Even more amazing, SwiftKey then gives you a selection of words that are likely to follow: "much," "good," and "sure." One more tap and you've "typed" two words, using a total of four taps instead of 11.

Amortize that over the course of countless text messages, emails, and the like, and it's easy to see why SwiftKey has such a devoted following: It really can save you a lot of time and effort.

Another feature, Smart Space, lets you keep tapping away at the keyboard without pausing to hit that pesky space bar between words (though I found this habit almost impossible to break). SwiftKey also has a "smart" punctuation key that provides single-tap access to the period, comma, exclamation point, and question mark.

If you're not willing to invest a whole buck, you can grab the and make sure it's something you're comfortable using. (Keep in mind that there's a slight learning curve, and it takes the app a few days of learning your habits to really maximize its potential.)

My two cents: This is 99 cents very well spent. If you're the least bit unhappy with your Android device's stock keyboard (or even another third-party alternative you've tried), this is definitely worth a try.