Description: iKeyboard is yet another third-party keyboard for Android that offers a focus on emoji and simple, easy to do personalization. The keyboard is completely free, features a handful of different themes and you can even change the height and size of your keyboard to how you like it. It’s a nice blend of the default Android keyboard with quick access to emoji as well as some much needed customization. With 800+ emoji, quick and precise autocorrect and everything else you’ve come to expect from a keyboard, iKeyboard has it all. So, just how good a keyboard is iKeyboard? Read on to see.
How it Works: First of all, you’ll need to download iKeyboard from the Play Store, once you have, the app will simply and easily take you through getting the keyboard setup, which only takes a few seconds.
Once you have the keyboard set up, you can go ahead and choose a theme for your keyboard, there’s even an option for a fresh Android L look.
You can also change the font as well, however there aren’t many options here for this.
Testing the keyboard out I was pleasantly surprised to see how easy it is to type with iKeyboard and the dedicated Emoji key is a nice touch as well.
A handy little set of arrows are accessible as a way of of quickly correcting text.
Emoji keyboard not only gives you quick access to the basic emoji, but also some funky, unique text faces that any device will be able to see.
Opinion: Honestly, iKeyboard doesn’t feel that much different from the default Android keyboard, and you know what? That’s a good thing. After all, why break something if it doesn’t need fixing? I was able to get up to speed typing without any issues at all, and the autocorrect is familiar and very quick. Being able to get to Emoji nice and quickly in every app I was using was nice, as the Google Keyboard only has the emoji icon there when in Hangouts, but not in anything else, so it was nice to get to them quicker and the text faces are nice as those with older devices will still be able to see them. I was happy with iKeyboard and I really like the Razer theme as it matches a lot of my gaming gear.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – No complaints here, iKeyboard ran just as well as other keyboards and kept up with my speedy typing nicely.
- Features (5/5) – While it might feel light on features compared to other keyboards, the blend of the Google Keyboard (an underrated one in my opinion) and quick customization and easier access makes iKeyboard a great app to use, rather than a chore to set up and live with.
- Theme (4/5) – The selection of themes is nice, but I would have liked to see some more font selections included with the app.
- Overall (4/5) – iKeyboard is a great keyboard alternative if you love emoji and you’re looking for something different, but not radically different to use.
Pros
- Runs great with not a moment of lag in sight.
- No need to spend huge amounts of time getting everything set up.
- Selection of themes are good-looking and easy to apply.
- Easy access to emoji key is a nice touch and other features like the arrows and keyboard size really make a difference.
Cons
- More fonts included with the app would be nice to see.
- Won’t appeal to those looking for something more than just a simple to use keyboard.
Conclusion: Blending the pretty good Google Keyboard with some very helpful additions like the keyboard sizing and arrows to correct text, iKeyboard is more than just another emoji keyboard. Sure, it’s easier to get access to the emoji in every app you’re typing in and the text faces are nice as well, but more than that the themes and customization options are reasons to use this alone. If you want just a little bit more out of your keyboard, but don’t want to learn how to use it all over again, then iKeyboard is a pretty good option.
