Dayhand Keyboard – Alternative text input for Symbian^1

1. Since the first S60 5th Edition (now Symbian^1) smartphone, the 5800 until now, the text input mechanism is something that I really hate.

2. There are 4 options, namely :
- alphanumeric keypad. for one hand usage but it requires a tap on the green tick icon on the top left after typing text… why cant it be placed on other places? such as the bottom of the screen?
- mini qwerty (portrait)
- big qwerty (landscape)
- handwriting recognition

3. The problem for all these text input options (except for the mini QWERTY and HWR) is they are not direct text input. You cant type and see the text entry box at the same time because the text entry window is separated from the text entry box. Why do the typed text box have to be included?

4. And the mini QWERTY is too small to use for someone with big thumb.

5. Using the alphanumeric keypad is even non-productive because there are too many “procedures” to do something as simple as typing a text message, for example.

6. You need to select write new message, the message editor will pop out. Click on the empty area, the alphanumeric text entry window will appear. Then you need to type the text, after that you need to tap the green tick icon on the top left, after that, send SMS. Phew…

7. I hate it and I feel it’s too much… Hence, I need to get an alternative.

8. And I found Dayhand text entry which solves almost all my text entry problems.

Keyboard Menu DayHandInput QWERTY in Portrait

9. It gives me a bigger QWERTY keyboard, with many options including an alphanumeric keypad (that doesn’t eat all the screen’s space), smiley keypad (yesss!!!), an editing keypad and more.

Alphanumeric Keypad DayHandInput numeric in Portrait

10. It even has a predictive mode which can be activated easily.

Tap and drag Tap and drag

11. However, the most interesting in terms of usability and it’s excellent design is the tap and drag to select the alternative alphabet / mode. For example, tap on the letter “d” and drag it up, it will print “+“. Very convenient ;-)

12. Thumb-typing is easy using Dayhand keyboard. I haven’t found any problem using it. Ah… and the landscape qwerty is a joy to use! HUGE alphabet keys!

landscape keyboard

13. I can type faster and more convenient using this alternative method.

14. Please Symbian… Make a better text entry method in future Symbian releases…

15. If you are interested to use Dayhand keyboard, the files are available in our download section. They need to be signed or you need to hack your phone to install them.

* This is a modified version done by Mr. Milk. His words “This is the result of a personal effort to bring something good and free for the community. I’m not the application developer and have no way to change its core functionalities

Cheers!

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  • Hey guys great app... the only thing is that I don't know chinese so the menus in english are needed... thanks to Asri I make it work but now I don't know how to activate the spanish and english dictionaries! :( In your snapshots I saw that you have a third option to SlideIT... so both apps can work together?
  • I'm having a bit of an issue with this app on my N97. When its enabled, it causes the physical keyboard to print the wrong characters. Has anyone managed to decipher the menu to overcome this, or will we have to wait for a newer version?
  • @harry,

    1. there is no option to tweak in the menu. it works out of the box as english keyboard. ignore the menu :-)

    2. just go to any text entry field e.g new message or new notes, tap the text entry area and it will be displayed.

    3. what phone did you install it to?

    - asri al-baker
  • Harry
    it's an n97, not coming up in text fields. will have more of a fiddle..
  • @harry,

    Try the following

    1. Go to N97 App Launcher / Menu and launch Daylight Inhand Keyboard

    http://www.i-symbian.com/images/keyboard-1icon.jpg

    2. Select the first option. The menu is all in chinese. Dont worry.

    http://www.i-symbian.com/images/keyboard-2setting.jpg

    3. Choose the chinese one. Ignore AknFEP and any other input methods.

    http://www.i-symbian.com/images/keyboard-3select.jpg

    4. Press OK.

    - Asri al-Baker
  • Harry
    have tried this but all the menu options are full of squares I assume replacing chinese characters, how do you get it to display English?!
    cheers
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