With all the various OEM versions of Android available, it's likely you may get stuck with an onscreen keyboard you're not too fond of. And if you're not in sync with your keyboard, it can become frustrating to use your Android phone or tablet. Fortunately, one of the cool things about Android is its keyboard is a modular component. Don't like it? Replace it! Google allows alternatives in the Google Play store.

So if you're feeling a little disappointed what your phone has offered you, here are a few other Android keyboard applications worth checking out.

SwiftKey, $1.99

SwiftKey is a heavily predictive keyboard app. It begins by asking which language you prefer before it fully installs. Then, it inquires about your typing style—whether you’re precise or rapid—and asks whether it can watch your keyboard input within apps like Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, and your RSS feed for a better gauge on how you type.

When it comes to typing, SwiftKey does best at assuming what you’re about to type next. Whenever you press the space bar after inserting a punctuation mark, SwiftKey will auto fill with the word it thinks you’re going to use. For users who utilize their Android devices primarily for business, this may prove more accommodating for firing off the same e-mail replies over and over again, but in some instances it can be annoying having to hit the backspace key after every other sentence.

Jelly Bean Keyboard, Free

When Samsung’s Touchwiz keyboard began frustrating me to no end, I decided to ditch it and install this freebie instead. Jelly Bean Keyboard instantly overlays the Android 4.1 keyboard on your device, regardless of what Android version you’re currently running. It includes haptic feedback and learns your typing history, which helps it make faster predictions. It also includes a split keyboard for thumb-typing on a tablet. It's just generally more user-friendly than some of the included OEM keyboards—precisely as Google intended.

The free version is ad-supported, but there's a Pro version for $2.99. That supports theming, font changes, and other customizations. You can even grab several language packs if you need a Spanish or Arabic keyboard.

GO Keyboard, Free

GO Keyboard’s popularity is bolstered by the more than 60 different keyboard themes and plugins it contains. This app allows users to set the keyboard to whatever language they prefer, or even revert back to the good old days of T9 rather than the normal QWERTY affair. Users can customize key height, dictionary management, and different keyboard layout styles. And as an added bonus, there’s a precise highlighter tool available, which makes it easier to scroll through documents and delete very specific characters and text—something that can be extremely frustrating with just a finger on a touchscreen.

Swype, Free

Though it’s not available in the Google Play Store, Swype is one of the more popular third-party keyboard applications users can side-load onto their Android handset. The app relies on a continued finger motion to type out words, which can come in handy for multitaskers. It also allows users to just simply type out words if they want to or utilize Dragon’s voice recognition technology for voice typing. As an aside, some devices, like the Samsung Galaxy S III, already feature native Swype functionality.

Kii Keyboard, Free

Kii Keyboard is a brand new keyboard application that's chock full of features, including smart keyboard predictions, SwiftKey-like word prediction, and Swype gesture input. It also boasts a split-keyboard layout, iOS 6 emoji input, and the ability to use any picture as a keyboard background. For users who aren't too keen on the new Jelly Bean keyboard, Kii Keyboard also enables you to revert back to the Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich keyboard with built-in themes.

While the app is still in beta and fairly new to the Google Play Store, we look forward to downloading the premium suite once it becomes available. Kii Keyboard's wealth of features and included themes definitely gives it a leg up over other keyboard apps available for Android. It'll need to work out the kinks on some of its features—like the very intense haptic feedback and too predictive text—but the plethora of positive reviews on its Google Play page already shows this app is rearing to be a major contender.

Listing image by Photo by Florence Ion