another fun things is if you are using six axis controller and the keyboard dock you lose access to the touch keyboard after you take off the dock. I'm wondering if the prime does better for keyboard speed and lag.
I don't know if anyone of you guys here have experienced screen jumping around the conversation thread while texting, but I've seen pretty much elsewhere. I haven't seen any similar thread around, so just to share it.
According to my interpretation, it is both a feature and a bug.
As for the feature part, the T, B and Backspace buttons are actually keyboard shortcut in a conversation thread. Once you've selected an sms with the trackpad, pressing T will get you to the top of the thread, vice versa for B and Backspace is for deleting.
What bugs me badly is that these things happen right when I was texting. Once or twice, I thought I was accidentally touching the trackpad, but considering my hand positioning and the cursor was still in the composing box when it happened, it was rather impossible.
It seems to be an universal Sense problem as well, since I came across this in multiple Sense Rom.
The best workaround I could come up with was to press B to get it back to the composing box, and use the trackpad to reposition the cursor. Nevertheless, it was still disruptive and annoying as hell.
Please share in the thread your experience/workaround/solution regarding this
Wish I could help more than to say you're not going nuts, it happens. it's incredibly annoying, i have no idea what does it. I don't use the roms that it happens in. If you like sense roms, but hate that try out myVision, I haven't seen that happen at all. Only downside I've found to myVision is the 'favs' crap that I'm amazed tmobile still tries to call a feature.
myVision is still in RC, that's the main reason why I still haven't tried it yet, but thanks for letting me know, will see how it works then
I think they only things keeping the dev from calling it complete are:
wants to add:
Will be adding 4-way reboot (when I figure out how to do it)
Will be editing updater-script so that you aren't just looking at a blank screen while it is installing (again when I figure out how to do it.)
And there is one bug:
HTC FM radio is not working on RC3.1 - working on a fix now.
I've been using it since for a few days now and have had no problems at all (I don't use the radio because I don't carry around headphones). It seems to get good battery life for a sense rom also. I think the only thing that could get me away from this rom is a Doubleshot rom with the lock screen app shortcuts like in Unity... couldn't hurt if it were updated to the newer doubleshot base either.
This is one of the many things that drives me away from Sense.
It's pretty, but I do 10,000 texts a month, and less than 100 minutes. So little things like this kill me.