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Get the most from your Nexus keyboard

Play the keyboard
Jelly Bean Keyboard is available for free on Google Play. Search for ‘Jelly Bean Keyboard’ and then tap on the entry made by Johntanmi. Tap ‘Install’ and it downloads and installs on your device. You don’t get the usual ‘Open’ option because it installs directly into the keyboard options of your device.

Ready for this Jelly
Press the ‘Home’ key on your Android device, then tap the ‘Menu’ key and choose ‘Settings Scroll down to ‘Language & Keyboard’ and check the tick box next to ‘Android keyboard (AosP): It warns you about collecting data, but this isn’t an issue because Jelly Bean Keyboard doesn’t communicate with the internet.

Aisha... I’m vibrating
We need to set Jelly Bean Keyboard as our default keyboard, so tap ‘Default’ and choose ‘English (UK)’ Next, tap on the slider settings to the right of ‘Android keyboard (AOSP) Here you can set vibrations, sounds and other preferences. Once you’ve set it up as you want it, tap the ‘Back’ key.

As easy as ABC
Now compose a new text or email to get the hang of Jelly Bean Keyboard it pops up as soon as you begin entering text. Tap some random words into the keyboard and it automatically predicts the word you’re typing, with three options displayed above the keyboard.

So predictable
Tap one of these options to enter it. If you’re typing a word that isn’t in the dictionary, it is displayed in the centre box. There may be multiple suggestions, so just tap the correct word to enter it into your message, and then tap the word once more to save it to your dictionary, so it will be recognised next time.

As easy as 123
You’ll see numbers to the upper-right of the letter keys. Long-hold on these to enter the numbers. Press and hold the’.’ key to see commonly-used punctuation marks and symbols. You can also tap ‘?123’ to see more symbols and numbers. Tap ‘ABC’ to return to the main QWERTY keyboard.

The great dictator
 A handy feature included in Android is voice-recognition, so you can dictate your texts and emails. Tap the microphone icon to the lower-left of the keyboard and speak into your phone. When you’ve finished. tap ‘Done: It’s not perfect. so it may take a couple of attempts to get it right.

Dictionary corner
You’ve just got one of the best Android features on your device well done! The more frequently you use Jelly Bean Keyboard, the better it gets at remembering words and predicting them, so try not to be lazy about saving words to the dictionary, and you will quickly have a more intuitive and natural keyboard.