iPhone Keyboards

There's a new Bluetooth keyboard in town, billed as the first Multi-touch keyboard ever. The TextBlade weighs only 1.5 ounces (42.5 g) and uses magnets to fold up for easy carrying. According to the manufacturer WayTools, eight physical keys use Multi-touch and MagLever technology to provide a precision touch-typing experience.

Full-size 19mm key spacing and 2mm of travel make TextBlade keys the same as a standard keyboard. In addition to characters, the keys are MultiLayer, which provides access to symbols, editing shortcuts, and iOS-specific controls. The space bar contains a lithium polymer battery that charges in less than an hour and lasts up to a month.

It is going to be tough to convince some iPhone users to leave their stock iOS keyboard for a third-party offering, but Flesky is determined to do just that. The Flesky Keyboard for iOS 8 devices, which already offers plenty of themes and extra features, has been given another major update today. Version 5.0 of the app brings more extension options such as GIF support and a one-handed mode. Users can use extensions to easily add or remove new features they enjoy to their keyboard, like adding a fifth row for numbers. The update also includes new themes and some bug fixes.

Flesky claims to be the fastest keyboard in the world with its accurate auto-correct and easy to use gesture controls for adding punctuation, deleting words and more. The app also includes plenty of fun themes, like The Hunger Games, 800 Emojis and the ability to earn bagdes and rewards.

iPhone owners have been stuck using Apple's default iOS keyboard since it was originally released in 2007, but now iPhone and iPad owners can choose to replace Apple's offering with a variety of third-party keyboards available on the App Store. Jailbreakers and Android users have long known about the advantages of having different keyboard options, but now all iOS 8 users can see why it is important to have choices. Here's a list of iOS 8 supported keyboards you can test out on your iPhone or iPad. It is worth at least checking out one or two of these third-party keyboards so you can know what you have been missing out on all these years. You can always go back to Apple's default keyboard if you don't find anything that you like.

Fleksy Keyboard: $0.99 (Universal) - Even before iOS 8 was released the developers behind Flesky have been working hard to improve the keyboard experience on iOS devices. Flesky claims to be "the fastest keyboard in the world" and it has received positive reviews from several publications such as Time Magazine. Flesky allows users to customize their keyboard with different themes and use swiping gestures to add punctuation, delete words and so on. The keyboard also includes over 800 emojis and support for over 40 languages.

One of the cool things about switching off the simple passcode in iOS 7.1 is a new keyboard design that shows up on the lock screen. This special keyboard only arrives when the user is prompted for a complex passcode, one that includes numbers and letters. Now those with jailbroken devices can install the lock screen keyboard across the entire iOS 7.1 system.

The keyboard itself features transparent keys entirely outlined in white, on a dark background. LockKeyboard is the name of the tweak, which will replace the default iOS 7.1 keyboard with the lock screen keyboard at all times. Once installed, there are no settings or options at all. The new keyboard just appears in any app that needs keyboard input.

The iOS keyboard made a star appearance at this year's WWDC, and for good reason. Not only does iOS 8 promise to bake new functionality into the virtual keyboard, but developers can release third-party keyboards for use on any iOS 8 device. Rumors of Swype integration with iOS were floated last year and now it looks like Swype will be just one of many custom keyboards available.

While Swype's patented tech allows for typing with one continuous gesture, examples of possible keyboard tweaks have been available in the jailbreak community for some time. From cosmetic keyboard changes such as Bloard to functional improvements like SwipeSelection the sky's the limit.