Update: Adaptxt reached out to us to inform us that there's was a temporary manifest problem on Google Play that prevented some tablet users from installing the app on their devices. The problem has been fixed now.

Many tablet users are subjected, at one point, to the hassle of searching for a keyboard that is easy to use, efficient, and feature rich. Stock keyboards just don't cut it, and the plethora of replacement keyboard apps available on the Play Store can be daunting. And there are just so many options native to the different tablets available today. So, how about getting one keyboard that can cover all the bases? Enter the Adaptxt Tablet Beta keyboard.

We’ve reviewed Adaptxt for Android smartphones a few weeks ago, and we liked the multitude of features offered in one package, the rich language support, and the well-thought interface. Yesterday, KeyPoint Technologies released the tablet-specific version of Adaptxt and we set out to see if the tablet app is just as good as the smartphone version.

Before getting into the actual review, check out our post from yesterday describing some of the features of the new Adaptxt Tablet Beta. Also, you should know that, while the app comes with a Beta label, it’s polished and pretty much stable.

Adaptxt Tablet Beta features

• Text prediction – Adaptxt learns from the words you type and tries to predict the words you want to type in next
• Word completion – the regular word completion feature that you’ve come to know and love from other apps
• Error correction – the app automatically fixes misspelled words
• Word learning to dictionary – new words are automatically added to the Adaptxt dictionaty
• Auto Capitalization – the app capitalizes words when needed
• Multi-lingual suggestions – the app discerns between words in different languages
• URL suggestions – autocompleting of URL addresses
• Industry-specific language packs – medical, finance, IT, etc.
• Automatic Text Replacement – create shorthands for frequently typed phrases
• Dictionary prioritization – if you have several dictionaries installed
• Handwriting recognition – experimental
• Thumb-friendly tablet layout – split keyboard
• Repositionable suggestion bar – place above or below the keys row

Adaptxt Tablet Beta: the up side

First off, the thing that we liked most about the new Adaptxt Tablet Beta is the fact that the app brings all the cool features of the smartphone version, but manages to adapt them to the rigors of tablet typing.

Adaptxt supports the split keyboard layout, which I think is ideal for typing on smaller tablets, like the new Nexus 7 or the Kindle Fire. Switching between the normal layout and the thumb-typing layout is fairly easy, as it is accessing settings or changing language add-ons (you can pick from dozens of languages and industry-specific dictionaries).

Speaking of add-ons, you will have to download each language/industry package individually. You can find them as separate apps on Google Play, Amazon Appstore, or Getjar. This reliance on separate packages might seem a nuisance at first, but let’s face it – how many languages will you need to download?

Adaptxt Tablet Beta offers just about all the features you could want from a tablet keyboard app for Android. If you type a lot on the go, I think you’ll find it very useful. Also, unlike more established competitors, Adaptxt is still a free app (all the language packs are free as well), but that might change in the future, as the app matures.

Things we didn’t like

Now for the iffy part. Adaptxt Tablet Beta comes with an experimental handwriting recognition feature. According to the devs, this feature is still a rough beta, which they introduced in the app to gain input from users. As you can see from the video review below, it’s not very precise at the moment. It can take several tries to make the app understand what your scribbling. To be fair, that’s not exactly a shortcoming, as the function is experimental and will surely improve in the future.

As with the smartphone version, the user interface might use a little polishing, but again, this is something that’s up to debate.

Hands-on video

Overview

My time with the Adaptxt Tablet app was a breeze. It took a very small amount of time to get up and running with the UI, languages, and custom dictionary options. The keyboard easily stands up to any competing app available. Are you looking for an easy to use, feature rich keyboard for your Android app? Give it a shot! Also, make sure to tell us what you think of the Adaptxt keyboard by leaving a comment below!