Stock Google Keyboard Now Available On Google Play

Do you use Swype or SwiftKey on your Android? Google wants you to switch away and use their stock Android keyboard.

Google today released its Google Keyboard app for phones and tablets running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and above. You can download it now directly from Google Play, although it’s only available in English-speaking locales (Google says more countries will be added soon).

This is the same keyboard that was introduced with Jelly Bean (Android 4.2), that includes Gesture typing, a way to swipe from letter-to-letter to spell out words. It should also actively predict words on-screen as you gesture between letters, making this one of the smartest keyboards you’ll use.

Downloading and launching the Google Keyboard app will walk you through turning on the keyboard and setting it as your default, after which your Android phone will have the same typing experience available on Nexus devices. Switching back to the keyboard that came with your phone (or any other alternative keyboards you may have downloaded) can be done from the device’s Settings page.

Google Keyboard’s features:

• Gesture Typing with dynamic floating preview.
• Voice Typing.
• Next-word suggestions and current-word completions.
• Dictionaries for 26 languages.
• Advanced keyboard layouts.
• Works across your Android devices (tablets and phones).

So if you’re unhappy with what companies like Samsung and HTC have cooked up, you can always use the stock Google keyboard now.

[Ars Technica]