One of the top complaints of Android’s first phone – the T-Mobile G1 – is the fact that it doesn’t have an onscreen keyboard. The full physical QWERTY is a godsend, but having to slide open the keyboard for simple keystrokes, searches and passwords can be a real drag.
Introducing the un-drag: Android’s On-Screen Keyboard poised to hit the G1 as a software update in late January 2009! The update will come with the recently unearthed Cupcake development branch – have a look for yourself:
While it’s hard to believe this was left out in the first place, the key here is that on MOST phones if this had been left out, you’d be lucky to see a fix at all. But the always yearning for improvement Android OS was built for the future and the on-screen qwerty is a perfect example of that.
We can’t wait for this update to hit but I bet there are some people that are MUCH more excited… the Android Phone Manufacturers who have plans to build full touch-screen devices with only on-screen keyboards!
[Thanks Sorin!]