I am still using AndroidViewClient version 10.5. Does the new version 10.7 implement new features as a monkey replacement and support unicodes raised on this post AndroidViewClient's device.touch() is much slower than MonkeyRunner's. Can it be fixed?
You can see the log containing the description of the changes at https://github.com/dtmilano/AndroidViewClient/commits/master.
The solutions for both problems you mentioned are in progress and the needed support is part of the changes in latest version (check for UiAutomatorHelper). Basically, UiAutomatorHelper will run as a REST server on the device and the interaction would take place through it.