8pen keyboard on Android — how does it stack up.
Earlier this week the 8pen keyboard went free for Android and I decided to give it a try. Below is a screenshot of the keyboard in typing a tweet in Tweetdeck.
You will notice that all the letters is in capitals, that is because I am starting a new sentence and it automatically put the keyboard in capitals.
The most difficult part is remembering where all the letters are and in what direction you have to move your finger. To type an A you start at the center, move to the right block and then top block and then back to the center. For the R you will move your finger across 2 lines (the red and blue ones) and then back to the center. For O you will move across the yellow line and then back to the center.
What you do not see on the input screen above is that as you type, word prediction will be offered and it works fairly well. It even have voice input if you have that enabled on your phone. I have been using Swype for a while and will have to see if I can get the same speed out of this keyboard as with Swype.
If you running Android then head over to the Market and give it a try.
It is all lovely and all. But I cannot get to any items on the market that are not free. Have you got an idea how I can work around that issue? I would love to try the 8pen keyboard…
Johan, the 8pen keyboard is now free in the market. If you scan the QR code above with something like ShopSavvy on your Android phone, then it will take you to the 8pen Market page from where you can install.
Thanks it are working ferpectly!