Database Users

Keyboard - Are you happy?

Hi All,
I've tried for the past several days to find any word on what it's like typing on the TD2/Pure keyboard and cannot seem to find anything substantial. I like the look and feel of the phone and think I want one. However, I need to know from someone who has had one for a while what it's like typing on it daily. Speaking for me, I've got short stubby fingers and thumbs. Is that a problem? Will I end up using the stylus most of the time?
Also in the store, the keyboard wouldn't switch to landscape in anything other than the messaging applications. When I tried to use it in Word, it stayed in portrait mode.
Thanks in advance.

I've had my Pure for 3 days. I been using the Fuze for the past year. It's taking a little while to get use to the on-screen keyboard. I too have fat fingers. A friend of mine just bought a Sprint Hero. I really like the on-screen keyboard that comes with it. If I can find a similiar one for the Pure I'll be a lot happier. In the meantime I'll keep using the stylus when I need to type quickly and accurately.

had my Topaz since may 7th, many texts every day and its good Not as fast as a physical keypad, and you cant touche type well with it ofc. BUT, it is easy. It has auto correction built in, so you almost always get the right words. I run mine atm in Phone keypad mode, (2abc 3def etc) because the keys are bigger, altho the full Qwerty is also good
Also i by no means have small hands and i almost never use the stylus ;P

I got fat fingers as well and no nails. (I bite) and I can say I type really quick on the keyboad. I would type quick on the original HTC Touch aswell and that screen sucked. What I've noticted is that people use the tip and or pad of their thumb which blocks the screen. I type and use the phone by using the inner top edge of my thumbs. I get a bettr view of the screen and can type very accurtate in portrait view. I use both thumbs when typing aswell.
Oh and this is on the qwerty keyboard. People are surprised at how fast I can type on it. Way faster than using a normal keyboard. (1-9) I would a like to sugest to try out the 20key qwerty if you are having problems with the full qwrety. type a blackberry.

This is the first device I've used that didn't have actual keys, and for the first couple of hours, I got frustrated and resorted to the stylus. However, after another couple of hours making a good attempt to get used to the keyboard, I did, and my accuracy and speed are both pretty good now.

I use Fingerkeyboard and I am very happy. Of course it was better on my blackstone than on my topaz due to the bigger screen, but I found that I can type faster on this on-screen keyboard than I could on the physical keyboard of the xperia... On-screen keyboards are more sensitive IMO.

Well - After everything I had read and studied, I made the leap yesterday and purchased the Pure. It was a bit awkward at first and the typing was pretty much hit and miss. After burning through a few emails and texts, I think I've got the hang of it. It does seem that part of my problem is the screen calibration is a bit off. I figured this out by using the stylus in the contact list and if I hit the "T", the "S" list came up. The typing was easier than I expected but it's amazing how much screen real estate the keyboard takes up in landscape mode.
Thanks for all the replies.

Yeah you can recallibrate in the settings, will help Glad you got one.

I love it!
Here's a tip... Instead of pecking at the letters, if you hold your finger on the letter for just a tad longer, it will "popup" the letter. Got the wrong one, just roll your finger a little until the right one comes up.
You don't have much time to do this, but it's very easy to get used to!

OracleBlue said:
Well - After everything I had read and studied, I made the leap yesterday and purchased the Pure. It was a bit awkward at first and the typing was pretty much hit and miss. After burning through a few emails and texts, I think I've got the hang of it. It does seem that part of my problem is the screen calibration is a bit off. I figured this out by using the stylus in the contact list and if I hit the "T", the "S" list came up. The typing was easier than I expected but it's amazing how much screen real estate the keyboard takes up in landscape mode.
Thanks for all the replies.
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That's strange that it's off like that. My Topaz came precalibrated just fine. Go to Settings in Touchflo then Menu>All Settings>System>Screen and you should be able to re-calibrate. If its like the original TD2 it you won't be able to re-calibrate unless you flash a cooked ROM.
Do you use both thumbs or one hand and one finger to type. Both thumbs work grand for me.

The keyboard itself is wonderful, nice layout and everything. But sometimes even if I press kinda hard the key I pressed don't show up which means I always have to press kinda hard to be sure to get the key I pressed.

Does anybody have the 20 key keyboard .cab? I might give it a go again. Can't seem to find it...

ArtieQ said:
The keyboard itself is wonderful, nice layout and everything. But sometimes even if I press kinda hard the key I pressed don't show up which means I always have to press kinda hard to be sure to get the key I pressed.
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Hold they key on the screen it should pop up the letter to verify. Maybe that's a euro td2 vs usa pure thing?
My unlocked diamond did this out of the box, so hmmm.

syntrix said:
Hold they key on the screen it should pop up the letter to verify. Maybe that's a euro td2 vs usa pure thing?
My unlocked diamond did this out of the box, so hmmm.
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Maybe I confused you a little, I mean when I press on the screen nothing happens which means I have to press harder than I want to. It might be the TD2 screen itself because if you press on it you can feel that goofy thing, it's like some plastic glass instead of real glass (like on Diamond).

I gotcha.
I have a diamond too, and the screen seems just the same.
I have noticed that the actual LCD is sunk a little more down on the TD2 over the TD.
I actually welcome this as there's less glare and better readability of the screen.

try cliquick keyboard its the largest i can find lol

Keyboard size

What is the biggest keyboard which can be installed on the HTC HD2? I have tried swype and the standard keyboard that comes with the phone, but I tend to be hitting the key next door at times resulting in me taking longer than I would like to send a simple text.
I haven't seen an Iphone keyboard before but I have not heard anyone mentioning the difficulties with the typing on that phone, I could be wrong of course.
I need some decent size keys to press, it wouldn't of been to bad if we had a stylus in the phone.

Trust me, the Iphone keyboard is harder to use.
I always miss the buttons on the standard keyboard, but is it really a problem?
XT9 corrects me 98% of the time.
And with swype its not a problem at all...
You are swyping the keyboard, right? Because its almost impossible to press the buttons.

Maybe my damn fingers are just too big, with swype I find myself rolling my finger to see if I'm swiping the right key or the one beside it. Oh well let's see how it goes.
Cheers

Then you could consider the possibility to move the keyboard on the horizontal way, using software as girator, then if you use both the thumbs with an angle of 90 degrees it is really easy to write, look in youtube a video that shows how a iphone user can write faster than one that use the great swype on hd2, it is just a matter of pratical skill that stems for some training. anyway there are software that use bigger keyboard, if I well remember is the spb keyboard.
3 solutions...
1)swype
2)training
3)spb keyboard
seems easy...

Yeap practice is definately the way forward in this case I think

sony007 said:
What is the biggest keyboard which can be installed on the HTC HD2? I have tried swype and the standard keyboard that comes with the phone, but I tend to be hitting the key next door at times resulting in me taking longer than I would like to send a simple text.
I haven't seen an Iphone keyboard before but I have not heard anyone mentioning the difficulties with the typing on that phone, I could be wrong of course.
I need some decent size keys to press, it wouldn't of been to bad if we had a stylus in the phone.
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the iphone is much more accurate then hd2.i own the hd2 and the htc shift.

Accuracy depends on each and every person. You can`t say that one keyboard is more accurate than another, because only the person typing can be more or less accurate when using one of the keyboards. I`ve used both the iPhone and the HD2 (which I own) and I would go for the HD2`s keyboard anytime. But that`s just my opinion.
As for the OP`s problem, use SPB Keyboard if you have a hard time typing on the stock keyboard.

Anyway to edit the layout of keyboards? I. Need. A. Bigger. Spacebar.

Typing. Like. This. Is. Driving. Me. Crazy.
For what ever reason, when I try to type fast, i constantly hit the period button. I've tried swype, which is neat and all, but instinctively i type with two thumbs on my phone, so even in swype mode, i run into this issue.
Is there any way to maybe move the period button over to the left of the keyboard?
Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thumb Keyboard should take care of your problem. It offers several different layouts and you can increase or decrease the key height as well.
The different layouts have a long spacebar or a split spacebar if you type two-thumbed!
The developer is very responsive. He e-mailed me that in upcoming release user will be able to customize the location of the various symbols/punctuation that share the letter/number keys.
Well worth the small purchase fee!!!

higherbeing said:
Typing. Like. This. Is. Driving. Me. Crazy.
For what ever reason, when I try to type fast, i constantly hit the period button. I've tried swype, which is neat and all, but instinctively i type with two thumbs on my phone, so even in swype mode, i run into this issue.
Is there any way to maybe move the period button over to the left of the keyboard?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
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No no, not thumb keyboard. Smart keyboard pro. I had the same problem when I switched from iphone to android. Kept hitting the f-ing period button. Smart keyboard lets you remove the period and comma on the sides of the space bar. It makes the space bar HUGE!!! Best two bucks you've ever spent. And you can adjust the height of the keys. All kinds of tweaks. Hands down the best 3rd party keyboard out there.

Here is a gallery of keyboards in protrait. My favorite right now is ultra keyboard, but thumb keyboard is a close second, and slideit is nice for quick texts.
Click on the thumbs for larger images. They are actual screenshots from my phone.

ditto for thumb keyboard. I love it. Gives you TWO spacebars and a numpad in the middle. I was having problems reaching the inside keys on this big 'ol screen but no more.
I think it's all personal pref. Try em out.

The period and arrow keys on the 5-inch thumb keyboard kill me... but it is the best I've found.
I hate having to switch screens to edit or put in numbers and symbols.

marvin02 said:
Here is a gallery of keyboards in protrait. My favorite right now is ultra keyboard, but thumb keyboard is a close second, and slideit is nice for quick texts.
Click on the thumbs for larger images. They are actual screenshots from my phone.
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I've found ultra keyboard to be my new favorite keyboard. Thank you.
Goodbye swype hello ultra.

One hand use

Hi!
I'd like to know if anybody actually uses Samsung's features in order to help using the phone with one hand?
I myself make only use of the (not convincingly thought through) gesture which allows me to shrink the screen.
The assistant menu:
quite customisable, but much too big and slow for my taste.
Side key panel:
the other way round, quite comfortable to use, but nearly no customisation at all.
All in all I'd say lots of options, but not really thought through. What do you think?

Like you, I find the side key panel quite useful- eliminates the thumb stretching for the "back" button.
One handed input is also turned on & is mildly helpful for the dialer. Seemed to help a bit with continuous input on the keyboard as well, but ended up switching back to the stock Google keyboard I've grown so accustomed to.
Long pressing the recents key to bring up menus is also nice, though not specific to the Note 4.

Sometimes I use the shrink screen function that's when I'm to lazy to move my other hand haha
Sent from my SM-N910F using XDA Free mobile app

It's not just laziness. Sometimes you really need to do other things with your other hand (old school multi-tasking).

Holmegaard said:
Like you, I find the side key panel quite useful- eliminates the thumb stretching for the "back" button.
One handed input is also turned on & is mildly helpful for the dialer. Seemed to help a bit with continuous input on the keyboard as well, but ended up switching back to the stock Google keyboard I've grown so accustomed to.
Long pressing the recents key to bring up menus is also nice, though not specific to the Note 4.
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I agree with everything you said. Still: I'm not too convinced from what the side key panel offers. If you could customise the side key panel the same way as the assistant menu, I'd totally go for it.

macmobile said:
I agree with everything you said. Still: I'm not too convinced from what the side key panel offers. If you could customise the side key panel the same way as the assistant menu, I'd totally go for it.
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I seem to remember that there should be an app that mimics the one you can find in Ios. Anyway, there are several very good apps I use for 'one handed mode':
- button savior non root (you can find in in the google play store) which gives you back, home, recent, screen lock and lets you start both the dialer and the camera;
- lmt launcher (see at xda) which works very well if you are rooted and lacks some little features if you are not. You just have to remove tue superuser permission from the manifest file (which you can do with apk permission remover) and turn on accessibility and it'll work almost as a charm. I mean, it does not only allow you to mimic the hardware keys, it can start any app and any activity which does not require root. If you are rooted, it can do virtually anything;
- as a good replacement of lmt launcher, you can test pie control by Coolace (always in the google play store).
I mostly keep the note 4 in my left hand (though I am right handed) just because my 2 years experience with the note 2 has got me accustomed to writing with my right hand, while keeping the smartphone with the left one... so that I currently feel uncomfortable while holding the note with my dominant hand So, I feel the need to have virtual keys on the right side, since reaching the back button on the right side is not so easy (though my hands are normally sized) and the above mentioned apps are the most useful I have found.

Funny, you actually named some very important apps I already use on my phone except for the lmt launcher. Could be that I thought there isn't anything to gain from if you're not rooted. Going to give it a try though. Thank you! Still I don't get it, why Samsung's Touchwiz doesn't offer better solutions? They could do it so easily.

No doubt macmobile, some customization options would be nice. The big phone trend isn't going away, so I'm hoping that more options for easing one-handed use are in the pipeline. Samsung would do well to lead the way, given their investment in the "phablet" space.

macmobile said:
Funny, you actually named some very important apps I already use on my phone except for the lmt launcher. Could be that I thought there isn't anything to gain from if you're not rooted. Going to give it a try though. Thank you! Still I don't get it, why Samsung's Touchwiz doesn't offer better solutions? They could do it so easily.
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I rooted every single phone or tablet before buying a Note 4 and now, though I miss the fun of flashing rom and mods, I think this phone has too many sensors which wouldn't be supported by an AOSP rom, while custom touchwiz roms aren't worth for me to give up to knox. Not much for the warranty loss, but more for the loss of the knox enviroment itself. So, since I don't want to root, I have got to look for work-arounds and I think there are many good apps.
Back on topic, imho Samsung has so far designed the best implementation for one hand usage, though it could be better. If you look at the nexus 6, it's just a big phone and the Iphone itself is just a (good) 5.5" phone which doesn't pay particular attention to single hand usage.
I agree with you both that phablets are very likely here to stay and that the current UI for single hand usage is at very early stage.

I just received the Note 4 with lollipop pre installed.
The one-handed operation (that I was using woth my note 3) has disappeared from settings!!!!!
WHY????
how to get it back?

Settings/Display and Wallpaper/One-handed operation

Samsung screwed one thing about One handed operation: there is no separate setting for dialing keyboard and QWERTY keyboard, just like it was on my previous Note II.
I wish I could set smaller dialpad, but retain full QWERTY, which is not the option any more.
When set one handed operation ON, samsung keyboard is just too small to me.

Stupidities revolving the s7 keyboard

Hi guys, I just got a tab s7 recently, I've had some time testing around , especially the keyboard, for which I can tell, is a whole disaster!!! There are SO SO SO MANY problems about this things:
- Cant play games without keyboard mapping apps (I know, android limits, but it still sucks)
- No uses other than typing (cant pause, forward, backward, bla bla bla in ytb and other vid playing app, so annoying)
- Screen flashing when using the arrow keys to choose elements on home screen ( is this some sort of feature or something?)
- Stupid trackpad which is laggy af
- No F rows, so instead of Alt+F4 to exit, now it must be Alt+Fn+F4!!
- One more stupid thing about this is the screenshot button, which I find it another annoyance, and I accidentally press it not once, BUT SO MANY TIMES!!!
THEY SHOULD REALLY HAVE SOME SOFTWARE TO CONTROL THIS KEYBOARD'S BEHAVIOUR!!!

I just got the keyboard cover yesterday and on the whole I like it but I do agree it could be a lot better. The touchpad is not what I had hoped for and does lag pretty badly. I also wish that I could reverse the scrol direction on it and that it had more geatures, it seems odly limited for such an expensive accessory!

you can always return it.
the s7+ keyboard cover is much better in quality than the s6's one. the fact i dont have to worry about "sticking" the back part on the tablet is a big difference. the keybed feels nicer and so does the trackpad.

i wish I could buy the back without the keyboard. Love the kickstand, hated the keyboard and the price.

I think Samsung should be ashamed of releasing this accesory at this price point.
I used Microsoft Type Covers for years. It has better touchpad, backlit keys, the keyboard can be lifted towards the tablet to give you a more comfortable typing posture, and it costs way less than Samsung's keyboard cover.
I have the S7+ with the Keyboard Cover and it doesn't even closes well (the cover slips down when it is in an standing position, causing the screen to wake unintentionally), It lacks backlight, the touchpad only clicks towards the bottom (clicking at the top of the pad takes a lot of force) and dosen't provide a way to lift the back side to inprove the typing position. This is a really bad designed product and, of course, it lacks the quality for the price tag.
That said, it is almost woth it just for the back cover with the stand and the pen holder.
I really don't reccomend it as a keyboard.

I have no issues you're describing. Works fine for me...
mechaman122 said:
- Cant play games without keyboard mapping apps (I know, android limits, but it still sucks)
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Most games a touch optimized. Has nothing to do with the keyboard...
mechaman122 said:
- No uses other than typing (cant pause, forward, backward, bla bla bla in ytb and other vid playing app, so annoying)
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Not sure, the keyboard has all these shortcuts on the "F" keys... Volume, Forward/Backward, etc
mechaman122 said:
- Screen flashing when using the arrow keys to choose elements on home screen ( is this some sort of feature or something?)
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Seems only for you... No flashes for me.
mechaman122 said:
- Stupid trackpad which is laggy af
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Cursor moves smoothly with no lags
mechaman122 said:
- No F rows, so instead of Alt+F4 to exit, now it must be Alt+Fn+F4!!
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That's strange... For me F keys are set by default. I need to press FN to actually trigger the extra features blow F keys.
mechaman122 said:
- One more stupid thing about this is the screenshot button, which I find it another annoyance, and I accidentally press it not once, BUT SO MANY TIMES!!!
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That's true. At the same time, it's a function I use a lot when composing an email... So eventually you'll get used to it.
IDK, for me it's a great keyboard cover.

I returned mine for one reason. For that price it needs to be backlit. Otherwise it was fine

Can only partly agree on the OP. I also have the S7 with the keyboard cover.
Yes it lacks the F#-bar, same for the multimedia short cuts, but all the other issues I cannot replicate.
What I really hate about the keyboard is the language button - I always press it instead of the space bar. The screenshot button I also wanted to being mapped to s.th. else. For the latter I prefer the spen gesture, as editing the screenshot is quite convenient with the spen.
Back light would be great, I also miss the charging option the iPad pro magic keyboard offers, and a bluetooth connectivity option would also be great (typing while having the tab disconnected) .. but well: it is what it is for the money it costs.
The rest: well - It's super slim and tiny - and respecting the size, typing is rather good. The touch pad is not laggy at all - but Android is not made for mices and so are the apps - and no: DEX for me is still too far away to offer a laptop usability. The keyboard is ok for typing, while convenient to always carrying it around. Good enough to do the job if needed. But definitely far behind my laptop.
I guess some here expect a full blown laptop replacement. If so, you should go for a surface book, with the cost of compactness, battery, and being more expensive.
Btw.: What remapping software you are talking about?
Would be great I easily could deactivate the language button. That's really the annoying part for me...

i'd also love to switch off or remap the sceenshot button, but alas, no luck it seems...

gottahavit said:
I returned mine for one reason. For that price it needs to be backlit. Otherwise it was fine
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Exactly why I found one on Amazon

Scorpion34 said:
Exactly why I found one on Amazon
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Well While I still wish it had backlight, Best buy has the keyboard 50% off tonight and I had a 100 dollar gift card burning ahole in my wallet. I picked one up today for 115. For the Kick stand alone i'ts almosty worth it and the keyboard is a bonus.

gottahavit said:
Well While I still wish it had backlight, Best buy has the keyboard 50% off tonight and I had a 100 dollar gift card burning ahole in my wallet. I picked one up today for 115. For the Kick stand alone i'ts almosty worth it and the keyboard is a bonus.
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Well I also didn't like the feel of the keyboard. The one I have came with a folio style case so I can stand it up & the keyboard is backlit & has a touchpad. The only downside is the keyboard plastic is the cheap scratchy kind but for 45 bucks I can just get it wrapped of something.

How did you change it so you don't press the FN key for media controls? Cause mine I hate having to press FN to use the media controls.