I thought going back to my BlackBerry would be a nightmare after my Motorola Droid suffered a swim in the pool, but so far I am enjoying the change. Why I did not have a Dry Case for my phone during my beach vacation is an entirely different question; perhaps, call it stupidity? However, this change has pointed out something I have felt for awhile. I have had an issues in the past with the little things Google misses or ignores in Android, especially ones that Apple just nails on the iPhone. With this change, a new annoyance has been discovered: the behavior of the Android OS is strikingly inconsistent on various Android devices. It leads you to wonder whose issue this is: Google or the handset maker?
So here is the specific issue I have noticed. On various Android devices (except the Nexus One). It works like this:
The keyboard and auto complete suggestions that you just had open disappear as you switch from landscape to portrait mode or vice versa. I just can’t understand why changing the phone orientation would result in the keyboard auto hiding. There is nothing magical to reproduce this: just open an SMS message and start typing either in the To: or the body of the message and then change the orientation of the device. On some devices the keyboard hides and you have to click in the typing area for the keyboard to reappear. I don’t know if this is an Android issue or a phone manufacture issue but it is a annoyance. We have even tried this with multiple keyboards loaded (Better Keyboard, Keyboard Pro, HTC Keyboard, etc) and that doesn’t seem to make a difference on the particular device. It either works or it doesn’t.
Today, when I was typing on my BlackBerry Storm, I had to switch orientation to get a full keyboard and low and behold, the keyboard did not disappear! Despite all the jokes cracked about ‘backward’ BlackBerry, they do have many great (and rock-solid) usability features.
Another thing I greatly value is the physical call and hang up buttons, or should I say one click access to the phone. I have never found a solution to the disappearing keyboard so it will just remain one of those many mysteries associated with the Android OS. It sure it a good thing that it has other stuff going for it!