Uniquely Android: Swiftkey 3
Uniquely Android is a series we started last month to shine the spotlight on those apps that take advantage of the unique capabilities of the platform and provide an experience that you wouldn’t find in most other phones. So far, we have featured Llama, Plug In Launcher, AirDroid and Shush.
Compared to the others in the series, Swiftkey is a rockstar that just about every one of our readers has probably heard about. For that reason, a part of me wanted to go with some other app today, despite the fact that Swiftkey meets every criteria of the Uniquely Android series. With well over a million paid downloads, it has also earned the developer behind it a ton of money, and probably doesn’t need to be in the limelight.
But, one particular aspect made me want to write about it: the fact that it is arguably the best touchscreen keyboard ever. Fans of Swype might argue differently, and I was certainly hooked to it for quite a while, but Swiftkey would probably get more picks in a vote. To me, considering how important a keyboard is to the experience of a phone, each and every user should purchase it. Heck, Google should buy it and make the default Android keyboard because the one thing I wish it did was offer Google’s Speech-to-text. to ensure no other platform gets their grubby hands on it. I’m not usually a selfish, greedy person, but in the case of SwiftKey, I want it to remain Android-only.
I had previously incorrectly mentioned Swiftkey doesn’t offer Google Speech-to-text. As Evan Murphy pointed out in the comments, it certainly does, though I don’t remember in which version did they add it.
You can download Swiftkey over here. PS, do check out this XKCD comic in Swiftkey’s honor.