LF Bigger Keyboard (Milestone) - Motorola Droid and Milestone Themes and Apps

Im not sure how many of you use the smaller pixel density's in Androidani but I love them!
My question is, is there a way of making the keyboard keys any larger? They pretty much stay the same as the larger pixel density would be. Any suggestions?
I use 'Better Keyboard' right now and really like it, but my thumbs are way to big for the keys from years of mashing Sega Controllers.
Thanks!

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need all the tips i can get on improving my typing speed with the keyboard

i am really slow when typing with the keyboard the keys are narraower than what id like them to be and if i type faster i make too many mistakes. i type a lot my my speed didnt improve much since i bought the device 3 weeks ago. the fastest way for me to type is to use the compct qwerty in the hd-keyboard
am i the only one suffering too much from this? any tips to make my life easier? and btw, i type with my two (fatish) thumbs
sony better fix this in the x2. this is what i hate about the keyboard
-keys too narrow
-too much free spaces between the keys
-not enough travel distance or feedback on some keys
-touch pro keyboad has the very very very usuful number row that help greatly in speed typing and dialing.
-area of keyboard is big but not utalised properly. probably to make the design more attractive
There's no real tricks or hints anyone can give you. It's just a matter of practise, practise and some more... you get the point. You shouldn't expect to type at keyboard speed with two thumbs though.
Granted, I sometimes doublepress a key as well, mainly because the tactile response is kind-of so-so.
i understand what you say. and i dont expect a magical trick that will double my speed. it just frustrating that my typing speed is almost the same as the day i bought the thing. the funny part is that the other day i got a change to play with the touchpro for the first time and my speed was so much better
fatso485 said:
i understand what you say. and i dont expect a magical trick that will double my speed. it just frustrating that my typing speed is almost the same as the day i bought the thing. the funny part is that the other day i got a change to play with the touchpro for the first time and my speed was so much better
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I'm a little faster with a Fuze, I've noticed. I think that's the same as your Touch Pro.
I think with both the Touch Pro and the Xperia, it's one of those, "You get it...or you don't" things. People who like one aren't going to like the other an you just cannot talk them out of one and into the other.
The little E71-2 will probably really surprise you with how easy you can type.
Sometimes I'll switch the SIM into an E71-2 when I have to carry something with a smaller profile, and after using it for a day I wonder why on earth I ever got the Xperia.
(sigh)
But, you know what?
I'll probably still get an N97.
Yeh, coming from a P1i i reckon SE should have done some R&D on the keyboard before releasing it. The P1 was absolutely magical as far as typing goes, very close to keyboard speeds . . . I bought the X1 as an upgrade from my P1i (and because it has a qwerty), but honestly, I think about going back to my P1i . . . love the keyboard on that
i am typing quite fast with mine .
one trick could be to use the autocompletion using tab space when the good world is found
Practice makes perfect....
thanks tylwith the tab space was surprisengly more effective than what i excpeted.
my biggest issue is that i tend to press a wrong and close lettero the one i really want. i wonder if i can install a dictionay that puts that in consideration. some on screen keyboards do that very well like pocketcm or the iphone
Get a dremel, take one of the conical tips for it and grind the end of your fingers down to points. Should make hitting the right keys a bit easier, eventually when the pains stopped...
Seriously I doubt you've got much bigger hands than me (if at all) and I don't have to many problems with the keyboard.
Practice some more, writing out war&peace in pocket word should do it..

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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Click to collapse
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.

how good is the on-screen keyboard compared to a physical keyboard?

Hi
Does anyone with Nexus one had experience with cell phone with a physical keyboard?
I am looking to know how good is the N1 keyboard compared to milestone or cliq or backflip...?
Thanks
Well... I used to use a Blackberry 8830 personally... Sure, it's more of a portrait setup, but whatever..
Either way, the N1 w/ Haptic feedback enabled is actually quite easy to use. Obviously it'll still take some getting used to, but it's plenty good for me. Without the feedback, it'd be a completely different story imho.
What I've learned is this: With time, you'll be just as comfortable with a virtual keyboard. Though there IS a learning curve.
honestly, with the text correction, it works great. I'm coming from an xperia, and a TYTN II, so I've been with physical keyboards for a while.
mrbkkt1 said:
honestly, with the text correction, it works great. I'm coming from an xperia, and a TYTN II, so I've been with physical keyboards for a while.
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This ^^^
This is a huge bonus once you get settled. You'll need to edit in some of your own personal corrections (Hold down on the word you wish to add to auto-correction until is says "Saved"). You'll end up incorrectly correcting some commonly used words initially. My main ones are apps (usually changes to Alps ) and "Haha" which changes to Bahamas... Everyone will find a few words that auto-correct in ways you wish they didn't
But yeah... Earlier, I don't recall exactly what I was sending to my wife... but "Bolton" made its way into my sentence. LOL!
Oh... Don't forget! You can use Speech-to-Text on this device. Simply swipe your finger to the right edge on the keyboard, and it brings up a speech menu. With practice, you may find that you actually prefer it. (Again, this will take some self-training, due to the way we all enunciate things differently)
legolas.w said:
Hi
Does anyone with Nexus one had experience with cell phone with a physical keyboard?
I am looking to know how good is the N1 keyboard compared to milestone or cliq or backflip...?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the 6800, TP and then the TP2 for reference. I was convinced that I *needed* a physical keyboard as typing on the soft keyboards of the above mentioned phones was always error prone for me. The TP2 was better than the others due to the larger screen size, but still was not as easy as the hardware keyboard.
With that said the soft keyboard on the Nexus One (with haptic feedback enabled) is really easier to type on than the above phones. At this point I don't feel that I need the hardware keyboard any longer, but there is definitely a bit of time required to get used to the soft keyboard if you are used to a hardware keyboard.
I would say the soft keyboard with auto correct is actually quite good on the Nexus One. It works well enough that I am not motivated to sell the phone and get a new one, so it can't be all bad
As far as typing goes, is there any way to change input language? I am Brazilian and I have to change it to Portuguese-br in order to type...
Like everyone else on here generally seems to agree, once you actually get used to it, it won't be an issue for you. And if you get the HTC_IME, (I know, it looks kinda pixelated, but not so much so that I can't deal with) it makes things even better.
It's really good once you get used to it. I'm using Swype at the moment which is even more awesome, but no voice dictation on it yet. The funniest auto-correction for me so far was "haha" to "bahamas," and I forget what I texted someone, but it ended up sending "burial phone."

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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.

Nexus s owners who migrated from a qwerty keyboard e.g desire z droid

How are you finding the virtual keyboards? I use swype but its pretty innacurate at times is there any alternative that you have used in landscape or portrait that has meant you no longer miss the physical keyboard. I'm not sure I can make the jump from a physical keyboard!
I was a BlackBerry convert to Android for the Desire Z. The physical keyboard was a 'must' for me, however, in real world usage the more I used the DZ, the less I actually used the physical keyboard and found myself using the onscreen 90% of the time.
It's been 2 days now on the Nexus S for me, can't say I'm missing it. The pro's for me were the larger screen, lightweight feel & design, and in my usage case, stronger reception everywhere I go (this was important).
I'm switching between swiftkey, smart keyboard pro and the default gingerbread keyboard and find myself using the stock keyboard more often than not. I never spent a ton of time with Swype or it's equiv's, (and what I did, I didn't like) so I can't comment much there.
I guess this is why there's a return policy on phones
I was totally a hardware-keyboard kinda guy. Got my NexusS and wasn't sure how I'd adapt, but frankly it works great for me. Sure, I make typo's, probably more than on a hardware based kb, but the autocorrect works pretty well, and the more I type on it the fewer mistakes I seem to make. Also, when you get tired of typing you can always just hit the mic button and just talk to it.
The improved form factor of the phone is nice as well. Thinner and sleeker without the extra hardware. Surprisingly, I dig it.
I came from a G1.. I do miss the physical keyboard but have gotten used to the touch screen pretty quick. I switch back and forth from the stock keyboard and SwiftKey..
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

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