CM Keyboard - Emoji, ASCII Art for Android

A free keyboard from Cheetah Mobile

CM Keyboard is an alternative keyboard for your Android device that offers a wide range of emoji and ASCII Art for you to add to your conversations.

Basic keyboard plus emoji and ASCII Art

Unlike Swype and some other alternative keyboards, CM Keyboard sticks to the traditional typing input method. The keyboard itself is functional, but doesn't offer any usability improvements over the standard Android keyboard. What CM Keyboard does give you is a large range of ACSII Art and emoji, which you can access easily to color your chats with emotions.

Does it really need to know all that?

The app is free, but does ask for more device permissions than standard keyboards, especially regarding access to your device and app history. This includes giving CM Keyboard access to your browsing history and bookmarks, which may be a step too far for some people - this data is the real cost of the app.

You will also see a warning when you activate the keyboard for the first time. It warns you that this keyboard 'may be able to collect all the text you type,' but developer Cheetah promises that the app does not do this.

Acceptable but not stand out

CM Keyboard is yet another alternative keyboard for Android devices. It's perfectly capable, and the ASCII art especially is a nice addition. However, it really doesn't stand out from the crowd or make typing any easier, and it also requires more device permissions than other similar apps.