I decided to bite the bullet and go ahead and get a phone with no keyboard.

This is the only reason why I even contemplated sticking with BlackBerry. I hated virtual keyboard, and resisted the lure of the iPhone for just that reason. Now I have an iPhone for work, and while it's not bad, it's not perfect either. If I'm tapping out words, give me a physical keyboard.

Swiping/sliding on a virtual keyboard is much better, and something I can live with. I'm not as fast as I was with actual keys, but I'm faster than I though I'd be. I'll take that.

eta: sorry, internet connectivity blip.

Anyway, the SO didn't end up loving his Droid 3, but I'm pretty happy with mine, especially now with all the customization I can do with Tasker. Because of the tactile keyboard, I can do a pretty large percentage of my work (and play, obvs) on it.

I never call and *talk* to anyone on it, of course, but it is a completely indispensable object. Ooh, and I finally got GalaxyZoo back up and running on it, so I can do idle time identifying.

Is there a swype type dealie for the iPhone? The ones I found have gotten terrible reviews.

I would like to get Swype on my Kindle Fire, but I haven't seen it listed.

The Fire is, I must say, not a good option for anyone used to customizing their own machines: you don't get direct file directory access, and a lot of apps available aren't designed to work on the Fire specifically (so they don't work, or not very well).

For instance, I have a great, and simple, clock alarm app on my phone, but I can't find a similar one for the Fire through the Amazon shop. The ones I have found don't ring, or don't allow me to set an alarm just on weekdays, and so forth. Annoying.

Liese, I may have to look into Tasker. You and ita ! are uniformly in praise of it. I am still discovering so much about the Android OS. I don't think I've scratched the surface.

Jon, none that I've found. It's a shame too. That would fix my biggest complaint with the iPhone.

I wonder if the Apple SDK allows access to the iPhone keyboard in the integrated way that would be necessary for a robust Swype-type app?

How is it y'all know about the Droid 4 and I don't? I'm disappointed in the corporate intranet.

MFNLaw, also look at Locale. They perform similar functions, but Locale has a lower barrier to entry/learning curve.

It might be useful to find out if your requirements exceed that before diving into Tasker, which is pretty much a programming environment.

aka, I was happy with Locale for a while, but then got really picky. I think I'd prefer if I could do what I want in Locale, because it's way easier to use.

HTC was where I first used Swype. I don't know what version you're on, and what I have running on my Tab is better (and what's on the Nexus is fine too, I'm just resentful that the @ key and the .com key aren't there), but it was certainly representative of the Swype experience.

I would like to get Swype on my Kindle Fire, but I haven't seen it listed.

Does the Fire permit loading of externally sourced APKs? Swype's not in the Android market either--you have to go to the Swype site and sign up for a beta to get it if it's not included on your device automatically. Which...confused me.

Does iOS have alternative keyboards at all? I might want to look at that for my Touch.

Maria, i bought this for my brother's gf for Christmas and was surprised that it wasn't at all bulky and worked really well. [link]

there's also this one, but i don't know anything about it. [link]

And I still can't find the way to retract the keyboard any other way than changing orientation.

The back button on the bar should do it.