How important is a keyboard to the AndroidTV system !?

by qroft

I have just read this channel's info aka rules aka guide and understand now why my Android Media Player is not an AndroidTV device - thanks :D

My Android app "Seemiyah" is like a "screensaver in the cloud" soultion and dedicatd to smartphones.
So now i asked myself how to port it to AndroidTV systems.

My problem: some of my screensaver templates can be customized by the user.
In the app settings for example you can set up some own text to appear on the screensaver or add your location so that a weather screensaver can show the current weather.

But for all of this you need a keyboard.

Now i asked myself if this workflow is a hurdle or if most AndroidTV users also have a keyboard connected to their AndroidTV devices. Is Text entry even ok for most of you?

Thanks in advance for your time and support!

oroboros74

Android TV has an onscreen keyboard you command with your remote.

_CitationX

If you do web browsing or basically anything that requires more than <- this sort of length of text, then yeah a keyboard will be better because the on screen keyboard paired with a remote gets tedious. It's fine for quick searches though. If I have to type in anything longer, the keyboard on the Android TV app on my phone works well and arguably is better to use than a physical keyboard.

JimboLodisC

It's designed to be used with a remote. If an input box needs text then well we have to use an on-screen keyboard to do that. I don't think many people attach a physical keyboard to their device unless they're trying to make it act as a less powerful HTPC.

for example you can set up some own text to appear on the screensaver or add your location

For simple things like that, using the on-screen keyboard is fine.

Also, the Shield has a companion app that lets you use the keyboard on your phone to type. So even then, you don't have to use a d-pad or control stick for text entry.

pawdog

Keyboard could be important if you insist on doing things the platform is not designed to do like web browsing. For normal use, text entry is just for signing in to services. The best services allow the signing in to be done on the computer or phone browser so keyboard use is kind of left to the power users. As long as someone would only need to type maybe a zip code for the weather the on screen keyboard that would be OK for anybody I would think.

qroft

[SEEKING TESTERS]

Is anyone of you willing to test out my app on their AndroidTV system and publish in here some critics about the keyboard-entering-stuff workflow? Or in short: test out if the type of my app can be a good AndroidTV add-on.

The first 5 ppl who reply to this, will receive a Play Store Coupon so that you can get the app for free.
I would love to ask you then to install the app also on your AndroidTV and tell me if it works and what you think about it. Publishing a photo would be awesome!

AND PLEASE: can any mod tell me if this procedure i am asking here breaks any channel rules, like publishing coupons? Thanks in advance!

totodee

The Android TV OS is compatible with any number of wireless keyboards. The Logitech K400+ is a good inexpensive choice however it doesn't support voice.