Product review: A search for the best keyboard app for Android phones and tablets.

If you like typing quickly on your touch-screen phone or tablet and don't like over stressing your fingers, then you need a good sliding (gesture+dictionary) based keyboard. One where you can slide your finger over the letter in the word, without raising it, and the keyboard knows which word you meant.

Some of the more popular keyboards for Android that support sliding based typing are Google Keyboard, Swype, SwiftKey and Kii Keyboard.

The criterias of my comparison of these keyboards are as following:

• Prediction accuracy
• Spacing
• Keyboard layout
• Multilanguage support
• Themes
• Additonal features (e.g. handwriting)

Total scores are rounded up.

Google keyboard

Total score 2/5.
This keyboard by Google is free and is the default for Android 4.3, but can be downloaded and installed on previous versions e.g. Android 4.2.

• Prediction accuracy - 5/5 - great for English.
• Spacing  - 1/5 - automatically inserts spaces between words - good for text, obstructive for usernames and URLs.
• Keyboard layout - 1/5 - only digits are available via long press, 2 numbers/symbols screens.
• Multilanguage support - 1/5 - doesn't support sliding in other languages, can change languages via language key.
• Themes - 2/5 - single theme, however, the theme blends in the the OS and has high enough contrast.
• Additonal features (e.g. handwriting) - 0/5 - none.

Swype (+ Dragon)

Total score 5/5.
This keyboard costs about 4 USD.

• Prediction accuracy - 5/5 - great for English and other languages.
• Spacing  - 4/5 - can be turned on or off via settings, no guesture for fast change of this setting.
• Keyboard layout - 4/5 - digits and many symbols are available via long press, however, symbol order isn't the same as in desktop keyboard, 2 number/symbol screens.
• Multilanguage support - 5/5 - supports sliding in other languages, can change language via long space click or guesture.
• Themes - 5/5 - multiple themes, including themes that blend in the the OS and have high contrast and themes with larger buttons (less gaps between buttons).
• Additonal features (e.g. handwriting) - 5/5 - handwriting, change previously typed word's capitalization via slide from Swype key to Shift key, change language via slide from Sype key to space, close keyboard via slide from Swype key to Enter/Backspace keys, select all/copy/cut/paste via slide from Swype to a/c/x/v.

ShiftKey

Total score 4/5.
This keyboard costs about 3 USD.

• Prediction accuracy - 5/5 - great for English and other languages.
• Spacing  - 4/5 - can be turned on or off via settings, no guesture for fast change of this setting.
• Keyboard layout - 4/5 - digits and many symbols are available via long press, however, symbol order isn't the same as in desktop keyboard, 2 number/symbol screens.
• Multilanguage support - 5/5 - supports sliding in other languages, can change language via slide sideways on spacebar.
• Themes - 4/5 - multiple themes, including themes that have high contrast and themes with larger buttons (less gaps between buttons).
• Additonal features (e.g. handwriting) - 1/5 - change previously typed word's capitalization via long click on Shift key (after backspace to get to it).

Kii Keyboard

Total score 3.5/5.
This keyboard is free.

• Prediction accuracy - 5/5 - great for English and other languages.
• Spacing  - 1/5 - automatically inserts spaces between words - good for text, obstructive for usernames and URLs.
• Keyboard layout - 4/5 - digits and many symbols are available via long press, however, symbol order isn't the same as in desktop keyboard, 2 number/symbol screens.
• Multilanguage support - 5/5 - supports sliding in other languages, can change language via click on language button or long click on spacebar.
• Themes - 4/5 - multiple themes, including themes that blend in the the OS and have high contrast.
• Additonal features (e.g. handwriting) - 1/5 - slide from key to space for alternative symbol (as faster alternative to long click).