On-screen keyboard vs. hardware QWERTY keyboards

I've had the opportunity to use a variety of different smartphones. Some have physical QWERTY keyboard buttons. Others are slates that only have an on-screen keyboard. As I've compared different QWERTY keyboards, I've found that some smartphones (like the Palm Pre) have tiny buttons that are literally impossible to push unless you have small hands. Others (like the Motorola Droid) do not provide enough tactile responsiveness. This has been changed in the Droid 2 - which has a much better keyboard compared to the original Droid.

My favorite QWERTY keyboard was the one found on the HTC Touch Pro2.

Now that I'm mainly using the Motorola Droid X which lacks a physical QWERTY keyboard, I'm finding that the large 4.3" screen provides plenty of room for a great on-screen keyboard that is very easy to use when I hold the device horizontally and type using two thumbs. The Droid X also provides the option to use Swype so that you don't have to lift your fingers or thumbs off the screen as you enter text. Which input method do you prefer?

Swype for Android

Swype (not Skype) is an innovative touch keyboard that allows you to enter words without lifting your finger off the screen surface. Here's what Swype offers:

Swype provides a faster and easier way to input text on any screen. With one continuous finger or stylus motion across the screen keyboard, the patented technology enables users to input words faster and easier than other data input methods—at over 50 words per minute. The application is designed to work across a variety of devices such as phones, tablets, game consoles, kiosks, televisions, virtual screens and more.

Swype comes on the Samsung Omnia II running Windows Mobile 6.5, but there's a preview version out there for Android. You can learn more about that preview here.

Samsung Omnia II getting some mixed reviews?

The Samsung Omnia II launched earlier this week and I've been seeing some mixed reviews about this smartphone. Some feel that the Swype technology works well while others don't seem to care for it. Most like the AMOLED display (but you can expect poor visibility when you're outside). The software running the user interface seems to be associated with a love/hate relationship. The widgets drain your memory and may slow things down. I think I prefer the HTC interface called TouchFLO. The lack of a built-in stylus? Well, my HTC Touch Pro2 has a stylus, but I rarely use it since I'm almost always using my finger to navigate on this device. However, if you're planning on running Epocrates, plan to use a stylus (note that Epocrates does not currently run on Windows Mobile 6.5, so you'll have to wait before you can get it to run on the Samsung Omnia II).

Let's see what happens as more reviews get published over the next week.