Re 8. The android slide-to-type keyboards (swiftkey and the likes... I believe a similar typing mode exists in the builtin keyboard also) is so incredibly super

Re 8. The android slide-to-type keyboards (swiftkey and the likes... I believe a similar typing mode exists in the builtin keyboard also) is so incredibly superior to anything else out there that anytime I have to type something on an iPad or my wife's iPhone I feel like I've been transported back to the stone ages. The OP should really poke around in the options a bit.