Users of the popular third-party keyboard SwiftKey will be glad to hear that two new Material Design themes are now available for the keyboard ahead of the upcoming release of Android Lollipop. The two new themes, based on Google’s new Material Design guidelines, are named Material Dark and Material Light and available through the SwiftKey Store today. Expand Expanding Close
SwiftKey received an update today that resolves some of the keyboard app’s recent performance issues. According to the software’s changelog, users should experience improved typing, loading times, translations, and several other bug fixes for glitches that caused force closes. In addition to some much needed technical improvements, SwiftKey announced the availability of five new themes: Spotlight Purple, Edge Green, Pulse Yellow, Pulse Pink and Hazy Pink. If you’re interested in upgrading the look and feel of your keyboard, the outfit is holding a special summer sale that discounts prices on select themes by up to 33 percent.
Flesky, a popular third-party keyboard option for Android, is rolling out version 3.0 that brings a refreshed user-interface design, new premium features, and more languages. Fleksy makes typing on smartphones quicker using a combination of advanced text prediction and an iOS QuickType-like function for predicting the next complete word in a sentence.
Today’s refreshed design brings clearer letters and new color tones. Besides the included color variations, users of the paid version of Fleshy from Google Play will be able to purchase additional themes through the keyboard’s settings. There will be six paid themes, and paid Fleksy users will receive one premium download at no cost. Fleksy is also bringing 17 new languages out of beta and enhancing the 40 previously available languages.
SwiftKey may be working on an iOS version of its popular input app, but its roots are with Android. Aware of this, the smart keyboard’s Android variant is now free to download from Google Play. Without a doubt one of the better input options for mobile devices, this is almost an irresistible option for anyone looking looking to replace their device’s stock keyboard.
Oh hi new Swiftkey update, the Android keyboard that I love so much I’d download it twice. The developer just alerted customers that a new version of the software is now available on the Play Store and “rethinks how you interact with your keyboard.” The newly update keyboard software introduces “Layouts for living” which allows you to “undock” Swiftkey “from your screen, resize it and present it in a compact, split thumb-typing or regular style.”
The company hopes the new features will allow you to get more from your mobile devices, “regardless of the context you’re typing in.” The new edition is now available to download in Google Play and is a free update for existing users. The new version gives you access to three keyboard layouts, all of which can be resized, and undocked and positioned where you choose on your screen.
The three new keyboard layouts:
Compact: On many larger phones it can be difficult to enter text and hold the phone with just one hand. This new feature reduces the width of the keyboard and allows for easier typing with one hand or gesture typing using SwiftKey Flow. It also frees up more of the screen estate on tablets. You can switch it from the left or right side of the screen
Thumb: For those who like typing on tablets in landscape or wide phones, the keyboard can be split into two areas, enabling fast, comfortable typing with both thumbs. Undock it from the base of the screen for even more flexibility
Full: The traditional full-width keyboard is still available and users with tablets can opt for an extended layout that is similar to the presentation of a physical keyboard. This layout has left and right cursor keys and the backspace is positioned above the enter key, making it easier to type with two hands when not holding your tablet]
As well as the new layouts, SwiftKey 4.3 also includes:
Choose from 5 sizes to get your keyboard the perfect size for you
Undock your keyboard and position it where you choose on your screen
Rearranged and optimized secondary (123) and tertiary (symbols) layout, based on extensive user testing
A new theme: previously SwiftKey and SwiftKey Tablet had two different themes called “Dark”. Both are now available on phones and tablets, with the tablet “Dark” renamed as “Forest”
Extended layout for tablets, including left and right cursor keys
All 4 cursor keys (up, down, left, right) are now available on the secondary (123) layout on tablets – phone users can still choose to have cursor keys on the main layout
10-inch tablets can choose to have a central numpad in the thumb layout in landscape
Combined phone and tablet app to give a seamless experience across all device sizes
We have some solid Android game/app deals today as part of Amazon’s Free App of the Day Greatest Hits deals. The deal brings some solid titles like Cut the Rope, SwiftKey, Angry Birds and Shazam Encore, all for free.
Swype, the predictive keyboard that allows you to simply leave your finger on the touchscreen keyboard and swipe from letter to letter, has finally arrived in the Google Play store – but only after Jelly Bean was released, with its built-in Swype-alike Gesture Typing … Expand Expanding Close
Firefox 6 was officially released on the desktop today, and along with it comes Firefox Mobile 6.0 for Android. The 6.0 browser offers a great alternative to Android’s stock browser and other browsers like Opera. Full release notes: (via Pocketnow)
1. Higher-quality image rendering and smoother zooming
2. First wave of optimizations for tablets and large-screen devices
3. Improved interaction with touch-optimized sites (e.g Google Maps, games)
4. Improved form helper
5. Visual refresh for phones running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
6. Continued performance and memory management enhancements