Cool new keyboard apps for Android devices
These third-party apps promise fast typing, more emoticons, funky themes and enhanced productivity
A lot of users are shifting towards big-screen phones, simply because the larger size allows for a lot more productivity in working on content and editing documents. Something that not many people realize is that the on-screen keyboard is a critical cog in the system because a poor keyboard with a bad layout, which misses some features, can make typing much slower than usual. Here are some cool keyboard apps to download from the Google Play Store.
Google Indic keyboard
Price: Free
While English is the default language for most keyboard apps, there are few that allow you to chat in the vernacular at will. This makes it useful for a user who has a relative or an old uncle who uses a smartphone but is not very proficient in English. This keyboard supports 12 Indian languages, including Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Punjabi and Tamil. The interesting part is that it allows users to type in the vernacular by switching on the vernacular keyboard. So if your uncle wants to reply to your mail, he can do so by typing in that language. For those who are more proficient in English typing, the app will transliterate the letters as you type into the vernacular. Changing language is easy as there is a dedicated icon on the keyboard for it. It can also transliterate Hindi words typed in English.
Chrooma keyboard
Price: Free
One of the highlights of third party keyboard apps is multiple colourful themes they bring to the table. While the style of the keyboard is slightly different, it is the different shades of colours that make them so much fun. But you have to change them every time you want to switch to a new colour. Chrooma keyboard is a smart keyboard that singles out the most distinguishable colour of an app and applies it to the keyboard when you open the keyboard in that particularly app. For example, when you are chatting in WhatsApp, the keyboard becomes green and when you are typing in Gmail it becomes red by itself.
Thumsta
Price: ₹ 87
This is a unique keyboard app which doesn’t just allow you to type in the usual vertical keyboard format but allows you to arrange keys in a curve. The symbols and space bar are arranged in the blank spaces but the usual set of keys that one requires more often are placed in an arc. You can shift the position of the keyboard form left to right if you are a left-hander or right to left if you want to type with your right hand. This is not as good looking as the Flow Keyboard in terms of design. The idea is to allow users to type away with one hand on big-screen devices more comfortably than the present keyboard allows. You can adjust the size of the keyboard and increase and decrease the size of the keys too. Once you get used to the new concept, you can actually type faster on it than the regular keyboard.
Microsoft Hub keyboard
Price: Free
If you are looking for a keyboard for productivity and office work, Microsoft’s Hub keyboard is by far the best bet. The key highlight is the built-in translation support that allows users to translate from within the keyboard and you don’t have to download a separate language pack or translation app for it. The translation features work with only two Indian languages—Hindi and Urdu—as of now. This also allows users to search and share the contact details of a person form their phone book or Office 365 account through the keyboard’s interface. You can also move recently copied text from one app to another by simply tapping the clipboard icon on the keyboard. It looks quite plain and doesn’t have any colourful themes. Also, it doesn’t support gesture input.
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