8Vim Keyboard vs Thumb-Key
Side-by-side comparison of two open source alternatives
8Vim Keyboard
8Vim Usability Guide So, what capabilities does 8Vim have? Once you know how to type with this thing (Learn how to type with this original [8Pen-game video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99vsUF4NuLk), you must know the following Basic Needed Stuff Right Sector acts as a backspace Key. Bottom Sector acts as a Enter Key. Top Sector acts as a combination of SHIFT and CAPS_LOCK Key, i.e, Press once Shift is active, Press Twice CAPS is active and Press once more and everything is back to usual. Left Sector acts as the button that takes you to the Number Pad. Cursor Movements If you move your finger from the centre-circle to any sector and stay, the cursor movement will be emulated. For example, if you swipe from circle->right, the cursor will move right. You get the picture. Selection There is selection built in to the keyboard. if you move your finger from the right sector to the circle, the cursor will start moving left and selecting everything in it's path. once you release, a selection keyboard will open up for various stupidities to do. Paste Functionality Moving your finger from right->circle->lift-your-finger performs a paste. whatever is in the clipboard.
Thumb-Key
Thumb-Key is a privacy-conscious smart keyboard, made specifically for your thumbs. It features a 3x3 grid layout, and uses swipes for the less common letters. Its easy to learn, and designed for fast typing speeds. Instead of relying on profit-driven, privacy-offending word and sentence prediction for accuracy, as do most popular phone keyboards like Gboard and Swiftkey, Thumb-Key uses large keys with predictable positions, to prevent your eyes from hunting and pecking for letters. As the key positions get ingrained into your muscle memory, eventually you'll be able to appromixate the fast speeds of touch-typing, your eyes never having to leave the text edit area. This project is a follow-up to the now unmaintained (and closed-source) MessagEase Keyboard, which is its main inspiration.
| Feature | 8Vim Keyboard | Thumb-Key |
|---|---|---|
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0-only |
| Install sources | F-DroidGitHubIzzyOnDroid | F-DroidGitHubIzzyOnDroid |
| Categories | ProductivityKeyboard | ProductivityBrowserKeyboard |
| Features | Ad-FreeOpen SourceNo Tracking | Ad-FreeOpen SourceNo Tracking |
| Platforms | Android | Android |
| Website | ||
| Source code |