I really don't mind the stock keyboard but I've noticed since the update that the mic. key is no longer there. I use it for texting so if it's gone for good I will not be a happy camper. Anyone else notice this?
Not necessarily a substitute, but another nice alternative is texting someone using the Google Now voice search. I did it yesterday and it works flawlessly. Test "name" "message" and it asked me to send exactly what I said.
You must have an option turned off because mine was showing the voice mic where the comma was post update and I had to dig for options to get rid of it as I don't use the voice functions.
Settings > Language & Keyboard > Uncheck "Google voice typing"
I believe that is what finally did it for me since I was no longer able to Disable Google Voice in the Apps Menu as I'm thinking it's now integrated with Google Search. I had to find something because having the mic where the comma was supposed to be was driving me insane as I mentioned earlier. Hopefully this setting is unchecked for you and checking gets what you want activated. If it doesn't let me know and I'll dig a bit more.
I had Google search disabled from before the update because I hate the google search bar at the top of the screen. Enabled it, rebooted and it's back. Thanks for the help.