Anybody using the Samsung keyboard on the Vibrant?

[floretbroccoli]

I've found that, if I hold down the ?123 key on the Samsung text keyboard (or the abc key on the numeric keyboard), I get the navigation keyboard, which allows me to move in the four directions, and to select text, etc. Great!

But I hate having to go to the numeric keyboard every time I want to type a comma.

Does anybody know a shortcut for the , ?

Apparently, on some virtual keyboards, holding the . key gives you more punctuation to select, but that doesn't seem to be the case on the Samsung keyboard.

 

[Okkoto86]

I would love to know this as well. The Samsung keyboard is way better than the android keyboard because its multi-touch, but the comma thing drives me crazy!

 

[onthecouchagain]

I am as well, because the Android one doesn't seem to be as quick and responsive, ditto for the Better Keyboard app. And for whatever reason, sometimes the Better Keyboard doesn't perform normally depending on the app - for instance, in the Kik app, double spacing suddenly doesn't insert a period, and no words auto correct. It's very bizarre.

Anyway, while the Samsung keyboard is the most responsive (though sometimes it's not responsive enough. I notice especially with the letter "y" - like when typing "you" will often result in "ou"), it does have its frustrating shortcomings. The aforementioned lack of long press for symbols, or how after going to the symbol/number keys, pressing spacebar doesn't bring you automatically back to the abc keys (which Android/Better Keyboard does). Switching between 4 pages for symbols also is cumbersome and painfully slow.

By the way, does anyone know what "Recapture" does in the Samsung Keyboard? It's an option in the settings under XT9 Advance settings.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Also, it's ridiculous that the word "will" defaults to "Will" (I assume because it thinks I'm trying to type the name). Shouldn't the default word be "will" and "Will" be a second option? Does anyone know how to change this? It's not in my dictionary or auto-fix list.

 

[Okkoto86]

Just to add something to this, I was reading a review on phone arena, and this screen shot of the keyboard clearly shows a comma as one of the main keys, wth?

Image from "Samsung Vibrant Review" - Interface, Organizer and Messaging : The on-screen keyboards of Samsung Vibrant

 

[onthecouchagain]

That's because you're typing in the Compose "To" of an email app. Email addresses don't require spaces, so the spacebar is gone and replaced by .com, comma, and etc.

In general, I honestly don't feel confident typing on my Vibrant. I type very fast, and I notice depending on the app, the phone doesn't keep up. Words will be missing letters, even despite clearly having hit the key (visible from the blue highlighted enlarge letter whenever you hit a key). I'm not sure if it's the apps themselves, or the phone, the processor, the multi-touch going awry; don't know. This is growing into a major pain.

Swype, by the way, doesn't feel faster at all. While it's good at most words, special words are a pain to punch in.

I'm overall really disappointed with the keyboard interfaces and responses.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Hey guys, it might be worth trying Smart Keyboard Pro. There's a free trial version which you can test out first before you purchase (it's about $2.55 if you decide to buy after you do the conversion). In my opinion, it's worth it. I type a lot more confidently on this than I do on the Samsung/Android/Better Keyboard. It has multi-touch, a slew of customizable settings, and just seems faster and more responsive. There are a few hiccups here and there, but significantly less than any of the other keyboards, so far. Just a suggestion.

Edit: Link to their homepage: http://www.dexilog.com/smartkeyboard/home