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(Dragon has an app but you can’t integrate that into an application) I don't think this capability of android is recognized for the amount of power it provides

(Dragon has an app but you can’t integrate that into an application) I don't think this capability of android is recognized for the amount of power it provides both the developer and the user. It's often said that things like the dialer or contact list can be changed out if the user doesn't like the default one, but that level of integration isn't just at the app level, it's at all the system services. If Android didn't provide voice recognition out of the box, it would be entirely possible to replace or augment the default input method with one as a third-party app install. There's nothing special about this from a user standpoint. This is actually quite common on android, the most frequent example being replacement ringtone apps (which is odd because it's not that hard to use any random file as a ringtone as it is (make a directory named notifications on the sdcard and put the files in there, they show up in the sound selection dialog), they are mostly just better interfaces, although there are a few that have serious value adds, like recording a new ringtone live and editing it). I found a keyboard app called "Better Keyboard" that I consider to be truly better than the default keyboard functionality provided.

commandar 16y ago
Actually, replacement Input Methods are more common than the ringtone things, in my experience. It's also an area where you see a fair amount of innovation taking place on Android -- there are IMEs like Better Keyboard or Smart Keyboard Pro (which I use personally) but there are also people experimenting with things like Swype. Android really lowers the bar for creative people developing new ways of interacting with mobile devices, and I think that's probably the single most exciting thing about the platform.
- thwarted 16y ago
  Most definitely true. I think things like ringtone customizers get slightly more mindshare, at least in the circles I've been following, because people are used to doing that on other phones -- it's rare, so far, to be able to customize input methods on most phone models, so that's not something people commonly look for. When I've told people they can get a different keyboard for Android, they've been surprised.

commandar 16y ago

Actually, replacement Input Methods are more common than the ringtone things, in my experience. It's also an area where you see a fair amount of innovation taking place on Android -- there are IMEs like Better Keyboard or Smart Keyboard Pro (which I use personally) but there are also people experimenting with things like Swype. Android really lowers the bar for creative people developing new ways of interacting with mobile devices, and I think that's probably the single most exciting thing about the platform.

thwarted 16y ago
Most definitely true. I think things like ringtone customizers get slightly more mindshare, at least in the circles I've been following, because people are used to doing that on other phones -- it's rare, so far, to be able to customize input methods on most phone models, so that's not something people commonly look for. When I've told people they can get a different keyboard for Android, they've been surprised.