Thumb Keyboard (Phone/Tablet). “Must Have” Virtual Keyboard for Tablets and Phones!
by Jonathan Lonczak
Jun 20, 2011 7:26 AM –
Install
Thumb Keyboard (Phone/Tablet) is a flexible keyboard that introduces a revolutionary and innovative “split” layout for Tablets and Phones. A layout that makes thumb-typing easier, more natural and more comfortable. Besides that it is also a standard keyboard with many features one will not find on a regular keyboard.
Price: ~$2.50
Tested on: Samsung Galaxy Tablet, Droid X, HTC Thunderbolt, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Fascinate
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Excellent keyboard replacement for phones and tablets alike!
- 11 different keyboard themes including iPhone, Honeycomb, Gingerbread, and Galaxy Tab.
- Adjustable keyboard dimensions for both portrait and landscape mode.
- Various keyboard layouts for both landscape and portrait mode allowing you to fully customize your typing experience.
- Split keyboard option allows for easier typing on tablet devices.
Cons
- Lenient auto-correct feature.
- No option to add downloaded dictionaries.
Features:
Thumb Keyboard is my keyboard application of choice for both my phones and my tablets. Thumb Keyboard offers many different keyboard layouts to meet the needs of any device or consumer, it offers 11 different keyboard themes, adjustable keyboard dimensions, and the option to switch easily between keyboard profiles on tablet devices.
Thumb Keyboard offers 7 different predefined keyboard layouts: Phone Standard, Phone Split Large, Phone Split Compact, 5″ Tablet, 7″ Tablet 1, 7″ Tablet 2, and 10″ Tablet. Each of these layouts is ideal for different types of devices and Thumb Keyboard also lets you mix and match layouts to create the perfect profile for your device.
For example, on my Samsung Galaxy Tablet I use two different layouts. I use a standard phone layout for portrait mode so I have a large portrait keyboard similar to the one that came with the Galaxy Tablet. For landscape mode I use a 7″ split keyboard layout which splits the keyboard down the middle and allows me to type easier with two hands in landscape. These layouts which allow you to type on tablets in landscape is where the name Thumb Keyboard comes from.
On my Motorola Xoom I use the standard 10“ Tablet layout. This layout splits up the keyboard in both portrait and landscape mode making it much easier to type regardless of how you are holding this large sized tablet. The 10″ Tablet layout for Honeycomb also allows you to switch back and forth between the split keyboard and a normal sized keyboard by hitting the image of the layout you desire at the bottom of the keypad. This feature is extremely similar to that of the Swiftkey for Tablet Beta and is a must for Xoom users since the full keyboard layout is much easier to use when your tablet is set down on a table or counter.
There are also 11 different keyboard themes or skins for Thumb Keyboard. Instead of changing the layout of the keyboard these themes change the keyboards visual appearance. This allows the user to make the keyboard look like the one on their favorite devices. There is an iPhone theme, two Honeycomb themes, a Gingerbread theme, and even a theme made to be the same as the stock keyboard on the Samsung Galaxy Tablet. This theming functionailty allows you to customize the keyboard to your own individual style.
Finally, Thumb Keyboard also allows you to adjust the dimensions of the keyboard. You can adjust keyboard height, the width of letter keys, and the height of the space bar row. Each of these dimensions can be adjusted individually in both portrait and landscape mode allowing you to tweak the keyboard to exactly the right dimensions for you, regardless of how you are holding it.
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Thumb Keyboard Landscape Mode Xoom
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Thumb Keyboard Landscape Mode Thunderbolt
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Thumb Keyboard Portrait Mode Xoom
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Thumb Keyboard Portrait Mode Thunderbolt
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Thumb Keyboard Themes
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Thumb Keyboard Settings 1
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Thumb Keyboard Settings 2
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Thumb Keyboard Settings 3
Usefulness:
Thumb Keyboard is extremely useful to optimize your keyboard experience. With keyboard themes along with the customization of the keyboard’s dimensions Thumb Keyboard is useful on phones as well as tablet devices.
I consider Thumb Keyboard to be a must have to Xoom owners due to it’s tablet optimized features. The ability to split up the keyboard across the screen makes typing on a 10″ tablet using just your thumbs possible, and makes typing in portrait mode less of a strain as well. I also love the option to easily switch between a split keyboard and a full keyboard with one button press. It makes the whole typing experience on a tablet much easier.
Ease of Use:
Thumb Keyboard is extremely easy to use. My only complaint with the application is that you cannot force the application to be more forceful on auto-correcting mistyped words. Thumb Keyboard always makes suggestions for words but very rarely auto-corrects something spelled incorrectly. I like that this feature isn’t a requirement, because many good keyboards are ruined by too strict an auto-correct feature, but I would like to have it as an option.
Frequently Used:
I use Thumb Keyboard 24 hours 7 days a week. I have tried many other keyboards such as Swiftkey, Better Keyboard, Perfect Keyboard, Gingerbread Keyboard, Swype, AI Keyboard, and more; yet this is the one I always keep coming back to. The developers are also extremely proactive about keeping up with the competition and are constantly releasing updates with new features and fixes.
Interface:
The interface for Thumb Keyboard is easy to use and filled with options. The only features that I think should be added are the option for a stricter auto-correct feature and the option to use downloaded dictionaries.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
gingerbread keyboard,
Honeycomb Keyboard,
iphone keyboard,
keyboard,
Tablet Keyboard,
Thumb Keyboard,
Virtual Keyboard
Categorised in: Communication, Productivity, Utilities
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