Now you can text with one hand! Google launches an Android keyboard that makes it easier to type messages on larger phones.
- Feature lets users pick the keyboard tailored for the right or left hand
- The handedness of the keyboard can be changed with the arrow button
- Can display borders around keys so users more certain of what they tap
- A one-handed keyboard app was launched for iPhones last month
With phones getting bigger and bigger, many people struggle to type on their screens with only one hand. But an app for Android phones could help address this problem.The new version of Google Keyboard, out today, features a one-handed mode and the ability to change the keyboard's height for your own preference. The one-handed feature lets users pick whether they want the keyboard tailored for the right or left hand. It can be accessed with a long-press on the comma or on the search/enter button, and also through 'Settings'.The handedness of the keyboard can be changed with the arrow button. There is also a quick way to toggle back to the full-sized version.Another option will display borders around the keys so users are more certain of which key they are tapping.
A new number icon next to the spacebar opens up a traditional phone-style number pad that's far easier to thumb at quickly along with the emoji keyboard, too. Elsewhere, users have the choice of sharing 'small snippets' of input with Google to 'improve Google Keyboard for everyone.'
The keyboard's height can also now be adjusted between five different choices ranging from short to tall, with 'normal' as the middle point between them. This comes just over a month after a new free one-handed keyboard app from Microsoft was launched for iPhones. The Word Flow app has a 'fan-like' keyboard that allows iPhone users to easily access the entire keyboard. Word Flow can then intelligently suggest the next word, autocorrect mistakes and learn over time. Users have the option to change the display to a more traditional look and feel, and even customise it by adding background pictures - something Apple's own iOS keyboard doesn't allow.'It is a blazing fast keyboard that comes with free customization options and includes Arc mode for easy, ergonomic one-handed typing,' the Redmond software giant said.
Although Apple's predictive text isn't as sleek as the complete Word Flow app, users simply type and the keyboard will suggests words or phrases at the top, and the Cupertino firm has dramatically improved its own keyboard. Microsoft has also looked outside its own developments, and acquired British predictive keyboard firm SwitfKey for $250 million back in February. Following the acquisition, Microsoft said it will continue to develop SwiftKey's projects for Android and iOS as well as explore other scenarios for the integration of its technology in their own products and services. Microsoft also has another keyboard app, called Hub, which was on iOS already.
However, it focuses on multitasking and productivity for Office 365 users by letting them search for and share documents from other
Microsoft services such as OneDrive and SharePoint. The software also distinguishes between informal languages and adjusts the style based on the person the users is communication with – words are more laid back with a friend than your boss. But many iOS users have shared bizarre autocorrects and as amusing as they are, hopefully Word Flow's autocorrect will be more accurate. Following Apple's text predicting technology, Microsoft headed down a path of developing more apps in order to still be seen as a major player.
