Tired of pecking at virtual keyboards that are way too small for you fingers and then having to go back and correct every other word? Or maybe your exhausted from having to use the T9 feature on your phone, which likes to suggest the most incorrect words? Well, meet Swype. Swype is the answer to all those problems.
Swype is a program that will allow you to spell out a word by merely gliding your finger or stylus over the letters. The only time you would lift your finger or stylus would be when you need to start a new word. It has an error correcting algorithm which definitely helps all the bad spellers out there, and it also has a predictive text system. All you need is a Windows Mobile, Android, or Symbian phone and at least one free megabyte of space.
The creators of Swype, Cliff Kushler and Randy Marsden from Seattle, built Swype with three major elements which are the main contributors to its quickness and precision: The input path analyzer, Word search engine, and a customizable interface.
With Swype it is believed that you can actually reach 50 words per minute and it even holds the Guiness World Record for the fastest text message on a touchscreen mobile phone on the Samsung Omnia II. It has an assortment of languages that it supports which currently include: English, German, French, Spanish, Russian and Italian. But, they are still working on including more later in the future.
There are a couple of competitors for Swype on the market, but they aren’t even in the same league. SlidelT and Shapewriter are two copetitors, but they require the user to form the actual letter, instead of swiping the finger over the letter on a keyboard. Obviously that is not going to save much time. And you better hope that you have consistent handwriting because if you don’t, it’s just a big hassle.
Currently, Swype is available on the HTC HD2, the Motorola CLIQ (and CLIQ XT), the T-Mobile MyTouch, the Omnia II, and it will come pre-installed on the new MyTouch Slide 3G, which is set to be released in June 2010. The manufacturer, Swype, Inc. opened a public beta for the Android operating system on June 16. They are also hoping to strike up a deal with Apple and Swype is going to be releasing the software to other devices, like tablets and remote controls, in the near future. It is expected that many touch users will gladly adopt the program. Swype took about 9 years to create and as of now it has been downloaded over 500,000 times. The company’s main goal is to improve how people input data into their mobile devices, whether through swiping, speaking, or pecking.
