I wanted a numeric keypad that had a go or done button that closed and executed a calculation class. Thanks to a tip from commonware on where to start I got this working beautifully on the emulator. Then I came to load it on to my HTC desire for testing and it doesn't work at all. I'm sure it must be because of HTC sense having it's own ime but there must surely be a way to make this work on HTC phones? Anyone else managed to get around this issue?
I can replicate what I think you are seeing on the HTC Incredible.
Not all soft keyboards will support the IME action button. Some, like the Graffiti soft "keyboard", may have no buttons at all, let alone an IME action button. Even the Compatibility Definition Document says nothing about requiring such an action button for the keyboards supplied with a device.
Hence, you should not rely on the IME action button. If it is there, users can use it. However, always have some other means of accomplishing whatever your goal is.