Text messaging App: Flit Keyboard  
 
 
 
Cell phones because of their small size they have 2 grand limitations  
when it comes to entering text with their virtual on screen keyboards:  
 
1-qwerty characters on virtual buttons are way too small to view easily  
so most likely in most cases you are wasting your time and your patience  
looking around to find what you want to tap.  
 
2-qwerty character virtual buttons are way too small to tap  
so most likely in most cases you tap the wrong buttons.  
 
But my quest for the  
easiest Android keyboard app for text messaging..  
(specially if your phone's screen is small)  
 
..is finally over ! !  
 
Flit Keyboard makes entering text so much easier ! !  
 
Google Play Market:  
 
http://tinyurl.com/cbxohop  
 
Video review:  
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuV5-J7hcl4  
 
Just Eight ( 8 ) >> HUGE << Buttons Keyboard.  
A gift from God for guys with BIG fingers!!  
So easy to enter text with just 1 thumb.  
 
Also, by easily sliding you can type:  
>> All << Alphabet characters, numbers and symbols,  
(though some symbols still need shift)  
all in the same screen!  
 
All you have to do is:  
Tap one of the 8 buttons and slide to specific character.  
When you release the button that specific character is typed.  
Just tap slide and release! That's all there is to it.. so easy!  
It's so easy that in fact with a little bit of practice you may enter text  
without looking at your cell phone!  
 
While you are pressing a button a BIG pop up opens up  
with 9 characters to slide to, making it easier to see  
more characters than an Android qwerty keyboard can display.  
 
Important: No more unwanted weird characters typed  
if you long-press a button too much..  
 
No more accidentally typing the wrong character!  
You can see the character you want to type  
by long-pressing as much as you like  
to make sure it's the correct character you want to type  
before releasing the button and the character is typed.  
 
Cursor controls!  
By sliding the space bar (left, up, right) and one of the buttons (down)  
you can easily move the cursor any where you want in a body text!  
All other keyboard apps that have cursor controls they take  
a chunk of the screen making you wanting to disable their cursor functionality  
to save screen space.  
 
I firmly believe that Flit Keyboard must become  
THE Number One Android Keyboard  
out of any other qwerty Android keyboards out there.  
 
P.S.  
 
To make characters bigger than the default Flit Keyboard  
go to Flit settings and disable: [Show hint line]  
 
 
ff

Google Voice Search also works, and given the difficulties typing on this thing, it can be very helpful, at least for quick web searches, etc.
 
Does not seem to work for me to call/message/email contacts.
 

No Home key hardware button?
 
No problem! Button Savior comes to the rescue!
 
Go to Homescreen from inside ANY App or Game even when calling someone
and open any other App or Game. Even view recently opened Apps!
 
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smart.swkey&feature=search _result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5zbWFydC5zd2tleSJd
 
 
After installing adjust settings as follows:
 
Go to Button Savior General Settings > Trigger Mode
and if you choose [Icon Click Trigger]
 
Then go to Button Savior General Settings > Look and Feel > Theme
and choose the [Contrast..]  theme.
 
Now an arrow (with adjustable transparency and size) will appear on the side of ANY screen that
when you tap it a bar with buttons will appear together with the home button.
 
Or..
 
Go to Button Savior General Settings > Trigger Mode
and if you choose  [Swipe From Side Trigger] or [Half top swipe Trigger]
 
Then when you are at ANY screen a simple swipe of the screen  
will bring a bar with buttons together with the home button.
 
Additionally..
 
Go to Button Savior General Settings > Android Recent Task and enable it.
When taping the Arrow and long-pressing the Home button will show recently opened tasks.
 
 
 
Download from:
 
http://tinyurl.com/bphwl25
 
 
ff
 

Google Translate also works well.  I got a message during installation saying that it was not compatible, but it allowed me to install it, and it seems to work fine.
 
This is another app that has Voice Input, so it largely avoids typing problems.
 
I think Voice Input only works reliably in English, and entering proper nouns often still has to be done on the keyboard.
 
Having a 2-way voice translator on your wrist is really like science fiction come true, and I am quite sure that this is the only watch (or wearable device) in the world that can do this.
 

I can confirm that the version of skype that comes with the device (bought from ibuygou) doesn't seem to work.
The latest version from the market exhibits the same symptoms - I can't sign in.
 
Your mileage may vary with each of these, as I've rooted my phone and installed google play as per the instructions on ibuygou's product page.
 
Google Maps straight from the market works for me, but the GPS takes a good 5 minutes to get a fix. I think my AGPS settings are wrong. Also, zooming is difficult due to the lack of multitouch. You can add zoom buttons to the interface, but they're small and hard to hit reliably.
 
Swiftkey does not work. It starts acting like the back key is pressed every 30 seconds or so about half-way through the initial setup, and whenever you enter its settings page. The keyboard itself won't stay open for more than a few seconds. I'd be grateful if anyone has info on how to get it working.
Update: I was able to sideload an older version, and it works fine.
 
The youtube app won't show up in the market, but I haven't tried sideloading it. Same story for flash. Youtube seems to work fine in the browser, though.
 
Working apps:
GMail (goes without saying)
Facebook
Adobe reader
AndChat
ASTRO
Barcode scanner (by ZXing) - however, hampered by the low-quality camera.
ClockSync (needs root for automatic sync)
DIGI clock widget
Elixir 2
Home Button
NoLock
RealCalc
Soundhound
 
I highly recommend the clock widget I linked - it's free and very configurable.

Perhaps you must have Thumb Keyboard and Google Voice Search installed in order to get the microphone icon in the keyboard.
 
Google Voice Search is different than Google Search.
 
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.voicesearch
 
In addition, you have to turn voice typing on in the Thumb Keyboard settings:
 
From within the keyboard:
Thumb Keyboard >> General keyboard settings >> All settings >> Voice input >> Mic on main keyboard
 
From Settings:
Settings >> Language & keyboard >> Thumb Keyboard 4 >> All settings >> Voice input >> Mic on main keyboard
 
 

Google Sky Map is working very well
Good application ....

Yes, the accelerometer seems to work 90 degrees off.
 
I mentioned this in the review.
 
Notice also that the device is fundamentally a landscape device as opposed to portrait like most phones.  Notice that when it boots, the android logo is landscape.
 
I also tried to get the emulator to work like the phone - i.e. landscape during boot, but then have the display work in either orientation.
 
I played around with a few things, but I could never make any improvement.
 
Also, it seemed to me that pressing back twice quickly was simply because in most apps, 2 back will usually get you home anyway.
 
If I went to the browser, followed several links (>2) and and pressed back twice, I simply ended up two pages back in history.  The same happened no matter how fast I pressed back.
 
Another users recommendation of installing a back button replacement app was helpful.

Could someone test out the app and widget for the Digimon Unlimited app on this device? Whether or not that works is what I'm hinging my purchase of this device on. The app is free so I'm not asking anyone to spend any money helping me out. Thanks in advance.

Hi!!
 Here some applications working on my Z1. First I burn the thing custom clean ROM. Don't forget to save your current ROM before changing it in case there is a probleme..Really easy to do just put file in the right folder turn off you phone, connect it to laptop and 3 clicks under windows7.This give new android OS froyo less buggy and rooted access. and you can access the google play store..Now what I put in Z1? My gaol is to use it as a moderne wath reminding "rendez vous" from google and weather and beep as an elecronic clever watch.
 
-Buseness calandar as big format (3x3 and modified to take whole screen). It is able to sync google calendar an all agendas inside. A purge of the stock calendendar must be done if it is bugging and you don't see all agenda you want. remind to set the google side and save your calendar to google befor purging.I have my current calendar, birthdays contact, week's number, weather, days off, my holidays ect..
Google send me SMS, on my phonewatch' s number, for reminding the "renez vous".
 
-Simple calendar same as above.
 
-Aix weather it give daily weather vue but stock 3 days in memory.I use it for foreigner country
 
-Weather forecast widget it give separated weather (5 days) and hour widget.
 
-svox classic TTs (2.?.19/14) and aurelie french voice. I use them with
 
-voice notify it reads every notify like SMS, missing call ect...
 
-Sygic map (10...? I forget) the version is important for make it work.I put asians maps an France map.
 
-Caynax Hourly chime it turns the phone wacth in a clever electronic watch (I program hourly chime/beep same as electronic watch from 8H to 18H from monday to friday)
 
-chonometre a stopwatch
 
-Camscan that scan a paper ducument and turn it into PDF.
 
-Budgea and Bankin (need internet access) for knowing what stay imediately in you bank accounts.
 
-ES file explorer but Antek Explorer is better file manager.
 
 
-3CXphone for Voip (I Use my internet provider (named "free") VOIP account's so 0€ exept the wifi connection to pay if needed).
 
-Boxcriptor classic and cryptonite for keeping some secret.
 
Memowiget as post it (hope to find a better one).
 
-Rotation to force "landscape" with budgea or banking
 
-Antimosquito a mosquito repellent
 
-Word clok digital clock for foreigner/local time.