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The Simplest Multilingual Keyboard For Android (Also Best Japanese Input)

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android keyboard

I had to write about this Android keyboard app because it changed my Android experience drastically. Before I knew it I am spending most of my time 'typing' on my Android phone as do most people - Whatsapp, email, SMS, website forums to name a few.. therefore a good software keyboard is invaluable.

Introducing Go Keyboard, the best keyboard replacement for Android.

If you're only typing in English, Go Keyboard might not impress you much, though you might like some of these features:

  • Cool themes to switch to (when you're bored with the default look). I'm currently using the Blue Future theme (Screenshot below) which is downloadable for free.
  • Customizable key press sound and vibration settings.
  • Emoji support.
  • Digital mode: For easy numeric input just like your PC's Numpad.
  • Edit mode: With home/end/cut/copy/paste, and one click 'Clear' whole textbox feature.
  • Very responsive key presses compare to alternative keyboard apps.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.. if you're typing in multiple languages like I do, this is where this keyboard shines.

  • Dedicated button to switch between languages. You can also press and hold the top bar for fast access to any language. (first screenshot) A very important factor is that Go Keyboard can totally replace your default Android keyboard (even for English input), hence you don't need to 'switch keyboard' every time you want to switch language!
  • For Chinese Pinyin input: Good dictionary base as good as Google Pinyin app. If you wish to use Chinese handwriting input there's a shortcut key beside the top bar to switch to it. The handwriting recognition is beyond anything I'd tried, it recognizes all the words I written manually. Thumbs up to the developers!
  • For Japanese input: Good dictionary base as good as Simeji (A standalone app for Android, though I dislike that app because it's ugly and the key presses are less responsive, I also hated the mushroom button for those who know what I mean). Able to input whole sentence in one shot unlike some other apps I tried. QWERTY input is available! This is the best Japanese input app that I tried so far for Android. Highly recommended.

PS: You will need to download additional plugins to use Japanese/Chinese Handwriting input modes. Just click on the appropriate settings and it will bring you to the plugin download page in Android Market.

Screenshots:

go keyboard 1 go keyboard 2 go keyboard 3

Average: 5 (3 votes)