Sunday, August 10, 2014

In Search of a Virtual Keyboard App


Q:



I'm a former BlackBerry user who has been struggling with the virtual keyboard on his Droid for years. I considered the new BlackBerry, whose virtual keyboard you praised, but want a phone supported by more app developers. I would appreciate your advice on which keyboard app is easiest to operate now.



A:



The keyboard app I personally find best on Android is called SwiftKey, which replaces the stock keyboard on Android wherever it appears. It does a particularly good job of learning your writing habits and predicting what word is likeliest to come next. It can even sync these personal predictions across your Android devices.



Q:



With iGoogle going away in a few weeks, what is your recommendation on a good replacement site?



A:



There are a number of sites which, like iGoogle, aim to be your browser's home page, consolidating personalized selections of news, weather, sports, stocks, calendar, search and more. My personal choice would be My Yahoo, which even has instructions for importing your settings from iGoogle. To find others, do a search for "iGoogle replacements."



Q:



I don't like the redesigned calendar app in Apple's iOS 7 for my iPad. Is there a way to restore the old calendar?



A:



Not that I know of, but there are many alternative calendar apps for iPads and iPhones, which can be found in the app store by searching for "calendar."



Email Walt at mossberg@wsj.com.


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