As an App Marketing Consultant, I spend a lot of time using many devices from iPhones to Nexus, iPad to tablets, right now I’m using HTC Windows 8 phone, and I get asked a lot, what is your personal preference and why? Well, that is a tough question to answer and after reflecting on it, I’ll have to say it comes down to Android smartphones. The reason I say Android is simply for the ease of tap typing, the keyboard and word predictions.
For many of us, when a thought goes through your head, you can easily jot it down with pen and paper. Writing what and how you think is easily done this way and will continue to be, as pen and paper may be minimized in today’s digital world, but still has plenty of merit. However, jotting something down on your device is slower than your thought process and Android provides many options to choose through Google Play when replacing Android’s stock keyboard. It’s a prime reason for me liking Android devices.
Both iOS and Windows 8 platforms haven’t opened the doors on replacing their default keyboard, so basically your stuck with it, while how it works may not work the way your brain does. As such, you’re adapting to the phone instead of the phone adapting to you. The Windows 8 default keyboard offers the same approach but I find has excellent word-prediction and rivals the iOS and Android default keyboard. For those who want choice and customization can find it through the Google Play. There are numerous keyboards to choose from, all different styles, with SwiftKey being the pillar of keyboards. SwiftKey has done an amazing job with their PR convincing those that they are THE keyboard choice. They are great at communicating and have Android influencers convinced that their word prediction and Flow, (their version of Swype) is the way to go. However, after looking past the hype and using their keyboard among others, I find that other choices in the app ecosystem do hold their own quite well.
For me, the choice is TypeSmart. Their keyboard offers a level customization that is unmatched against its strong competition. More importantly, this keyboard thinks the way I do. It offers two word prediction and offers the same or better predictions than its rivals. I can easily swipe to open a number row, which I find convenient as anything when I need to have a combined character of numbers and letters, outmatching the default keyboards. Its symbols and functions are laid out in an organized manner that makes it easy to find. Instead of tapping to the second or third screen to get a hashtag, I just long-press a key. There are programmable keys and shortcuts to simplify tap typing. TypeSmart offer themes and use your own photos to make tap typing fun. The customization behind TypeSmart keyboard is that I can arrange the keyboard to fit with my typing style. I can fatten the space bar and adjust the keys height to move with my fingers, not the other way around, which works with my thought process , as an easy fluid motion.
After using many devices on several platforms I find Android provides me with the personalization that I crave, with the keyboard being a huge crave factor for me. In addition, TypeSmart thinks the way I do. Unlike the stock default keyboards from other platforms, I can create a better tap typing environment on my device making for a more intimate and quicker process that I seek.
Here’s 6 Cool Things TypeSmart can do:
Disclaimer: TypeSmart, Android’s Replacement Keyboard is currently a client.