Clarity Keyboard from SwiftKey

[PedroDaGr8]

For those of you that just can't get into Swype. I just tried this keyboard and it is by far the best thumb typing keyboard that I have ever used. The autocorrect is phenomenal you can make loads of mistakes and even be off several letters over and it figured out what you are trying to say. It is still in beta, so it might be a bit buggy or lacking features but so far I'm actually liking it. It is the only typing keyboard that might make me give up Swype.

Download Clarity Keyboard from SwiftKey - a new experimental, corrections-only keyboard. http://swiftkey.com/clarity-keyboard-beta/

[PedroDaGr8]

I have to say that the autocorrect on this is nothing short of amazing. I think that I will give it a few weeks of use and see how I like it.

For example:

no autocorrect:
rhus di me tyoubg a sebgebce

with aurocorrect:
this is me typing a sentence

While that looks bad, that the is not even the most off that I have seen a sentence. I have been entirely off on every letter and it still got pretty much everything right. Supposedly, the idea of this keyboard is that you just keep typing without breaking up your flow. Letting autocorrect handle the rest. You don't select suggested words from a bar, just keep typing and it will handle the rest. It actually works best when you don't pay attention to the text on the screen, because initially it may guess the wrong word but change it to the right one as you keep typing the phrase.

[Darrell KSR]

I may try it. I really enjoy being able to have words predicted for me with the regular SwiftKey, which has been my go-to keyboard, and that saves considerable tapping, but this way could be quicker.

[Darrell KSR]

Downloaded, and will try it for a few days and see how I like it.

Wow. I just finished typing the retire sentence andn was very badly off, but it corrected everything. That last sentence it corrected everything excslf the word entire and the word and.

Very interesting concept. And it is much quicker not looking for a word to predict.

[Darrell KSR]

Pedro, I moved from Swype to SwiftKey a long time ago, as it allowed use of the swype-type features (I used rarely, but sometimes) as well as the predictive type, which I found I used more often. I liked that it could learn Labissiere, Krzyzewski, etc. and made those easy to type.

If this one will learn those, too, it will be a grand slam home run. I typed incredibly poorly above semi-intentionally (extremely fast), and it was amazingly good at making corrections.

FWIW, I saw the ratings on the PlayStore and thought it wasn't going to be that good. In limited opportunities, it has been great thus far.

[PedroDaGr8]

Pedro, I moved from Swype to SwiftKey a long time ago, as it allowed use of the swype-type features (I used rarely, but sometimes) as well as the predictive type, which I found I used more often. I liked that it could learn Labissiere, Krzyzewski, etc. and made those easy to type.

If this one will learn those, too, it will be a grand slam home run. I typed incredibly poorly above semi-intentionally (extremely fast), and it was amazingly good at making corrections.

FWIW, I saw the ratings on the PlayStore and thought it wasn't going to be that good. In limited opportunities, it has been great thus far.

Yep, it does learn just like the regular SwiftKey. As for, the low rating, my guess is that since this is a beta software, some of the older versions were quite rough which resulted in the low rating.

I have been quite surprised with the performance of this program as well. I have even tried typing while not looking at the screen and it does a decent (though definitely worse) job. It seems to get a bit better at learning what I am typing as I use it. I'm making myself go two weeks with it to see if I can permanently switch from Swype-style typing. This is by far the first typing keyboard that has been even close, in fact in some ways the auto-correct is dramatically better than swype-style programs. To the point, I am correcting my guess 1/5 to 1/10 of the errors I did on other programs.

[Darrell KSR]

Yep, it does learn just like the regular SwiftKey. As for, the low rating, my guess is that since this is a beta software, some of the older versions were quite rough which resulted in the low rating.

I have been quite surprised with the performance of this program as well. I have even tried typing while not looking at the screen and it does a decent (though definitely worse) job. It seems to get a bit better at learning what I am typing as I use it. I'm making myself go two weeks with it to see if I can permanently switch from Swype-style typing. This is by far the first typing keyboard that has been even close, in fact in some ways the auto-correct is dramatically better than swype-style programs. To the point, I am correcting my guess 1/5 to 1/10 of the errors I did on other programs.

For beta, it is terrific. I assume they will improve it over time, too. I am very pleased with it so far.

[KSRdallen]

Sounds promising. Hope they have an iOS version soon.

[Darrell KSR]

I'm going to estimate that I am a good 40% faster with this than the "regular" Swiftkey, which was my go-to keyboard, beating out Swype. (SwiftKey allowed me to use Swype-like features, too, but only rarely was I using it.)

I just got a SurveyMonkey request from them that I completed, and I told them that the functions I'd like to see added were:

a) Punctuation marks (like quotation marks, colons and question marks), and numbers, accessible from the initial screen (long press over a key.)
b) Voice dictation available from the keyboard. Occasionally I will dictate my posts, and it is nice to have a microphone key to tap and then dictate.
c) A better backspace or deletion key. I'm not sure why, but I have some difficulty backspacing over several sentences. With what I do, it is not unusual for me to take something from my Tweetcaster Pro app, copy and paste it, but then have to delete unnecessary information. Right now my workaround is by long-pressing, then highlighting the entire portion I want to delete, dragging left and right, and then hitting "cut" from the menu at top (delete doesn't do it).

If those are the only issues--and they are for me so far--it's a home run. I'd like to see a) added for sure, though.

[Darrell KSR]

Accuracy is through the roof good, and I don't have to look at what I am typing now. I am revising my estimate to closer to 100% faster. It literally is doubling my speed. Zero errors here and I probably am making typographical errors in every word.

[Darrell KSR]

By the way, thanks again, Pedro. You and CitizenBBN and a couple others have been godsends for me in matters like this over the years.

[Darrell KSR]

Still using it, but I switch back to SwiftKey if I'm going to be in the car so I can "dictate" texts and emails--and even then, only when stopped and looking at the light. Just not worth it otherwise.

Wish they would add voice dictation to it, but that appears to be a non-starter with it.

[Darrell KSR]

PSA, they just released version 6.2, updated today. Dunno what updates, just received an email on it.

[Doc]

So I downloaded it let's see how it works for me

[Doc]

First note is that it fails to put in periods with a double space. I'll have to get used to that but I see less autocorrects that are wrong which is nice. I also prefer the look of the keyboard to the LG default one.

[Darrell KSR]

I've been using it since May, and love it. I've used Swiftkey, the stock Samsung Galaxy keyboard, and Swype.

Takes a little getting used to, but it is my "go-to" keyboard 95% of the time. It has no voice-type dictation ability, so in the rare circumstances when I'm going to be doing that, I switch. (Dictating a raw email while I'm in the car and not looking at the keyboard kinda thing; fixing it up after I get out of the car. It's really not worth it, but I do it sometimes anyway.)

[Doc]

Just downloaded to my tablet. I have to say the berry keyboard is a bit bright. Not sure how long that will last. LOL

[PedroDaGr8]

First note is that it fails to put in periods with a double space. I'll have to get used to that but I see less autocorrects that are wrong which is nice. I also prefer the look of the keyboard to the LG default one.

For me, one of the HARDEST things to get used to with it was "just typing". Because it retroactively corrects words up to three words back, it will often guess the word wrong at first but as you keep typing it will go back and fix it. Once I stopped myself from obsessing on the wrong words on the word-by-word level and doing it once I finished typing everything that i wanted to type, then I found it was remarkably accurate.

As for me, I still use this a LOT. Any time that I have both hands free I prefer using this keyboard, though with a single hand I prefer swype because it is easier with only one hand.

[Doc]

After 3 days, switched backed to my default keyboard. The auto period the was lacking plus the awkward numbers keys was too much to overcome

[Darrell KSR]

I never use an auto period. Might be fun to try.

I just got back from not using it for a week. Tried everything I could, but can't live without it. Just much faster with it.

[PedroDaGr8]

Just a quick update. I just discovered that Clarity Keyboard has been end-of-lifed. It was an experimental keyboard and it appears they have since rolled this technology into the new Neural Keyboard. Which is a touch typing keyboard with better word prediction (it now understands the meaning of words and predicts the new words based on meaning). I haven't tested it out thoroughly but the Neural keyboard seems to work pretty well.

[KentuckyWildcat]

Microsoft just bought or is buying SwiftKey

[Darrell KSR]

Do I keep using clarity in the meantime? Or look for something new?

[PedroDaGr8]

Do I keep using clarity in the meantime? Or look for something new?

If you are happy with it then keep it. This new one doesn't seem to bad. I'm not sure if it quite as good as clarity but for touch typing it is pretty damn close. It also includes a Swype function but it's not nearly as developed yet.

[Darrell KSR]

If you are happy with it then keep it. This new one doesn't seem to bad. I'm not sure if it quite as good as clarity but for touch typing it is pretty damn close. It also includes a Swype function but it's not nearly as developed yet.

Does it have a dictation function? Depending upon my schedule, I often switch to the swift key or Samsung keyboard because of that availability. I switch back when I know I will not be dictating into my phone. For example, this post is made entirely by dictating it while sitting in my car before going into my classroom. It is much quicker to do so, but I can't always dictate something, so I like clarity for that. If they would bundle the dictation ability with the new keyboard and its predictive nature, it would be an absolute grand slam home run.

[PedroDaGr8]

It does appear to have a dictation function. I'm typing this now using the dictate function. It appears to use Google dictation, which isn't a bad thing because Google has the most accurate voice to text out there. I'm not sure if the touch types works quite as well as clarity or not but so far I have found it to be pretty accurate.

[Darrell KSR]

That's a winner, then.

[Darrell KSR]

Have it downloaded. Looks interesting. Has the swype capabilities of the other keyboard, and apparently the ability to correct like Clarity. Adding the microphone makes it easier to use without changing anything.

[PedroDaGr8]

Have it downloaded. Looks interesting. Has the swype capabilities of the other keyboard, and apparently the ability to correct like Clarity. Adding the microphone makes it easier to use without changing anything.

The swype functionality is pretty unimpressive to be honest. Not nearly as good as swype or the regular swiftkey. They typing correction seems to work well enough though so far.

[Darrell KSR]

I like that not only does it correct like Clarity did, but it also populates the words on top, too. If lazy, can just tap the word when it appears.