Kings of Parking 3D: fun without real-life obstacles

Loie Favre 2013-12-17T20:00:00Z1 month ago User picture Loie Favre is a Canadian-Swiss, food-loving, live-music-craving globe-trotter. Coming from a humble background in the Canadian Prairies centred around nature and the Arts, she studied Translation and Languages in Edmonton. She left her home on the Pacific Coast of Canada, to seek her fortune in Berlin. She is now an Editor and Manager for AndroidPIT.com and is enjoying discovering about everything and anything under the sun about Android.

Kings of Parking 3D virtually has you practicing pesky parking maneuvering we all hated learning in real life. Forward, backward, parallel: choose a vehicle from the fleet and steer it as skillfully as possible through various precarious parking situations. Just like you learn in driving school the key is trying to remain calm, don’t panic. In today’s review, we are going to see just how captivating and entertaining this game really is.

Kings of Parking 3D Good?? ?Increasing levels of difficulty?All cars behave differentlyBad?? ?After a while it can become boring?Automatic camera behaves oddly

The basic principles behind Kings of Parking 3D can be quickly described: in each level, the player's task is to maneuver vehicles as quickly as possible to the designated parking area. In the beginning, you’ll quickly master the art of parking, but as the game progresses, the difficulty increases and you are asked to complete much more complex tasks.

Kingsofparking5The first level requires a bit of a learning curve, but it's a lot of fun./ © Tiltgames

Divided into levels, the player needs to park the car and beat the clock all while ensuring that no damage is done and that you get three stars. This concept is already known from games like Angry Birds or Plants vs Zombies, however in Kings of Parking 3D, they’ve omitted entirely a framework for action. Here you’ll find the subject of parking under time pressure, packed into a funny story. Though the game is quite good, I feel like there is more room here for growth.

Kingsofparking1Like the game on Facebook and you get the Android truck! / © AndroidPIT

Overall, the fleet of cars includes four different kinds of vehicles, each level stars one of the four cars. It starts off with a school bus and then the levels become increasingly harder. Next to the bus, there’s a sedan, a sports car and the Android truck, which can be unlocked only with a "Like" on Facebook. In the free version, you need to complete a chapter before having access to the next one.

Kingsofparking2You'll find the high scores under ''Check-in''. / © AndroidPIT

Overall Kings of Parking 3D was well done, although I found the total length of the game to be too short. Given the fact that it is free, I wouldn’t say that this is a negative point. There is still room for improvement in their choice for the controls. Although the developer implemented the MOGA controller just recently,  more options for on-screen operation would have been appreciated. For example, the size of controllers or an adjustment to the camera angles.

In a game like Kings of Parking 3D, it’s difficult to make a distinction between controls and functionality. How fun the game is, is significantly influenced by the game’s controls, especially in this genre.

Although it was generally well done, there is still room for improvement. The automatic camera is particularly frustrating because it switches on its own which isn’t always to your advantage. With limited parking maneuvers, the perspective would suddenly change and the player loses important parts of the image.

Though you are able to switch to a manual camera, this costs you valuable seconds from your score. A setting for the behavior of the automatic camera before started a level would be great.

The other controls for Kings of Parking 3D are otherwise very well done, even if the player goes through a certain learning curve at the start of the game. After a few minutes of play, the controls are no longer a problem and a high score can be achieved.

The graphics were also very well done, though at times the corners and edges of the game would disappear.

During our testing period, no crashes at Kings of Parking 3D were noticed.

Kings of Parking 3D is ad-supported and is available for free. For 99 cents, all the levels can be unlocked. Furthermore, the application is then ad-free.

Kingsofparking42Der erwähnte In-App-Einkauf. / © AndroidPIT

Kings of Parking 3D is a successful game. Without question, the app is fun, though after a certain time, it can become monotonous. It sometimes seemed as if the application was missing a few finishing touches, like some advanced settings for the automatic camera and a broader fleet. Nevertheless, installing Kings of Parking 3D is worth it.

No comparable apps are currently known to us. If you happen to know one, it would be great if you could get in touch with us.

US Department Of Justice Charges Four Alleged Android App Pirates With Criminal Copyright Infringement

Software piracy sucks. Ask any developer: app piracy is a major problem on Android, and more so on Android than on other mobile platforms, thanks to the relative ease of installing applications outside of the Google Play Store. But the United States Department of Justice is not turning a blind eye to mobile piracy. The Department charged four men with conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement earlier this week in Georgia's northern federal district court.

Kody Jon Peterson, a 22-year-old from Florida, was charged with one count on Thursday. Thomas Allen Dye (21) and Nicholas Anthony Narbone (26) from Florida and Thomas Pace (38) from Oregon were charged separately on Friday. Peterson was involved with the "SnappzMarket Group" starting in May 2011, and the others formed the "Appbucket Group" in August 2010. The charges carry a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

nexusae0_seized

According to the Department of Justice's report, Snappzmarket.com and Appbucket.com disseminated over one million stolen copies of Android apps each. Both website domains along with Applanet.com were seized on August 21st, 2012 as part of the investigation, which the report says is the first time that the DOJ's power to seize domains has been used to fight mobile piracy. The investigation was carried out by the DOJ with help from the FBI's Atlanta field office. FBI agent Ricky Maxwell had this to say:

The protection of intellectual property is the cornerstone of a free market that rewards innovation and forward thinking. The federal charges presented in this case illustrates the problems facing technology based companies in particular but also highlights the FBI and U.S. government response to those engaged in such wholesale criminal activity involving the piracy of copyrighted products.

Though both websites were particularly well-known as easy sources of pirated apps, taking them down will probably do little to dissuade pirates, many of whom are located beyond US jurisdiction. Even now it's depressingly easy to find unauthorized and cracked APK files scattered across the Internet. Here's hoping that this is only the first part of a larger anti-copyright infringement campaign.

Source: Justice.gov


View the original article here

Giveaway: 5 free license keys for Android Data Recovery software

Kris Carlon 2014-01-23T07:00:01Z2 days ago User picture Putting down roots in Berlin after six years of traveling is a major step for Kris Carlon, who has spent more time living out of a tent lately than sitting at a desk. Kris comes to the AndroidPIT Editorial Team via a lengthy period spent writing on art and culture in Australia and other places he has lived. He joined the Android community while resurfacing in civilization back in 2010 and has never looked back, using technology to replace his actual presence in other people's lives ever since.

Some of you may have read my article recently about how to recover lost or deleted text messages on an Android device. In that article, I used Wondershare Dr. Fone for Android to illustrate how simple it is to keep your SMS and other data secure, even if it's been accidentally deleted. Wondershare has just offered us five free license keys for the full version of Dr. Fone for Android – worth $49.95 – to giveaway to our readers.

WondershareTeaserWondershare Dr. Fone for Android data recovery may just save your life. / © Wondershare

In case you missed the article, or have no idea what Android Data Recovery is about, well it's all right there in the title. If you accidentally delete data from your Android device, no matter what it is, you're in luck. As long as you act quickly, and use a reliable software tool like Dr. Fone for Android, your chances of recovering your precious data is close to 100%. And with the full version you can make mistake after mistake and just keep on recovering your data if you fail to learn your lesson!

Wondershare DrFone 1Dr. Fone will recover photos, videos, text messages and contacts. / © Wondershare

Here's what Wondershare Dr. Fone for Android offers:

Compatibility: Dr. Fone is available for all Android phones and tabletsRetrievability: You can retrieve deleted texts and contacts as well as videos and photos.Backup: You can browse and backup your Android data to your computer.Preview: Preview all recoverable contacts, messages and photos and select only what you want to recoverRead-only/risk-free: Your device will remain in its ''original'' state, with no damage, deletion, modification or impact on your warranty.DrFone ProcessRecovering your lost data is seriously this easy. / © Wondershare

Convinced? Ok, the rules: all you need to do is be a member of AndroidPIT (so you can post a comment), and share the URL of this giveaway article on your Facebook and Google+ profile, then add those two ''share URLs'' to your comment below – tell us the worst thing you've ever deleted by accident! The giveaway will be active for a week, and next week Wondershare will contact our lucky winners with their free license keys. The winner selection will be random, but we will check your share links (so make sure they are Public)! There are no restrictions (age or country of residents) on who can participate. After the contest is over, the winners will receive their license key after one or two days.

If you miss out on one of the free license keys but still want to recover your data, you can visit this bonus page on Wondershare's site to receive a 50% discount on the full version of Dr. Fone for Android data recovery software.

LEDBlinker - customize your Notification LED!

Kris Carlon (translation) 2014-01-03T13:00:00Z3 weeks ago User picture Putting down roots in Berlin after six years of traveling is a major step for Kris Carlon, who has spent more time living out of a tent lately than sitting at a desk. Kris comes to the AndroidPIT Editorial Team via a lengthy period spent writing on art and culture in Australia and other places he has lived. He joined the Android community while resurfacing in civilization back in 2010 and has never looked back, using technology to replace his actual presence in other people's lives ever since.

LEDBlinker is an app that proves pretty neat for allowing you to determine whether a notification is important or not, without actually having to turn on the lockscreen. Having used the app for quite a bit I can definitely say that its more useful than I thought it would be, and is worth a try. Check it out in today's review.

LEDBlinker Notifications Good?? ?Very customizable?Test function?Simple operationBad?? ?No adjustments for individual contacts

When you start the app, there will be a list of predefined apps and types of notifications you can get from them. You can then set the color in which you want the LED to blink when you receive a notification from one of these apps. For example, the pre-loaded SMS client, email app, Facebook and other such apps are defined here. All you have to do when you get here is simply choose what color you want the LED to be in each situation then you’re good to go.

The good thing for those with smartphones that don’t have an LED light for notifications on their phone is that LEDBlinker can also work through small icons on the screen when the phone is in sleep mode. In other settings, it is also possible to set the flashing interval times as well as vibration and sound settings, if desired.

In the user defined section, you can add a custom color for apps downloaded in the Play store or apps that have been sideloaded. You simply tap on the plus sign in the upper section of the screen and then select the app you want to define an LED color for. After this you can define the exact color, the blink rate and other such details for yourself and when notifications are triggered from this app, you will be able to see them before you even turn the screen on.

AndroidPIT LEDBlinker 1All your default apps are pre-loaded and you can set your own as well. / © Mario Ostwald

When I read that the app needs permissions for reading Facebook and WhatsApp messages I thought that you would be able to customize alerts to specific individuals. Unfortunately, on this assumption I was disappointed: a distinction will be made only between normal WhatsApp messages and group WhatsApp messages. Maybe this specific-contact feature is something that could still be added. It would certainly be a unique selling point over the competition. 

In terms of operation, LEDBlinker can be quickly mastered: basically you just have to click "LED On" in the respective app, then you can adjust the color and blink rate and test the notification. Also, when you create a "user defined" profile, ie an app that is not in the default list, it is easy to do and functions int he exact same way as the pre-defined apps.

Again, you can also set small icons or even the time to appear on the screen if you do not have an LED notification light. There are also battery saving measures, sleep mode as well as tones and vibration options in the settings.

AndroidPIT LEDBlinker 2User-defined profiles are simple to set up and you can select custom colors. / © Mario Ostwald

Considering the app is free there is really nothing to complain about, because the LEDBlinker app properly does what it sets out to achieve. The whole thing is very stable too, and unlike some competing apps that I have tested, LEDBlinker offers full customization of the color and blink rates for each app.

The core app is free to download, and for less than two dollars you can upgrade to the full version, which offers mnay more customization options. The full version will give you even more customization possibilities. Other apps of this kind cost a similar amount but do not necessarily provide the same functionality as LEDBlinker, especially not in the free version.

In its category, LEDBlinker is a really is a great app that fulfills almost every wish: you can define all possible types of notifications for LED color, sound and vibration for your apps.

The only thing I could say is missing from this app is the ability to actually set contact-specific notifications. We all know that when some people text or call us it's really important, while for others...not so much. This would be a useful addition to the app. Other than that it’s pretty solid and robust.

(originally by Ludwig Hubert)

Apps:
LEDBlinker
Social Network OverView
APPoint
Post It

E-mail developer Developer profile

Samsung starts third-party accessory block with 4.4.2 update to Note 3

Loie Favre 2014-01-23T12:00:00Z1 day ago 2014-01-23T16:51:23Z— updated 1 day ago User picture Loie Favre is a Canadian-Swiss, food-loving, live-music-craving globe-trotter. Coming from a humble background in the Canadian Prairies centred around nature and the Arts, she studied Translation and Languages in Edmonton. She left her home on the Pacific Coast of Canada, to seek her fortune in Berlin. She is now an Editor and Manager for AndroidPIT.com and is enjoying discovering about everything and anything under the sun about Android.

The Android 4.4.2 KitKat update to the Galaxy Note 3 may have brought some welcome changes to the the phablet’s software, however it has just been discovered that Samsung did what they threatened to do a couple of months ago: the company has implemented an accessory restriction on the Note 3 with the new Android update where third-party cases will no longer work for S View mode...this could only be the beginning of their accessory domination.

Note 3 s viewSamsung needs a slap! © AndroidPIT

For the time being, the block is limited to cases, forcing people to buy the official S-View case and ditching knock-off versions if they still want to have the quick view functionality. They did however talk about expanding this restriction to batteries and chargers, forcing the client to only use official Samsung products, which according to them, would ensure customers are only using safe and tested products.

galaxy note 3 usb 3How far will the ''original accessory scam'' go?  © AndroidPIT

There are two different ways for  you to get around this case restriction though. Firstly, the official case comes with an implanted ID chip which allows the Galaxy Note 3 to recognize that it’s official and therefore switch to S View mode when in the case. If you are feeling crafty, you could surgically remove the chip from this case and insert into the case or cover of your choice - although you'll still need the original cover to do this. Second of all, if you have root access, you are able to install a new Xposed module from the XDA developers forum, which will allow you to trick the phone into this mode.

galaxy s4 mini 20Non-original accessories may not work with the Note 3 and this goes for batteries too.© AndroidPIT

When it comes to batteries, we always recommend smartphone owners to use official ones anyway, but this seems to be just another way for Samsung to gain even more monopoly in the mobility ecosystem. If this restriction test of theirs goes well, which we can only assume it will (for Samsung at least), then chargers, batteries and other third-party accessories could soon become null and void if you own a Samsung device running Android 4.4.2 and later.

What do you think of Samsung’s move? Is it just another way to make more money or an understandable strategy for the company in trying to expand their own brand?

This just in from Samusng, their rebuttle to the entire third-party restriction news that arose today.

To ensure a pleasant and smooth user experience with Samsung products for our customers, we recommend that only original accessories from Samsung to use. Of course, customers can continue to rely on third-party accessories. The full functionality of our devices and accessories, however, can only be ensured with genuine Samsung components, since only in this way it is ensured that equipment and accessories are perfectly matched. A correlation between the Android version 4.4 and the supposed incompatibility of third-party accessories does not exist. 

Source: Android Police, Sammobile

3 up-and-coming Snapchat alternatives

Loie Favre 2014-01-23T16:00:01Z1 day ago User picture Loie Favre is a Canadian-Swiss, food-loving, live-music-craving globe-trotter. Coming from a humble background in the Canadian Prairies centred around nature and the Arts, she studied Translation and Languages in Edmonton. She left her home on the Pacific Coast of Canada, to seek her fortune in Berlin. She is now an Editor and Manager for AndroidPIT.com and is enjoying discovering about everything and anything under the sun about Android.

Are you fed up with Snapchat with all of its security problems and newly implemented ghost chasing human authentication? It may be time to change your photo sharing, auto-destructing, messaging app for an alternative. Here are three Snapchat alternatives that you might want to consider after deleting your Snapchat account.

androidpit snapchatIs it time to let Snapchat go? © Snapchat /AndroidPIT

Though this app is still in public beta phase, it’s already catching on. Just like Snapchat, Wickr incorporates self-destructing messages. The difference is that you can control how long you want the recipient to be able to see the message, whether it be a text, photo, video or voice message, before making it go poof! The California-based company claim to have military-grade encryption which will keep your messages private. This one is unique in that you don’t create a personal profile, no information is asked of you. It’s available for both Android and iOS.

androidpit wickr © Wickr Inc.

The developers from Evertale ApS have also created their own version of SnapChat and it is one of the better ones from the list, packing a little bit of Instagram’s functionality as well. So far, you can only take pictures, but the developers are on track right now to add video and doodle features. The photo messages won’t self-destruct but they are kept private. You can choose ones from your gallery or take one via the app with the built-in camera feature. Group conversations are also possible and the app will use your contacts from your phone like in WhatsApp without you needing to manually add any of them.

androidpit wink © Evertale ApS

This app has all of the Snapchat functions, without the same security problems. When sending a message to a friend, the picture or video in its contents will disappear after 5 seconds into the the abyss of messages, never to be found again. Thanks to some heavy-duty encryption, your messages are kept private and are previewed by the sendee with the app's own pixelation effect. Replying to a message is done with one tap. So far it’s only in its beginnings on the Google Play Store, but it looks fit to catch on with many users.

andoridpit clipchat © Iddiction

What photo-sharing apps do you use? Are you still a fan of Snapchat or are you ready to move on?

PowerUp 3.0 Finishes Kickstarter Campaign With $1.2 Million, Will Ship First Packages In Late February

Successful doesn't even begin to describe the recently concluded Kickstarter campaign for the PowerUp 3.0. This smartphone-controlled paper airplane was only seeking $50,000 in funding, but has knocked it out of the park with more than $1.2 million in pledges. The Android control app was unlocked at the $150,000 stretch goal, but more has been added since then, and the first lucky backers will be getting their rewards as soon as next month.

The PowerUp 3.0 is basically the paper airplane you always wanted as a kid. You get the wireless control/propeller module from the folks at PowerUp Toys and attach it to your custom-folded paper airplane. The device connects over Bluetooth to your smartphone and then you take off. The $150k goal assured an Android version of the app would be developed, but a later goal also added the ability to link multiple PowerUp units together in the app. This means you can build a multi-engine paper airplane, which sounds awesome.

394d8d6bb30e85f4f722e144aa132bff_large dce366cd3affde19e5037f93042545a8_large

a1170b0117be6d236c891df647ea23f4_large

The newest goal, unlocked at $1 million, is dogfight mode. Two PowerUp 3.0 planes will be able to duel in the air by getting close enough that the fire command in the app lights up. The first pilot to press the button shuts down the opponent's plane, sending it spiraling to the ground. Sadly, the campaign fell short of the $2 million goal that would have unlocked an on-board camera feature. Oh well, it's still going to be neat when the first units reach beta backers in late February.

[PowerUp 3.0, Shipping Update]


View the original article here

FLOW - A Space Drum Saga DLX - feel the beat!

Loie Favre (translation) 2013-12-02T18:37:56Z1 month ago User picture Loie Favre is a Canadian-Swiss, food-loving, live-music-craving globe-trotter. Coming from a humble background in the Canadian Prairies centred around nature and the Arts, she studied Translation and Languages in Edmonton. She left her home on the Pacific Coast of Canada, to seek her fortune in Berlin. She is now an Editor and Manager for AndroidPIT.com and is enjoying discovering about everything and anything under the sun about Android.

One of the many uses for smartphones - which are now in the millions - is the creation of music. Take this and add a gaming aspect and you’ve got FLOW - A Space Drum Saga DLX. This app entails a combination of entertainment, music and concentration and invites you to embark on a galactic journey. How to manage the game’s many missions and what’s so great about this app will be uncovered in our review.

FLOW - A Space Drum Saga DLX Good?? ?Challenging concentration and rhythm game?Great combo of drums and story game?Cool light and sound effects?Speed test and automatic settingsBad?? ?Reloads after closing the app?Connection problems

FLOW - A Space Drum Saga DLX is the ideal app for those who have a good sense of rhythm. The game starts you off with a brief list of requirements. For example, you need a device that has good hardware components, otherwise your performance might suffer and you will most likely not enjoy using the app. Headphones are also recommended so that you don’t miss even the finest nuances of sound.

androidpit flow 1 © AndroidPIT

The game starts off with a little story and a few simple drums. The atmosphere in the game is modeled around a journey into outer space where you are the captain of a spaceship, fresh out of a coma, who must take control over the ship again. For this purpose, you’ll have to play the drums. It begins relatively simply with the use of one finger and slowly the difficulty level increases as you progress.

Above, you’ll see your energy bar which fills up if you remain in time. If you mess up the rhythm, the energy decreases again. At the top of the screen, the game’s corresponding story unfolds. Little cartoon aliens inform you about news from space, notify you of emergency situations and encourage you to continue drumming because this ensures you’ll have enough energy needed for your spaceship. Once you have passed the first test, you can head to the nearest planet and challenge new beats.

androidpit flow 2 © AndroidPIT

With each new planet, the level of difficulty increases. You have to listen really carefully to play the right beat. In addition, as the game progresses, the game will no longer pause for small dialogues between the aliens. So a lot of multitasking is required. The game can get to be quite difficult. You should definitely abide by the headphones tip to ensure you really hear the beat; it’s really the only way that you can fully dive into this rhythmic alien world while you surrender yourself to the beat.

Each level includes little stories and tasks. For example, at one point in time you need to use drums to avoid being eaten by a monster. In the next level, you are tasked with finding a lost tribe. How you do this doesn’t change though: you continue playing the drums and try to stay in rhythm as much as possible.

The game’s story and the drum-playing tasks work well together, creating an incredibly thrilling game experience. Especially when using the headphones, your concentration is fully focused on the beats and dancing aliens.

androidpit flow 4© AndroidPIT

In the settings, you can activate lighting effects, graphics and other functions. However, it’s advisable to perform the automatic speed test. The app checks your settings and configures them automatically so that you have the best possible gaming experience. Alternatively, you can choose various presets like "fast", "standard" and "you". There are also three different difficulty levels and detailed statistics of your drumming. You can check out the games you’ve won, the drums you’ve played, how many perfect rhythms you've had and other details.

androidpit flow 5 © AndroidPIT

There’s even a trophy collection, an overview and information about your captain status. In addition, you can see what challenges to expect down the road. There are various special drums that can be unlocked later in the game.

In the game itself, the display is divided into two areas: on the top the small aliens dance and below are four large buttons on which the beats are shown. Here you need to find the correct beats so that the story unfolds in the top part of the screen. Sometimes it really required a lot of concentration, but it worked quite well after some getting used to.

The menu within FLOW - A Space Drum Saga DLX is also niccely done. You can jump to various levels by unlocking and visiting other planets. Settings, statistics, and high scores can quickly be reached from the main menu. You are required to swipe to the right in order to navigate through the galaxy.

During the test period, and especially after the automatic configuration, the game ran very smoothly and stably. There were no crashes, however the app closed sporadically after taking screenshots. I couldn’t connect to the server during the test despite a stable Wi-Fi network in order to compare the highscores. After closing FLOW - A Space Drum Saga DLX, it often reloaded. Despite these shortcomings, my journey with FLOW was free of problems. Within the levels, there were no interruptions, lags or glitches.

FLOW - A Space Drum Saga DLX currently costs 4.73 US dollars and is ad-free. There’s a free version if you want to give it a whirl first before buying. However, the free version does include advertisements.

FLOW - A Space Drum Saga DLX is an impressive game which isn’t just a lot of fun, it can also be taken seriously if you are keen on improving your concentration, multitasking and sense of rhythm. It did however include a few small bugs such as the pesky reload after the closing of the app. That being said, the developer provides good support and is already working on a solution. Overall, the app did lots to impress: an intuitive interface and a good, fluid performance were just a few of its highlights. In addition, the background story is complex and very nicely designed. For fans of drums and beats, the game is absolutely recommended.

(originally by Christiane Scherch)

No comparable apps are currently known to us. If you happen to know one, it would be great if you could get in touch with us.

SwiftKey – The Top Dog Swipe Typer!

Kris Carlon (translation) 2013-11-20T12:00:01Z2 months ago User picture Putting down roots in Berlin after six years of traveling is a major step for Kris Carlon, who has spent more time living out of a tent lately than sitting at a desk. Kris comes to the AndroidPIT Editorial Team via a lengthy period spent writing on art and culture in Australia and other places he has lived. He joined the Android community while resurfacing in civilization back in 2010 and has never looked back, using technology to replace his actual presence in other people's lives ever since.

Right now basically everyone is writing extensively on their smartphone, from WhatsApp, Facebook, emails, SMS, social media and video and photo sharing, we're tapping away all the time. A mind-reading keyboard in this context would be a huge step forward for most people's productivity. This is exactly the challenge that the predictive swipe-typing keyboard SwiftKey has taken up. Whether SwiftKey can keep this promise, you will learn in today's review!

SwiftKey Keyboard Good?? ?Major typing input acceleration?Prediction is good?Custom dictionaryBad?? ?Customization of designs?No direct access to the dictionary

SwiftKey is, as you can already tell from the introduction, an alternative keyboard for Android. This keyboard will completely replace the default keyboard and enables several features that are not integrated in the original Android keyboard. I've been using our current test candidate for several months, so the findings in this test are from a long-term engagement with the application.

When SwiftKey is first installed, the user encounters a setup wizard that allows the alternative keyboard to be set as the system-wide default. But the setup does not end at this point. Different languages can be added (up to three languages in active use) and also the custom dictionary can be filled. This dictionary is a special program geared to the user that analyzes the writing habits of the user through different channels like email and social media, thus improving the word recognition, prediction and fluency.

AndroidPIT SwiftKey SetupDuring setup, you can enable SwiftKey Cloud and install up to three active languages. / © AndroidPIT/SwiftKey

If set up, right from the beginning, as you use Twitter, Facebook, SMS, Gmail and so on, SwiftKey will be learning how you write and remembering your particular vocabulary. This is the first WOW effect of SwiftKey: during use, even in the early ''learning'' stages, the predictions are scarily accurate if you've linked SwiftKey to your other channels. Everyone has typical phrases and sentence structures that distinguish their particular writing style, and by learning how you speak, SwiftKey can actually predict complete sentences without you ever needing to type anything more than the start of the sentence. In my case, the predictions work in almost 95% of the cases, and the automatic correction of words is a special blessing in this context.

SwiftKey offers not only thee traditional input method of tapping with your fingers, but also a ''flow'' input option. With the flow feature enabled you can swipe-type in SwiftKey in the same way you can with Swype and Touchpal X. This input method, of course, also benefits from the same excellent prediction capabilities, but adds the speed of swipe typing as you slide your finger across the letters in a word rather than slowly tapping them out. Writing in this way is noticeably faster. Whole sentences are even possible without lifting your finger off the keyboard. This is done by gliding over the spacebar to separate words, but the prediction accuracy decreases with the increasing length of the sentence. Of course, as SwiftKey further learns more complex sentences from you, the accuracy will increase again.

AndroidPIT SwiftKey StyleThe SwiftKey keyboard with the Holo look, and other design options. / © AndroidPIT/SwiftKey

SwiftKey can, of course, also access Google voice input and so sentences can also be input via dictation. The limits of how well dictation functions depend on the accuracy of Google's service, though any disadvantages are offset by the excellent word recognition in SwiftKey.

The basic ambitions of SwiftKey are met with flying colors. The word prediction is excellent, the speed increase is astronomical and SwiftKey does a great job of reading your mind. But the further you go in the depth, the more one recognizes some potential criticisms. Thus, although different designs for the keyboard can be selected, a full adjustment is not possible. There is only a couple of preset choices and no market for additional themes.

The size of the keyboard can be adjusted though: from a Full keyboard, to Thumb keyboard (best for tablets) to a Compact keyboard (best for one-handed typing on a phablet or tablet). These option are accessed by long-pressing the "SwiftKey" button when using the keyboard. The good news about these settings, which are not so necessary on smartphones, is that they make using the keyboard on phablets or tablets a breeze.

AndroidPIT SwiftKey StatsLong-pressing the SwiftKey button brings layout and further settings options. / © AndroidPIT/SwiftKey

The change in input behavior can be quite rudimentary, but SwiftKey would do well to offer more variability in the appearance of the keyboard. For example, the arrangement of punctuation differs from the default keyboard, which will require an initial adjustment period when switching to SwiftKey. After this settling in phase, everything of course runs super smoothly, but various layout options would be beneficial for the comfort of the user. Finally, one thing I missed in my long-term test was the ability to directly access and make changes in the dictionary. This would be useful because sometimes you add incorrect spellings to the dictionary by accident.

The graphical presentation of the application is very successful, even though, as I mentioned above, slightly more individualization in the appearance would be desirable, at least in my opinion. The more important function of a keyboard is the operation and speed of use. During the test period, no delay in input or other functions was experienced on the Nexus 4. The consistently smooth, accurate and speedy operation was very noticeable and really strengthens the overall impression of the app.

In particular, additional settings like using the spacebar to auto-complete a word or insert a quick period, as well as the possibility to adjust the long-press duration, are options that let you speed up your typing to the max, depending on how you write.  

AndroidPIT SwiftKey AdvancedCheck your usage stats, heatmap and set even more speed options. / © AndroidPIT/SwiftKey

SwiftKey only caused a crash once during the test period and got stuck on a word prediction one time. Considering the extended period of the test period this is totally acceptable.

SwiftKey costs $3.99 and for the price offers very good performance. A one-month free trial version is also available.

SwiftKey is, in my eyes, the best alternative keyboard for Android. The keyboard not only allows for faster and more precise writing, but the learning ability of the application is really impressive. The overall picture is marred only by the slightly limited layout and design settings. Particularly in terms of the user-customization of the keyboard's appearance. More design and layout options, and the possibility to access and modify the custom dictionary would also be of use. But for what it promises, SwiftKey really delivers and will only improve over time.

(originally by Nima Begli)

Makers of the award-winning SwiftKey keyboard for Android.

E-mail developer Developer profile

 
Zigo Mobiles Android © 2012 | Designed by Cheap TVS, in collaboration with Vegan Breakfast, Royalty Free Images and Live Cricket Score