[Q] Better typing engine/dictionary??? - Motorola Photon 4G

I am relatively new to Android so my first exposure is via this Motorola Photon 4G. I've had an iPhone for years and I have become so accustom to typing on it. It seems a lot more fluid and responsive. I can type paragraphs of text relatively error free. But with Android (or maybe its this Photon), I barely can get through two sentences.
I don't know if it is the stock dictionary installed or what, but the suggestions are always off, and it frequently puts periods in the middle of my sentences. That could be just a layout thing, but I don't know? Granted, I know you can download different text apps (like Chomp) to get iPhone type themes, but I'm talking about just basic typing more so than a theme. Like if I'm in an email, typing a note, editing a Word doc, anything.
Is there something I can install that would help? Forgive me for the noob-ness of that question.
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marriedandwhatnot.wordpress.com

Yeah, I get the random periods as well, but I've never used an iOS soft keyboard. Stock and SwiftKey do that. Google Swype, sign up for the beta (it's free). It's a whole different kind of typing. It's got its own faults, but it's far more efficient than any tapping solution I've seen. Though the ICS keyboard is a little better in knowing where you want your fingers to go than in GB, but you don't need ICS just to type.

I tried Swype and just couldn't get into it. Didn't seem natural.
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marriedandwhatnot.wordpress.com

Related

[Q] Swpye and Trace

Okay, so I'm lookin on the T-Mobile website and in the features list it says there is Trace and Swype. I looked around a little on the web and couldn't find much about Trace. It almost sounds like a replica of Swype. So could somebody like fill me in what it is. Thanks.
That pretty much is sums it up.
I, for one, hate it and installed Swype. Trace has a white keyboard and I prefer the darker tones of Swype. On Swype if you hold down the backspace key, it auto deletes the last word, where as trace acts as a computer keyboard and goes letter by letter.
Trace was decent and quite accurate. Of the other third party keyboard apps I've used, I'd put it #2 behind Swype, but after adjusting the accuracy/speed ratio, Swype is still is better IMHO.
Basically what it means is that there is no Swype license with your phone any more.
Spovik said:
That pretty much is sums it up.
I, for one, hate it and installed Swype. Trace has a white keyboard and I prefer the darker tones of Swype. On Swype if you hold down the backspace key, it auto deletes the last word, where as trace acts as a computer keyboard and goes letter by letter.
Trace was decent and quite accurate. Of the other third party keyboard apps I've used, I'd put it #2 behind Swype, but after adjusting the accuracy/speed ratio, Swype is still is better IMHO.
Basically what it means is that there is no Swype license with your phone any more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for clearing that up.
Swype is still king!
Spovik said:
That pretty much is sums it up.
I, for one, hate it and installed Swype. Trace has a white keyboard and I prefer the darker tones of Swype. On Swype if you hold down the backspace key, it auto deletes the last word, where as trace acts as a computer keyboard and goes letter by letter.
Trace was decent and quite accurate. Of the other third party keyboard apps I've used, I'd put it #2 behind Swype, but after adjusting the accuracy/speed ratio, Swype is still is better IMHO.
Basically what it means is that there is no Swype license with your phone any more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Swype is much more advanced than trace. Swype let's you adjust the trail left behind when you swipe letters whereas trace the line stays until the next word, sometimes get's hard to see where the letters are. IMO, Peace, V
Spovik said:
That pretty much is sums it up.
I, for one, hate it and installed Swype. Trace has a white keyboard and I prefer the darker tones of Swype. On Swype if you hold down the backspace key, it auto deletes the last word, where as trace acts as a computer keyboard and goes letter by letter.
Trace was decent and quite accurate. Of the other third party keyboard apps I've used, I'd put it #2 behind Swype, but after adjusting the accuracy/speed ratio, Swype is still is better IMHO.
Basically what it means is that there is no Swype license with your phone any more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never used swype but with trace on my phone, the last word stays highlighted until you start the next word and tapping the backspace key while the word is highlighted will delete the whole word. Seems to work well for me.
vvveith said:
Swype is much more advanced than trace. Swype let's you adjust the trail left behind when you swipe letters whereas trace the line stays until the next word, sometimes get's hard to see where the letters are. IMO, Peace, V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, trace on my phone does not exhibit this behavior. As soon as I'm done tracing the word, the line always goes away.
For me, it seems that Trace is a tad more accurate than Swype.
The one thing I do miss about Swype is being able to double-tap a word, and choose a replacement word. Trace just highlights the word for you, requiring you to delete the word and then re-type a new word.
TouchPal Keyboard
I like the free TouchPal keyboard I got from the Android Market much better than Swype.
Been using it for over a month now exclusively .
And I was a die hard beta Swype adopter before Tmo started putting it on their phones.
That's pretty good, I hadn't seen it before. I'll have to give it a little longer to see if I like it better, but it's definitely a great alternative.

[Q]Predictive Text and Spell Check Mechanics.

Does anyone on planet earth have a clue as to how Samsung predictive Text works? I haven't had a phone with such good grammar correction...well, since....ever.
But i also event had a phone which couldn't learn my words abduction then recommend them...well, since ever.
Also, what's this sliding keyboard nonsense? I understand your supposed to be able to slide your finger over the number qualifier on the keyboard, keep your finger pressed, and then slide to a number and let go...typing the number you let go on and switching back to the letter keyboard automatically (sorry...this is the best i could do in explaining how i thought it was supposed to work.
But it doesnt work.
What the heck? The keyboard just replaced heck with neck...btw. It even worse at memorizing acronyms like lol and btw.
Who has a few dark secrets or pointers they're willing to share with me.
Its such a pleasure to type on the none. And the keyboard design is great...or at least...it sucks the least when compared to the tiny letters on the default android keyboard.
Is there a pill for my woes? Or do i have to choose between terrible T9 and a third-party keyboard that performance is terrible on. Okay...maybe they're not all terrible (3rd party KBs)...but I've yet to see a single keyboard that didn't drop a few frames here and there and that performed as well as a stock one on either my note or transformer.

Writing messages, trying to place cursor at one spot, cursor jumps to another spot

I searched this forum. I dont know if it is Android specific or device specific. All I know...theres this super annoying problem. While wtiting in the text box, if the message im writing gets long and I have to correct a typo I made or simply want to move the cursor to another location in the paragraph, the dumb cursor bounces off the spot I selected and goes someplace far off..sometimes even 3 or 4 lines up. Sometimes it just wont move there no matter how many times I touch that spot. Its like it bounces off it and goes someplace else. If the message is short, it doesnt do this.
Is there any fix for this hella annoying problem? It makes it extremely difficult to edit what I wrote.
Stock device? Have you thoroughly tested your screen to rule out display problems? This problem is certainly not present with my device, but I had a similar issue on my Droid incredible that was fixed by changing roms.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA
Also happens on some touchscreens when you are charging and nudge the cord in the port a bit. The power fluctation causes the digitizer to spaz out until unplugging, or locking and unlocking the screen while plugged still.
If you ask me I'd say its pure stupidity on HTC's part. I miss my inc that had the trackpad. All I'm saying is this. If there isn't going to be a physical way built into the front of the device to move the cursor then atleast include on screen arrows like in Sense 4. To me its just dumb that the only way to move the cursor is to touch where you want to correct. Its this reason alone that I don't enjoy typing on my Rezound like I did on my Eris or Incredible.
wildstang83 said:
If you ask me I'd say its pure stupidity on HTC's part. I miss my inc that had the trackpad. All I'm saying is this. If there isn't going to be a physical way built into the front of the device to move the cursor then atleast include on screen arrows like in Sense 4. To me its just dumb that the only way to move the cursor is to touch where you want to correct. Its this reason alone that I don't enjoy typing on my Rezound like I did on my Eris or Incredible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. You get used to it though. Sort of.
You could try reseting the calibration in settings.
Sent from my evolving Rezound.
LunaticSerenade said:
Agreed. You get used to it though. Sort of.
You could try reseting the calibration in settings.
Sent from my evolving Rezound.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, I have what they call the...Fat Finger Syndrome. I'm gonna work on seeing if I can port the Sense 4 keyboard to Sense 3.6. Working on that now.
wildstang83 said:
Lol, I have what they call the...Fat Finger Syndrome. I'm gonna work on seeing if I can port the Sense 4 keyboard to Sense 3.6. Working on that now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But no one wants trackballs anymore. It's all about the massive screens and battery draining. I miss my Inc too. RIP trackball. Another option would be to download swiftkey. you can turn on arrows on the keyboard. makes life easier.
There are already flashables of the arrowed keyboard for 3.6.
I have a similar problem when pasting text. You put the cursor and tap and hold where you want to paste, and it jumps and selects some other text. If you hit paste, then it wipes what you previously wrote.
What's up with that?
To answer everyone... Its stock 2.3.4 ROM. And it does this regardless if it is plugged in to a charger or not. I have calibrated in the past for other reasons, but I dont think thats the problem. It seems to happen only when theres at least 4 lines or more of text. The more text in the box, the worse the problem becomes. It's not like a calibration issue. Because when you touch the spot in the text box to move the cursor there, the cursor actually does move there ..but only for a brief micro-second as it quickly bounces off that spot and lands some places else. Like I said, it only starts happening as you start to get 4 or more lines in the box. Now this box here in the quick reply, its not giving me any trouble ...yet. but some forums that use small text boxes and Facebook especially..omg its bad at facebook..
Ah yes, I'm on ICS (Newt's XXX ROM to be specific) and I believe I see what you are talking about. Typed a long response in the comment box on the Facebook app, and when scrolling the paragraph the caret does indeed bounce. It is essentially trying to stay within the tiny viewing window.
Actually I dont use the Facebook app, cant stand it. I use the browser. Either the mobile or the full site.
lol Yes, the app is rather crummy. The issue persists in the mobile version of the site and the full site to a lesser extent, depends on the amount of viewing space and amount of text. Consistent with your symptoms.
Leaning towards it being an Android problem or at least HTC Sense problem rather than specifically this device as a result. Newt's XXX ROM is a Sense 4 port after all.
Hmm. It seems to vary by page, for me. But yes, Facebook definitely does this, but so does Discus. I think it's a problem with Flash. Anyway, I "select all" and "cut" then reload the page and paste my text back in. Then I can navigate around the text normally for a while.
This even happens in the text entry window in xda, if I use the website instead of Tapatalk. I am also pretty sure this happened with my DInc as well.
(currently running stock GB)
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2
Yes, I've seen it sometimes. To compound the problem, sometimes the arrow keys on the Sense keyboard don't work properly; the left/right arrows instead move the cursor up and down.
+1 on missing the Inc's optical "trackball". Never knew how much I used it until I didn't have it.
bluetooth_decay said:
Yes, I've seen it sometimes. To compound the problem, sometimes the arrow keys on the Sense keyboard don't work properly; the left/right arrows instead move the cursor up and down.
+1 on missing the Inc's optical "trackball". Never knew how much I used it until I didn't have it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Arrow keys on sense? Where? Did not see any. Thats why I love swiftkey x because it had them arrows and they were a lifesaver. Only reason im jot using it now is because I did not purchase SKx yet. And skx kept causing problems in some IM apps I use. Its now Swiftkey 3. And im seeing some bad reviews of things I dont like. Will wait... Unless there is some other quality keyboard app ..yes quality..not clutzy..and have arrows. I thought about the Hackers keyboard but....ehh rather small keys and is better suited for landscape or a touchpad.
Arrowed Keyboard.
I'm going to revive this old thread because I'm having exactly the same problem as described in the first post, but on three different devices. First one is my S4 with stock but rooted 4.2.2 using TouchPal keyboard (great cut/paste/arrow keys/select/select all functionality), second is an old Android tablet running 4 something, lastly my brand new Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition, which is stock 4.3 with stock keyboard.
They all exhibit the same behavior, text entry works fine until I move the cursor position then I can't get back to the end of what I'm writing, only seems to happen when I'm using a browser (Boat Browser) and trying to reply to a forum, might try a different browser and see what happens. When it happens it completely breaks the cursor control options in TouchPal with whole sections of text just disappearing when trying to move the cursor via the keyboard. Once it's happened even submitting the post and editing it again still often has the same problem.
I think this is just an Android thing, I run across it from time to time on various devices as well, and just tap somewhere else in the text, then drag the cursor to the end of the text and continue.
But that's the thing, you try and drag the cursor to the end and it's as if it's on elastic and springs back.

[Q] Stock Android Keyboard - Switch to numpad

Hello,
i googled for quite some time now, but I couldn't find ANY answer. So I guess this is not possible but I thought I can ask here. Maybe someone knows something.
Is it possible, while typing with the stock android keyboard (Jelly Bean) to switch to the Numpad? I've uploaded two pictures to make things clear.
In the first pic you see the normal android keyboard. In the second one you see the numpad, but which only occurs if the text field only allows numerical input. What I want is to switch from the normal keyboard to the numerical one.
Example:
I am writing a note (in my fav. note app) or a sms. In this note/sms I type some longer Numbers (wlan-key, phone number, birthday... you name it). This is when I want to switch to the numpad, because I cannot describe how much I hate to input numbers when they are not in a 3x3 grid (like a numpad).
In the stock Android Keyboard, when I press the number button (bottom left) the numbers appear in a ROW on the top. I honestly don't get how people can type numbers with this.... It would drive me crazy. I could talk hours about how much i hate it. But I want to keep this kind of short
Swype has this feature: either hold the numbers key next to the swype button. Or swype from the swype-key to the t and the numpad appears. Really nice!
I was just wondering if something like this is possible for the Android keyboard.
greetings
PS: I tried a lot of different keyboards and only swype had both: swype input and numpad. Why? I think a numpad for numerical input is the best way to go. I really don't get why you want it any other way.
I dont know about the stock key board but swiftkey keyboard can also put the numbers in a 3x3 grid...although partially . I am attaching a screen shot
Hope this helped
Sent from my GT-S6802 using xda app-developers app
Thank you for your reply. I forgot about SwiftKey. Last time I've tried it, something bothered me, but I cannot remember what it was. Maybe I give it another try.
But still I am curious about the stock keyboard. Because I refuse to believe they did not implement this feature, since I think it is quite essential. And when it comes to choosing a keyboard, it's a deal breaker for me.

Keyboards on lg2

What keyboards have you guys been using for your lg2?
For my comparisons just wanted to state that I type >60 wpm on a regular keyboard and probably 30-40 wpm on the phone. I usually hold the phone and peck with two thumbs, sometimes use one handed Swype peck combo. Also I use a lot of slang and abbreviations when I type.
Google keyboard-
Positives- perfect and consistent level of vibration on key touches. No lag, 7/10 accurate swiping, change of long press duration. I like the spacing between the keys. Like the clean look.
Negatives-3/10 predictive text (usually just predicts words like the, a, on etc.). New update ugly black and white. New update removes comma if you want google voice on your keyboard.
Swiftkey- highest rated. I have used a ton.
Positives- best predictive text engine 9/10. Good cobalt color scheme. Able to shorten long press duration. On lg2 almost lag free and can mostly keep up with me.
Negatives- if you make a mistake it is more difficult to fix errors because of predictive engine. Swype is least accurate to me (2/10). Sometimes the vibration is heavy then soft which I find annoying. Swyping shows you next word,instead of current word. Sometimes I type fast and trigger the Swype = error. No spacing between keys
Touchpal
Positives- cool popup graphics and floating corrections (also negative as can be distracting), almost lag free, but slightly more lag than Swiftkey when typing fast. Swyping very good 8/10. Cool editing option. Many themes.
Negatives- a bit annoying to Swype up and down for numbers and punctuation when tap typing. Cannot long press for numbers as delay not adjustable and takes too long. Sometimes double tap space does not put in a period- very annoying. Does not use Google voice dictation system. No spacing between keys. Very inconsistent vibration while typing.
Swype-
Positives- best swiping keyboard by far 9/10.
Negatives- laggy at times and very laggy to tap type. Difficult using slang or non proper English. Tougher to edit mistakes.
Lg stock-
Poo pooed this one out of the box, using it for last few days.
Positives- great spacing of keys. Good looking with a few skins. Number row and symbols row at top after finish a word (makes up for non adjustable long long press delay). Good swiping (7/10). Good predictions not as good as Swiftkey). No lag. Vibration consistent. Uses Google voice.
Negatives-vibration a bit too strong and not adjustable. Long press delay not adjustable. Wish comma was to left of space (but getting used to this). Hard to get to "-" key which I use a lot.
Believe it or not my overall keyboard of choice (this week) is the lg2 stock! Can't believe it. Any lag automatically kills a keyboard for me.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
I've used the old FlexT9 Nuance since 2011 and I was pretty attached to it. I loaded it on every device I used for a long time. But since I got a G2, I like the LG stock one just fine. I don't even think about using another keyboard on it..
For the LG keyboard I'm going to have to disagree with you on the prediction. In fact it miss-predicts almost every word I trace. I think at best its 50% accurate. I have been a long to time user and fan of Swype because it is super accurate, but alas it has no number row. Anyone that has used a keyboard without a number row knows how nice it is to have one and not need to long press. This is the only place I have seen the LG keyboard win out. Otherwise, every time I use the LG keyboard I get so frustrated and swear I'm going back to Swype... I still haven't, but only because of the number row!
Personally I'm using the Google keyboard. I love the default LG one, but I cannot stand that the spacebar on the bottom is spaced a little to the left. Whoever works at LG and made it that way needs a punch in the face, because otherwise it feels much better than the rest and even has the number keys on top. With the way it is I keep inputting a comma in when it should be a space and cannot get used to it.
I completely agree that any lag kills a keyboard which is why I don't use swiftkey. I keep seeing rave reviews for it. It's one of the best selling apps. Luckily I got the full version free from the Amazon app store when they put it up for free to download. The slight lag completely kills it for me. The keyboard itself looks nice and functions well except for the lag.
Now the Google keyboard isn't perfect either and the recent changes made it worse. It functions very well, no lag, but seriously lacking emoji and other cool looking symbols the other keyboards have. On top of that now you can't place the mic button on the symbols keyboard anymore. It's either on the main keyboard or completely off. Why on earth did they have to change that??? It was perfect the way it was. Stupid Google.
Why on earth can't anyone out there make the perfect keyboard?? It would need;
1)The keys to be spaced right and the space bar at the bottom wide
2)No lag at all
3)Number keys on top
4)Being able to switch from typing to mic on the fly and not be intrusive.
And last of lesser importance 5)good swipe function and predictive text.
I've tried using the Google Keyboard, I've tried using the stock LG keyboard, but I find myself continually going back to SwiftKey just for the simple fact of the punctuation key. I love that I can swipe left for an exclamation mark or right for a question mark. I know it may seem stupid, but that's why I always come back to SwiftKey.
Sent from my LG-D800 using xda app-developers app
I always come back to SwiftKey
Reasons:
- Keyboard layout
- Best text prediction
- You can swype whole sentences in one go.
On a sidenote, keyboards are def. one of the main reasons I use Android. It would be a living nightmare to go back to the iOS keyboard for me.
Using Google Keyboard! LG's one is great but it's absolutely ugly, to the point where I simply can't stand it.
For me it's SwiftKey hands down... I do experience the different strength vibrations, but that hasn't been until the last update I do not believe. But I definitely don't experience any lag at all... I used to on my galaxy nexus, but not on my g2 .
My one complaint about SwiftKey is that sometimes it doesn't learn new words or especially has problems learning combinations of words. But overall it's the only keyboard that I keep coming back to, no others even compare.
But I will say that I typically use two hands like you and peck at it with my thumbs. What I absolutely love about SwiftKey is that I can type strings of three or four words together and it figures it out
I too find myself coming back to SwiftKey. On older phones I would find myself flipping between different keyboards because SwiftKey has that bit of lag. But on this phone, while I can still make it lag if I really try, it is so much smoother than any previous phone I have used and the lag is very rare and slight at worst. And even when laggy on old phones, the simple fact of the matter was that with the way I type, I can consistently type faster and more accurately on SwiftKey than on any other keyboard. That is what has kept me using it. The fact that it looks nice and clean compared to say, TouchPal is a plus. The old Google keyboard is nice too, simple and quick but I can type faster with others. LG's keyboard I wish I could give a holo theme or something, but for the most part I like it. The number bar has been quite useful. But again, most of the time, I type faster with TouchPal and SwiftKey. TouchPal is a bit ugly, it's just busy looking, but it's theming capability has mitigated that somewhat, not by directly reducing that but by adding a nice elements to the look to compensate I guess. I can type much faster on it than Google or LG. But in the end, I still type the fastest and most comfortably with SwiftKey. No question about it.
SomethingWild88 said:
I've tried using the Google Keyboard, I've tried using the stock LG keyboard, but I find myself continually going back to SwiftKey just for the simple fact of the punctuation key. I love that I can swipe left for an exclamation mark or right for a question mark. I know it may seem stupid, but that's why I always come back to SwiftKey.
Sent from my LG-D800 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what you're saying. I don't understand why other keyboards make it so tough to find punctuation. Only thing that I don't like about SwiftKey is they recently changed the layout for the special characters but I don't use them that often so it's not a huge deal.
The lg stock keyboard has definitely grown on me but one thing i have noticed is that i have way more typos than on swift key or Google keyboard.
Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk
The LG keyboard was autocorrecting words to things that weren't even real words, and in general having terrible prediction. Had to get rid of it. Plus the punctuation keys changing the short press every time I long pressed to get to a different punctuation was annoying. Swiftkey is the best predictor out there by far that I've used.
Used either Google or Thumb Keyboard on the old GNex. Haven't yet found one I really like on the G2. I don't swipe so that's irrelevant for me. Never tried Swiftkey, but I probably will.
The LG board blows for the most part. Amazingly poor auto correct and the comma key should be left of the space bar, IMO.
Sent from my VS980 4G using xda app-developers app
LG hands down for me for just the Number row alone! But I do mess up on the space bar often. I'm sure I'll adjust soon.
Google keyboard or Kii Keyboard. Kii Keyboard is probably the best I've ever used. Try it out
Sent from my LG-D801 using xda app-developers app
Fleksy beta for me. I find it really accurate. It doesn't have any swiping capabilities but I don't swipe at all so I love it. It does have a learning curve to it though.
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk
v2.2v said:
Google keyboard or Kii Keyboard. Kii Keyboard is probably the best I've ever used. Try it out
Sent from my LG-D801 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using Kii for a while now, too. Definitely the best I've used. All keyboards have faults, but this one doesn't have many (occasional autocorrect with duplicate words comes to mind)
Sent from my LG-LS980 using xda app-developers app
I used big buttons keyboard for years but liking the stock keyboard. Just wish there was some nice themes for it...the stock ones are boring
Sent from my G2,Note 3 or S4
After a few days went back to the grey boring Google keyboards. Damn its just too fast and the multi touch makes me fastest in it. Boring but true. Also takes up much less real estate.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
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