5 hot keyboard apps for Android

It's an all too familiar scenario: You went ahead and bought a shiny new Android smartphone, but now, you realise that-having used physical keyboards all this while-you're finding it rather tough to adjust to typing on a touchscreen.

Add to that the fact that most smartphonesrunning the Google OS don't come preinstalled with the best touch-typing software. But have no fear; help is at hand in the form of myriad alternatives. Check each one out to see what's right for you.

Swype
It's no guarantee, but there's more than a fair chance that your Android phone comes preinstalled with two types of virtual keyboards - the normal Qwerty and SWYPE. (Go to Settings > Locale and Text.

Alternatively, Settings > Language and keyboard). Activate SWYPE and you're ready to go... Now, unlike the traditional poke-to-type keypads, this software lets you input text by merely gliding along the alphabets of a word - this, without you having to lift your finger.

For example, to write MUMBAI, place your finger on M and then glide it over each of the subsequent alphabets U-M-B-A-I. Of course, sliding your fingers over your touchscreen keyboard will mean that you touch many unwanted alphabets, but SWYPE's inbuilt algorithm is intuitive enough to discard the rest and only use the letters you intended.

Type a new word, and you have the option to add it to your dictionary list so it readily appears the next time you input it. Oh, and just in case your phone doesn't come with SWYPE, you can get it for free at swype.com.

TouchPal
It is similar to SWYPE, but has a few tricks of its own that may turn out to be exactly what you were looking for in your virtual keyboard. For example, it lets you blind type on your touchscreen after you have gotten used to the keypad layout.

It does this by more or less learning your input patterns. It also studies the curves as you glide along the keypad to predict the words that you want to type. Seriously, though, these features must be seen to be believed. TouchPal also supports some unique gestures - swipe up to input a number and swipe down for a special character.

And one can even cut, copy and paste from the keyboard itself. Currently, it is free for use as part of public beta. Check it out at www.cootek.com.

ICS Keyboard
In 2010, a company called BlindType demonstrated superb text-prediction software that worked with Android. But before the company could release its product, it was snapped up by Google. Now, some of that technology has made its way to the keyboard in IceCream Sandwich - the latest version of Android.

Well-meaning hackers have taken this keyboard out from ICS and put it up on Android Market for people using older versions of the Google OS. Features in the free version of ICSK include multi-touch, built-in dictionary, configurable auto correction, speech to text (select languages only), custom vibration intensity (haptic feedback), long press "Enter" key to bring up smiley alternatives and even long press on the "/" key in URL mode to bring up domains.

SwiftKeyX
The more you use it, the more SwiftKeyX adapts to your typing style to present to you eerily accurate word predictions. Reviews across the interwebs, including user polls, have awarded it glowing epithets, including the keyboard for "fat-finger typists", "the virtual keyboard Google would be crazy not to acquire" and it even makes it to various lists of essential apps for Android.

The downside? Swift KeyX is free for use for just one month, after which you will have to shell out Rs 205 to use it further. Still, one month should be enough to figure out if it is indeed the keyboard for you.

Go Keyboard
This free app on the Android Market is easily one of the best-looking keyboards for the Google OS. In fact, users can choose between various themes that are available for download. Other features include auto-correct as you type, multi-point touch keyboard, support for slide input. And if you are someone who likes to personalize their apps, you will love the customization options-position of various keys, size, smileys and so on-that Go Keyboard offers.