J. Maurice

Japanese IME (iWnnIME) on Android - T9 / qwerty

Tuesday, 16. June 2009, 19:45:38

japanese ime, android, iWnnIME, Wnn, google, T9, 日本語

At Google Developer Day last week, I received a free HTC Magic with a special version of Android made for Japan by Google. The OS is very minimal, meant only to support developers working on Android applications, but it came with a Japanese IME application called iWnnIME. Since there is currently no native Japanese IME available anywhere for Android, I decided to post installation instructions so everyone can enjoy it

Thanks to the guys at XDA developer forums for helping me with this.

Here is the simple pre-packaged installation guide how to get Japanese IME installed on your Android device:

Download the iWnnIME Japanese IME application from here and extract it so that you have the iWnnIME directory in your SDK tools directory.

Then do:

adb kill-server
adb root
adb remount
adb push iWnnIME/jp.co.omronsoft.iwnnime /data/data/
adb push iWnnIME/system@app@iWnnIME.apk@classes.dex /data/dalvik-cache/
adb push iWnnIME/libiwnn.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/lib_dic.conf.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/lib_dic_e.conf.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libEnjcon.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libEnjemailuri.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libEnjlearn.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libEnjlearnL.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libEnjlearnM.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libEnjrel.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libEnjyomi.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libkaomoji_kihon.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libkaomoji_tyukyu.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libnjaddress.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libnjcon.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libnjemoji.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libnjexyomi.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libnjexyomi_new.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libnjexyomi_re.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libnjfzk.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libnjname.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libnjtan.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libnjubase1.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/libnjubase2.so /system/lib/
adb push iWnnIME/DroidSansJapanese.ttf /system/fonts/
adb install iWnnIME/iWnnIME.apk

After installation, open Settings -> Locale & Text and you should have options to enable and configure the "iWnn IME".

Open any application which has a text input, such as the mail application. Hold your finger on a text input for 3 seconds until the "select text input" dialog appears. Now you can select the iWnnIME input method.

If a T9 keypad appears, hold down the bottom left "文字" key for 3 seconds, and you will switch to the full-size qwerty IME keyboard.

「Android 日本語IMEをインストールする方法」
1. ダウンロードします。
2. (上の指示)をインストールします。
3. 設定メニューでIMEを有効にします。
4. テキスト入力(メールなどの)でアプリケーションを開きます。
5. テキスト入力のときに3秒間、指を握っています。
6. 「入力メソッドを選んでください」を選択します。
7. "iWnnIME"を選択します。
8. T9キーパッドが現れるなら、3秒がQWERTYのキーボードに変えるように主要な左下に指を握っています。
9. 英語と日本語の切り替えはShift-Spaceです。

Enjoy typing with native Japanese IME on Android !
Thanks Google

Update for Dream/Kaiser: To switch English/日本語 on a hard keyboard use shift+space.

Google gives us Sapphireslegal

Comments

Anonymous # 26. June 2009, 07:16

Anonymous writes:

Thank you so much for this!!! Followed your instructions and installed on a G1 dev phone....I can finally type in Japanese!!!
However, I was wondering if there is a way to type japanese from the physical keyboard? Would you know if that's difficult to do?
Thanks again!

J. Maurice # 28. June 2009, 08:14

Originally posted by anonymous:

I was wondering if there is a way to type japanese from the physical keyboard? Would you know if that's difficult to do?

This depends if the vendor of iWnn implemented such support, which I have no idea about and no way to check, since I don't have a G1 - please try it and let me know

Anonymous # 30. June 2009, 18:53

HLB writes:

Thank you for posting, works great on my G1 dev. It does recognize the physical keyboard without any problems (although I haven't figured out how to switch between input modes through the physical keyboard... for now, have to close the phone so the soft keyboard shows up, switch input modes there, then go back to the physical keyboard).

J. Maurice # 1. July 2009, 07:31

Originally posted by HLB:

for now, have to close the phone so the soft keyboard shows up, switch input modes there, then go back to the physical keyboard

Thanks for the feedback. The same issue is reported by others, such as the comments here: http://d.hatena.ne.jp/mfunaki/20090619/p1

Unfortunately since this IME was designed for release on the Sapphire/Magic, I doubt they added such a feature for the G1 hard keyboard. Please let me know if you find anything.

Anonymous # 3. July 2009, 16:34

midiman writes:

Thank you very much!
I could use it on my Magic without any problem so far.

J. Maurice # 3. July 2009, 21:33

Originally posted by midiman:

Thank you very much!
I could use it on my Magic without any problem so far.

I'm glad you got it working and also enjoyed your blog post:
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/midiman/20090703

J. Maurice # 12. July 2009, 21:34

Update for Dream/Kaiser: To switch English/日本語 on a hard keyboard use shift+space.
英語と日本語の切り替えはShift-Spaceです。

Anonymous # 7. August 2009, 07:26

Anonymous writes:

you saved me a tonne of headache.
the three second push to switch to qwerty wasn't even known to the folks at docomo (Jp carrier of G2).
I have been dying for the past 3 weeks for qwerty and you saved my a** a lot of work.
I hate to say, but support for the Jp OS is poor in Japan for those who can't read Kanji well.

Anonymous # 13. August 2009, 00:09

Sam Joseph writes:

I would love to install this, but I get this:

samuel-josephs-computer-3:tools samueljoseph$ ./adb kill-server
samuel-josephs-computer-3:tools samueljoseph$ ./adb root
* daemon not running. starting it now *
* daemon started successfully *
adbd cannot run as root in production builds

Anybody know a way round this?

Anonymous # 13. August 2009, 22:22

Anonymous writes:

when i'm typing in japanese it doesn't show autosuggest at all.. just nothing.. so i can't type any kanji.. is this normal?

J. Maurice # 14. August 2009, 05:38

Originally posted by anonymous:

adbd cannot run as root in production builds

You need root access to install this, google for how to root your android device.

Originally posted by anonymous:

when i'm typing in japanese it doesn't show autosuggest at all.. just nothing.. so i can't type any kanji.. is this normal?

This can happen if some files, such as the dictionary, aren't copied completely. Try re-copying the files, and make sure you're not out of space on /system too.

Anonymous # 25. August 2009, 13:43

206wick writes:

Hate to be nosy, but do you happen to have or know where to get the original ht-03a rom. need to patch the mopera and g3 on my phone and would love a copy. even your orig dev.
]
thanks for the time

J. Maurice # 26. August 2009, 06:59

Originally posted by anonymous:

Hate to be nosy, but do you happen to have or know where to get the original ht-03a rom. need to patch the mopera and g3 on my phone and would love a copy. even your orig dev.

Hi 206wick,

Docomo uses IMEI filtering with the mpr2.bizho.net APN, so only HTC Magic devices sold by docomo can be used with mopera. There is no "patch" like the connection manager on Windows Mobile based HTC devices for use with mpr.bizho.net, but it probably wouldn't be too difficult to reverse engineer it and write an app for Android to do the same thing... be my guest.

My original rip of Google's developer OS for Japan is in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=526085

Anonymous # 27. August 2009, 04:39

kuma writes:

I tried to install iWnn to my G1 today, but it seems there is not enough space left in /system... ;( It looks like "libnjubase2.so" is pretty big file...

Tried to move some apk files from /system/app to /sdcard, but still not enough space for the file above.

Anyone has solution for this? I have plenty of space in my sdcard. Any possibility I can install them in /sdcard/...?

Here is the error message:
...

++ ./adb push iWnnIME/libnjubase2.so /system/lib/
failed to copy 'iWnnIME/libnjubase2.so' to '/system/lib//libnjubase2.so': No space left on device

++ ./adb push iWnnIME/DroidSansJapanese.ttf /system/fonts/
775 KB/s (1173140 bytes in 1.477s)

++ ./adb install iWnnIME/iWnnIME.apk
1392 KB/s (790104 bytes in 0.554s)
pkg: /data/local/tmp/iWnnIME.apk

Any information will be appreciated.

-k

Anonymous # 27. August 2009, 22:22

kuma writes:

Hi, I figured out to move some files from /system to /sdcard, and I was ale to install...

However, I still haven't been able to see Kanji candidate after clicking space/"henkan".

It looks like the installation went w/o error. Which files are used for the function? So far, all I can do w/iWnn is to enter Hiragana... ;(

Thanks!

0k

J. Maurice # 4. September 2009, 19:42

Originally posted by anonymous:

Hi, I figured out to move some files from /system to /sdcard, and I was ale to install...

However, I still haven't been able to see Kanji candidate after clicking space/"henkan".

Hi kuma,

Now that you've freed space on /system, try uninstalling iWnnIME and re-install it. Hopefully this will solve your problem.

Anonymous # 13. September 2009, 01:07

AFW writes:

Which files are safe to move/remove in the system folder? My g1 ran out of space on the last 3 files and I already deleted my ringtones and such, but Im afraid of bricking the phone.

Anonymous # 17. September 2009, 10:43

Anonymous writes:

Will I be able to install this on the htc Hero? I'm going to Japan in two weeks and am thinking of buying a Hero to bring with me. Thing is, I desperately need Japanese support ... so this app would be a godsend to me.

Or do I have to have a "dev phone" (?) to install this?

J. Maurice # 19. September 2009, 09:20

Originally posted by anonymous:

Which files are safe to move/remove in the system folder? My g1 ran out of space on the last 3 files and I already deleted my ringtones and such, but Im afraid of bricking the phone.

On my hero rom, I removed some wallpapers, ringtones, and large system binaries in /bin I wasn't using to free space for my iWnnIME.

Originally posted by anonymous:

Will I be able to install this on the htc Hero? I'm going to Japan in two weeks and am thinking of buying a Hero to bring with me. Thing is, I desperately need Japanese support ... so this app would be a godsend to me.

Or do I have to have a "dev phone" (?) to install this?

You should be able to install it on any Android device as long as you have root and enough free space on /system

Anonymous # 29. September 2009, 11:25

Tanuki writes:

I'm very new to all this Android stuff (don't have one yet). My wife is japanese and we are living in Europe. I'm thinking to buy her the new HTC Tattoo and try to install this iWnnIME on it. Now.... how can a total noob like me do that? Could someone wright a step by step manuel which includes accessing the root of the phone? :-) Thanks a lot in advance

J. Maurice # 30. September 2009, 23:54

Originally posted by Tanuki:

I'm thinking to buy her the new HTC Tattoo and try to install this iWnnIME on it. Now.... how can a total noob like me do that?

It's pretty easy, there is a wealth of information at the XDA forums about how to load OS, etc. - if you need help, just contact me.

Anonymous # 6. October 2009, 23:17

Thisoneguy writes:

So I read you had a Google Ion from a dev confrence...So what APN settings did you use for docomo? That is if you even use docomo. I bought a MT3G, the mopera.net works, but mpr2.bizho.net doesnt... mpr.bizho.net connects but no throughput...I am guessing that it is because of the IMEI filitering... So this likely means that I will see a hefty bill if I leave it be.

And care to expand on what you were talking about the mpr.bizho.net for other HTC phones?

J. Maurice # 7. October 2009, 14:39

Originally posted by Thisoneguy:

bought a MT3G, the mopera.net works, but mpr2.bizho.net doesnt... mpr.bizho.net connects but no throughput...I am guessing that it is because of the IMEI filitering... So this likely means that I will see a hefty bill if I leave it be.

Exactly. Expect upwards of 10万円 or more. I suggest you to use softbank with iphone APN settings.

Originally posted by Thisoneguy:

And care to expand on what you were talking about the mpr.bizho.net for other HTC phones?

Windows Mobile uses that APN, but requires a "connection manager" app to initiate the connection. It works for 30 seconds, then gets cut off. I assume the "connection manager" app makes some kind of PPP authentication that prevents the 30 second cutoff. Instead of loading that app into IDA pro and trying to reverse engineer it, it's easier to just buy a real HT-03A and get real pakehodai

Anonymous # 8. October 2009, 02:03

Thisoneguy writes:

Thanks for the reply, I research to no end, and the best I could find is a course that was set up for use with teathering capped at 13000 Yen... I did the math.. and after something like 5 months I could have just bought the damn HT-03A... So thats what I did.

Though it seems so simple that Docomo could just add the IMEI to their system...Its the same flipping phone... Any way, if you know any one wanting a MyTouch, sim unlocked, for use with Softbank (because from what i read, they don't do the IMEI filitering like Docomo), let me know...

J. Maurice # 8. October 2009, 02:55

Originally posted by Thisoneguy:

if you know any one wanting a MyTouch, sim unlocked, for use with Softbank (because from what i read, they don't do the IMEI filitering like Docomo), let me know...

Yes, please drop me a note about this. My username is jmaurice and the domain is opera dot com.

Anonymous # 13. October 2009, 14:14

Kave writes:

Hi, sorry to trouble you even though I read through the comments of people trying to get this software to work on their phones.

Well for me, I installed the software onto the phone(HTC MAGIC) and tried to going into the Input setting for iWnnIME they gave me message of "The application iWnnIME (process jp.co.omronsoft.iwnnime)has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again."

What is there needed to be done to get it working? Is it due to the root access?

Thanks

J. Maurice # 14. October 2009, 08:18

Originally posted by Kave:

I installed the software onto the phone(HTC MAGIC) and tried to going into the Input setting for iWnnIME they gave me message of "The application iWnnIME (process jp.co.omronsoft.iwnnime)has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again."

It looks like the libraries in /system were not installed properly. Did you successfully "adb push" them to the device as root? Some roms don't have enough free space in /system and can encounter this problem.

Anonymous # 28. November 2009, 01:09

tojo writes:

ummm
im sorry i dont get how to "install" this into my phone.
i tried dragging it into my sd card but i still dont see the iwnnime in the text settings.
can i get help??

Anonymous # 30. November 2009, 02:16

Anonymous writes:

I live in the US, and my wife is Japanese.
Been considering buying the HTC Hero, but my wife really wants to be able to type and read Japanese. Looks like this program seems to be the answer, but not sure. Is it possible?
And if so, how?
I am definitely programming illiterate, so a dumbed down answer would be great.
Thanks

J. Maurice # 1. December 2009, 01:19

Originally posted by anonymous:

i tried dragging it into my sd card

You're doing it wrong. This installation method requires a USB cable, adb, and a rooted OS.

J. Maurice # 1. December 2009, 01:21

Originally posted by anonymous:

Been considering buying the HTC Hero [...] is it possible? And if so, how?

Yes, this should also work on HTC Hero fine. You'll need a rooted OS to install this IME, see article here to get started: http://my.opera.com/wiz/blog/2009/06/14/homebrew-os-on-htc-magic

Anonymous # 16. December 2009, 04:29

mike writes:

Thanks for posting this. I now have a sweet Japanese IME on my Moto Droid.

Even though adb was running as root, adb push didn't actually push the files (it didn't report any errors, either). So I just copied them to the SD and used cat to move them, which worked perfectly.