Smartphone keyboard apps
 

Anybody find one they like? I'm not merging well with the touch to place cursor. Giving me grief. Won't go where I want, sometimes won't move at all and too easy to touch something else, throwing me further off speed.

I did a search and the Swiftkey sounded good - installed it but where are the cursor arrows as alleged? Sideways screen didn't have it either.

Installed the 'Hacker's Keyboard' and it has more promise. Four cursor arrow keys appear in sideways mode, but, impossible-to-please me can barely see the cursor, and this in a not bright room. Outside it'll be impossible to see. Also when you press the microphone icon you get a two step screen process to allow it to work.

I'm amazed that this doesn't have a better solution by now. Search indicates that many people have problems with the magic touch cursor.

On what system? I can tell you on an Android system with a PAID version and I suspect trial version, you should go into the settings, Layout and the arrow keys, accented characters, etc, etc is there. Check the arrow keys and the arrows appear below my keyboard. YMMV

BTW, I am running Android 4.4.2 version on a Samsung Galaxy Note 3. I don't know what it is on Iphones.

Oops, left out the phone. It's an Android, HTC M8, 4.4.2 also. The Hacker's Keyboard app is Android only at this point AFAIK. It works well in many regards but so far it has no word suggestion, as in you type out t..o..m..o and they suggest tomorrow. Not sure what that's called.

Swiftkey is supposed to be available for iPhones also but the version I loaded has no cursor arrows, contrary to what I'd read on a couple of sites.

*EDIT* Dang you're right, the option can be added in settings. There's a lot I don't know about this phone. Good tip BTW.

I was wrong about the Hacker's keyboard. In upright mode, there is word suggestion, but no cursor arrows. In sideways mode you have cursor arrows but no word suggestion. The stock keyboard, HTC Sense has the best of all worlds with the arrows enabled.

predictive text. or something

Ah that's it.

Oh man, no rest for the wicked. I managed to find the cursor arrow keys option right in the Android system - it worked pretty well but I had other problems with their keyboard. Hard to see the symbols in lighter shade at the top of each key. Almost impossible except indoors.

I was leaning towards swapping for an iPhone on the refund plan, especially after I read that cursor arrow apps were available for it. So I made the jump yesterday only to find out that, yes, you can download such an app, you just can't use it for anything (?!?). I downloaded 'Arrow Note' for free - it works great, a good bit more appealing than the Android keyboard on my previous HTC but it only works on it's own little app page. Perhaps I can cut and paste whatever I perform on that page and take it to other pages, not sure, it also has an improved cut and paste feature, but that seems rather cumbersome.

Strange stuff. I did read on this site that there is concern that optional keyboard apps that could be switched to default might enable keystroke theft, or keylogging. Who knows. A PITA at any rate.

Why Apple won't let you change the default keyboard (or other apps) | Technology | theguardian.com

Ding, ding, ding!! This just in: my tech client who is longtime Apple devotee tells me that ios8, coming out this fall, will allow incorporation of after-market keyboards. And that I will be able to easily download that operating system at no charge. I sorta figured the latter would be true, glad to hear it confirmed.

Will definitely be nice to get something like Swype on my iPad air. Typing without it is very very odd.

I HIGHLY recommend the 'hodor' keyboard

These tiny keyboards are a challenge, every little bit of added facility helps. The Arrow Note keyboard (iPhone only AFAIK) is cool, much better than anything I encountered on Android, though I only tried three: the stock, later with cursor arrows enabled in the settings menu, Swiftkey, and the Hacker's Keyboard. The Android apps with arrows were sort of a drag - they didn't have the swift movement if you hold down the key feature - had to tap, tap, tap and soon enough you'd miss and hit something else. Arrow note has that, the rapid movement I mean. It also has a comma key in the middle of the arrows bar that gives a comma and a space. Very handy, especially with the iPhone keyboard.

I think it's used now on the iPad. Why it's downloadable on the iPhone is a bit of a mystery to me as you can't use it on any normal composition page. I dig it because I like the voice to text business, works quite will but hard to edit with the touch cursor for me, especially on Android.