Hub Keyboard is another Microsoft app for Android phones

Third-party keyboard apps are very popular with Android smartphone users. They can be personalized a lot more than the default Android keyboard will ever allow. Microsoft’s new Keyboard Hub app for Android is a cut above the rest, as it is less about visual gimmicks but genuinely tries to enhance the user experience by certain unique value additions.

The Hub Keyboard belongs to Microsoft’s acclaimed Garage project which is behind the Next Launcher screen, Arrow launcher, Torque (Bing search assistant for Android) and Reach Me (for sharing directions and location) apps. The Hub Keyboard Preview can be downloaded from the Google Play Store right away for free.

Built-in language translator

The keyboard comes with built-in language translator that works within the keyboard. Just type the word you want to translate, highlight it and tap on the translate icon placed at the top of the keyboard to see it in another language. You don’t need a separate translator app for it, or to download ‘language packs’ separately for the conversion to work. However, your phone should be connected to Internet at that time to access the conversion feature, which we believe, is powered by Microsoft’s Bing which also does the same for Skype. As of now, it supports only two Indian languages Urdu and Hindi, and includes global languages such as French,German, Chinese, Arabic and Spanish.

Add contacts

Sharing contact is a very common for a lot of users, but at present, it can’t be done without switching apps. The Hub Keyboard allows you to search and add contact details of people from your phone book or your Office 365 contact list. Just tap on the add contacts icon on the icons panel and it will show all contacts instantly.

Add clipboards

The Hub Keyboard also lets you search and add previously saved text, irrespective of the app where it was done, by simply tapping on the clipboard icon. This will show a list of all the recent texts in a descending order of time on the keyboard. Just tap on the text you wish to import and you don’t have to leave the messenger or note app to copy a recently copied text.

Additional features for Office 365 user

The keyboard offers some extra features for Office 365 subscribers. Since, Office 365 is a subscription based service, you have to pay to access it ( ₹ 330 per month for the 365 Personal version). It allows users to access and share docs and PPTs saved on their OneDrive or SharePoint storage services from the keyboard. This makes it a bit easier as you won’t have to open your One Drive app separately and copy the link.

The limitations

The Hub Keyboard doesn’t support swipe gestures (you have to tap one key at a time), which makes it a bit restrictive for someone used to swipes. You have to tap more carefully. This is a basic feature in almost all smartphone keyboards, and Microsoft needs to up the game on this aspect. We found the layout is a bit bland right now, and could do with a bit of sprucing up.