Maybe it's too soon -- but I've tried them all, and was even dazzled a little by Swype and Swiftkey, but years of using the iPhone stock keyboard, and now with its predictive enhancements, I'm not getting any more comfortable with the swipe method. Granted its only been a week...
If you are used to a keyboard, changing to a different keyboard is likely going to involve a learning curve. Changing keyboards is easier if you there is something unsatisfying with your existing keyboard.
When I first got my Galaxy S3, it was much larger than my previous phone. The landscape keyboard was just really wide and I had difficulty reaching the G and H keys. For that reason, I looked for other keyboards with a layout that is better suited for me. Thumb, Kii and SwiftKey had such a layout where the landscape keyboard is split like what you can do on the iPad. This feature made it easier for me to type.
Also, since I type in the regular fashion on my Macbook Air, I'm wondering the point of training my muscle memory to use this alternative form of typing, which I will only use on my phone.
Personally, I don't like typing in portrait because the keys are too close together and I am more prone to errors. I do occasionally. What I find most useful about Swype's gesture typing is that it makes it easy for me to type in portrait and with using only one hand to hold and type. That is the use I found for gesture typing methods.
I did a test of different keyboards and typing with thumbs in landscape and gesture typing in portrait. For me at least, I found gesture typing to be slower than thumb typing.
I'm not sure my brain has enough room to learn both methods! (okay, now I'm exagerrating)
If you are already comfortable with the way you type normally, then it may not be worth it to learn typing a different way. It will take some time and effort to using a typing method different than what you are use to. If you really want to commit to typing that way, you will have to put up with some period of time where your typing is slower and possibly less accurate than the method you are used to.
I did try a non-traditional keyboard called MessagEase that is available on Android. I did seriously try it out for a few days. After that, I just got fed up with trying to learn a new method of typing and having to put up with slow typing. I could type quite well and quickly with a traditional keyboard in landscape, so I just gave up on MessagEase. Maybe if I knew about it 2 years ago, I would have kept using it. At the time, I wasn't as good a typist on a phone than I am now.
I've tried a few and they all pretty much suck. I never understood the geek factor in them on my Nexus 7. It's pretty much a feature that idiot fanboys like to toss off about.
Third party keyboards I tried made the typing experience better than the stock keyboard on some of the phones that I used. They are not for everyone. I like that I do have the option of different keyboards and that I can choose whichever one that is best suited for me. Phones are very flexible devices and some people do prefer taking advantage of the flexibility if they find the default configuration lacking in some way.
