Swype coming to the droid?

[danDroid]

Just read this article on tech crunch about Swype...

[video=youtube;pTooBnKAdSw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTooBnKAdSw[/video]


"A year ago, Swype launched a new way to type on a touchscreen phone at TechCrunch50. Swype was created by the inventor of the T9 predictive typing system used on most phones today because he felt that new text input methods for small touchscreens are sorely needed. Today, the startup announced the first phone to use the technology will be the Samsung Omnia II on Verizon.

As you can see in the video above, which shows a side-by-side comparison of typing on the Omnia II versus on an iPhone, the way you type with Swype is you literally swipe your finger from one letter to the next as fast as you can. In the video, the Swypist beats the iPhone typist hands down, so to speak. But the comparison is more illustrative than definitive. A practiced iPhone typer can bang out a few sentences just as fast. I tried it myself and was able to basically tie the Swype user on the video. Still, I’ll withhold judgment until I can actually try a Swype phone myself.

Swype will be included in a new Android phone in the first quarter of 2010."

 

[superglen99]

well that is pretty sweet. I wonder how it will work in real life? and if they will make an app for that on my Droid? cool stuff

 

[Toochief]

Very cool video but I wonder if would be able to trace the words that quick? This program assumes I'm gud speler!

 

[mloewen]

Cool this could be a big improvement for touch keyboards

 

[Martin030908]

I dunno how I feel about it... def like to try it... looks interesting.

 

[JonKyu]

Interesting, i dunno thought because there's an app in the App Store called ShapeWriter that uses the same functionality. I had it on my iPod before. Are the companies the same?

 

[Jonny Kansas]

I think this will be useful in portrait mode, as I have problems there, but I really don't have any complaint at all about the landscape touch-keyboard...I'm giving it a try today.

 

[Vulcan1600]

I was thinking danDroid was a little behind the times, but see it was from November. I'm a firm lover of Swype. Are they still going to have Swype available for the Droid in 2010? I thought I read recently that it may not happen at least on the Droid.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

eh...Just tried it out. Don't think I'll be using it much if at all. I don't have enough of a problem with the stock keyboard to justify trying to get used to it...I find it kinda weird and it makes me have to actually slow down and think about what I'm doing, rather than just punch buttons.

As well, in landscape mode, you can't type normally. You HAVE to use the swyping function. Or did I miss a setting somewhere?

Either way, a handy app, but not for me.

 

[coolkidd]

I wonder if my Swype now on my Droid will stop working when they officially release it...

 

[Vulcan1600]

Jonny, you missed it then, you can set the options to which keyboard you want to use. I also recommend you take the 5 minute tutorial and I guarantee in 30 mins, you'll be a Swype kool aid drinker like me !!

 

[jsh1120]

I was thinking danDroid was a little behind the times, but see it was from November. I'm a firm lover of Swype. Are they still going to have Swype available for the Droid in 2010? I thought I read recently that it may not happen at least on the Droid.

The article doesn't say that Swype would be available for the Droid in 2010.

"...Swype will be included in a new Android phone in the first quarter of 2010."

The folks at Swype have suggested, so far at least, that they have little interest in selling their software directly to the public (with good reason). And for a phone manufacturer it makes sense to include it in a new model as a unique feature.

 

[thetastelingers]

I have been running Swype on mine for a few weeks. I love it. I would hate to do without it now.

 

[StingRay]

Loving Swype on my Droid as well...

I'm still amazed at how accurate it is and how you can adjust the "error" rate....I'm a slow typer, so Swype is definitely the way to go for me....

:icon_ banana:

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Jonny, you missed it then, you can set the options to which keyboard you want to use. I also recommend you take the 5 minute tutorial and I guarantee in 30 mins, you'll be a Swype kool aid drinker like me !!

Oh, I got that, but I don't want to have to manually switch back to the original everytime I decide to type in landscape instead. I have no problems in landscape mode, but occasionally hit the wrong letter in portrait. However, swype seems to be about speeding yourself up, and I have no problem there either way.

And I fully grasp the concept of how to use it, but it seems like I have to force myself to think about where a letter is and not take my thumb off the screen. Whereas, I'm styling this entire post OJ my stock keyboard in landscape and am only having to think of the word, and muscle memory does the rest.

I guess my basic opinion is that I don't see the benefit of getting used to it when I feel it won't help my speed any. I'm sure its great for some, but I've been using the Android on-screen keyboard since the update that brought it to the G1, and am already accustomed to it and no having any real issues, especially with the Droid's bountiful screen.