8pen keyboard updated, is now free

By Phil Nickinson  | Nov 10 2010 | 2:44 pm  | 48 Comments

8pen keyboard for Android

8pen -- that crazy new Android keyboard -- just got a slew of bugfixes, improvements and, best of all, is now free. Here's what's new in Version 1.1:

  • Auto-space is now optional, and disabled by default
  • Voice input (Android 2.2 with voice recognition enabled)
  • Preview popup
  • Improved dictionary support (suggestions, auto-complete, quick fixes)
  • Basic themes
  • Height adjustment
  • Fine-grained shift pressure threshold
  • Optional vibration when passing through central region
  • Slightly modified numeric layout, for easier access to #, & etc.
  • HTC Tattoo fix
  • Fix of phone keyboard bug that caused force close on some phones

Snag it now in the Android Market (links are after the break). [the8pen]

Phil Nickinson

Phil Nickinson Editor in Chief

"Phil is a recovering print journalist, editor of Android Central, subtitles and street signs."

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There are 48 comments

JeremytheIndian says:

Sweet! I was waiting for this to go free so I could give it a try. Thanks phil.

e_grant says:

Yea, cause it def. wasn't worth the money to pay for a keyboard I might not use. I learned about buying apps the hard way, before Tunesync updated.

n64kps says:

Awesome that they listened to us and made it free. Especially for such a radical new way of keyboarding. If it really takes off and people end up loving it, I could see them charging for it in the future, but not now in the initial releases.

bmdelaune says:

what about those people who already paid for it? refund?

brazilboy87 says:

that was the first thing i thought! i want my refund!

jatoprieto#wp says:

I just caved to the curiosity and bought it yesterday. I swear I'm still within 24 hours, but I don't seem to have the "uninstall and refund" option anymore. Maybe the UI doesn't expect to need that button on free apps. at least it was only $1.50 or something

Phone Freek says:

Sweet Christ are you cheap

weehooherod says:

Seriously. It was $1.50, everyone needs to stop complaining. I bought the app just to support the developers. I'm happy it's gone free, more people will try it now.

trinityomega#ac says:

Agreed. it was 1.50 out of my own pocket in support of something I like and find very useful. Glad they made it free for those who can't seem to wrap their heads around the pricetag.

azureus1 says:

nope just tough luck really, they dont have any obligation to provide a refund. i bought it myself by the way.

would be nice if they made some sort of longer tutorial or something to help people with, cus i'm really struggling with it and i doubt i'm the only one.

brodieduncan says:

This may be a rather n00by question but, how do you make a space in 8pen?

gtricecakes says:

Tap the center dot thing.

brodieduncan says:

Thanks, sorry for the n00by question

Freegoo says:

Press the circle thing in the middle.

Paladin says:

You can slap lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig.

Sorry I just had to say it... :)

Jonneh says:

No, it's a pretty pig! ;)

sandplasma says:

This sucks, I want my refund...people who paid should get some extra features at the very least. WTF

Phone Freek says:

I literally just threw 6 quarters out of my car window. Just cuz.

mattchew86 says:

Yeah. I was one of the people who bought this at launch and never use it. A refund would be nice.

weehooherod says:

Oh no $1.50. You're life will have one less bottle of soda in it. Oh the humanity!

unclegeek says:

that was awesome.. it's free.. which gave me the incentive to install it.. it sucks.. which gave me the incentive to uninstall it (within 5 minutes).. Logically there's no way this method of input can be quicker or more intuitive than Swype. Give up.

S4Rs says:

What if the phone read your mind. That would be faster.

kvont says:

wasn't going to pay for it, but now that its free i tried it...utterly retarded...
why would i want to make a gesture to type a single letter, when I can make a gesture to type an entire word (Swype)?!?!

STUPID!

rowanangelo says:

damn, for once I went crazy and was an early adopter, and this is what I get for my trouble. Oh well, I appreciate the update, this is generally my first choice keyboard these days.

kevinp says:

I'm just not a collector, so, I'm sticking with Swype.

mcknott says:

This keyboard sucks so bad.

jnadelman says:

Still trying it. It is clearly going to take some getting used to. I do like the ability to pre set simple gestures to automatically be things. If there are things you type all the time, that will help a ton.

dwt10 says:

I cant find it in the market :(

Bboy Gambit says:

it's getting better but i still say SWYPE all the way!

jayray#ac says:

I'm starting to like this keyboard

estebancam says:

I'm getting pretty fast at it. Great update!

Roustermiller says:

I love this app its better then swype to me

allie_danielle says:

I figured it out and its pretty NEAT but seems kinda of laggy on HTC Hero with 2.1. Probably because this phone sucksss

jelly roll says:

Can I still get swype?

mao mao says:

Yay they listened to us! It's free now!! I really like the concept of being able to type without looking, I hope I can get good at using this keyboard.

crxssi says:

They couldn't PAY me to use 8pen :)

devewm says:

Slightly off-topic, but what is the notes app shown in the screenshot for this story? I've been looking for something decent for simple note-taking.

Atomic Playboy says:

The Epic 4G is apparently not pressure-sensitive. Damn.

Now that it's free, I can stop complaining about how it wasn't free.

puremadness#ac says:

This is a set back for all keyboards. Swype blows 8pen away. As soon as Swype inc and htc get their sh*t together and releases a keyboard with mic on it for the Evo it will be the ultimate input method.

jbsyst says:

lame - 8penned using two figure 8 motions.
lame - swyped in one partial figure 8 motion
nuf said

Smokexz says:

If this takes off, we could very well be seeing another Swype keyboard, it's going to be one of the features on the box "8PEN MAKES TEXTING A BREEZE" lmao

balthuszar says:

its good to know that the developers listen to their constituents...i'm going to give this a couple days...if i like it, i'll buy it if they ever decide to charge for it again

zakth says:

Well, I have to give the developer credit for making this application. However I do not think that this solution is better than other's on the market.

benjymous says:

As one of the early adopters, I still really like it - it's especially good on the tiny screen of my x10 mini (where there really isn't room for a proper qwerty keyboard)

My biggest annoyance is all the 1* ratings in the market from people who really can't be bothered to learn how to use it. People need to remember that there's nothing natural about a qwerty key layout either, and most typed very slowly when they were learning to type.

jbsyst says:

Its a creative idea but not very practical for our current keyboarding market. I took the time to learn how to make the gestures and I get it, its kinda natural now. However I don't want to have to learn a new keyboard layout. Has anyone made a Dvorak keyboard that uses swiping motions? I know Dvorak.

Swyped on my EVO 4G

_X_ says:

I've been using the keyboard since they released it. At this point I do have most of the keys memorized, the hardest part is getting the arcs right. So there are some mistakes made. but no where near a qewerty keyboard.
At this point swype still twice as fast for me, do to it's predictive text, but with swype I must keep my eyes on the keyboard in order to type. Not so with 8pen one can truly blind type. . . simply amazing and once the predictive text get better I will kick all of the competition's butt.

this text was type with 8pen

Cubfan says:

Free isn't good enough. They need to pay me to use this mess.