You may or may not yet be aware of the Swype virtual keyboard (comes
preloaded on the Cliq XT from Motorola), but you'll definitely be hearing about the T9 Trace from
Nuance. This is because, although it's fundamentally the same thing as Swype (but from a different maker), the T9 Trace is on offer from the company behind the
T9 predictive text dictionary that pretty much everyone from your 7-year old nephew to your octogenarian grandpa has used. The big idea here is that you trace out the word on your virtual keyboard without lifting your finger off, with short stops at each letter you want to add being taken for input. Once you get over the seemingly unintuitive idea of abandoning those woodpecker taps for the grace of tracing, it promises to be a real fun and rapid way to input text. Nuance has bundled the whole thing with error correction, word prediction and auto-completion, while supporting 70 languages. The company has yet to tell us when the T9 Trace will be showing up on phones (touchscreens only, for obvious reasons), but you can check out video of the competing Swype implementation after the break.
posted March 24th 2010 10:49AM
I've been using Swype on my Nexus One for a few weeks and am completely sold on it. It's error correction and uncanny ability to know what I was trying to type even when I rush and don't focus on accuracy is amazing. I do most of my text entry with one thumb in portrait mode using Swype almost exclusively now. I don't particularly like Swype'ing in landscape though, but the nice thing is you can still tap type using the Swype keyboard whenever you want.
Also, I believe Swype was created by the co-founder of T9 (Cliff Kushler) according to Swype's "about" page:
http://www.swypeinc.com/about.html
So I guess both companies can claim to have created T9.
@RightYouAreKen
I smell a lawsuit here -- Swype has already been around for quite awhile now...someone is stealing from someone :P
Anyways, for those who don't think this is a good way of text input you really need to try it. It's really amazing -- Swype came pre-loaded on my Omnia2 and I love it.
Yeah, I was about to say that about the Swype founder of T9. This must be the Other Co-Founder of T9. :P
Anyways, I've been using Swype on my Droid for months. Once you "get it", there's no going back. So much easier and faster to type with one hand in portrait mode. Then again, I remember a whole lot of people who just didn't get into T9. To each their own.
@eNonsense I definitely agree with this. The "beta" version I was using expired, and using the normal on-screen keyboard just feels so slow now.
@AndrewNeo That beta expired because the Swype people actually released their legit android beta. A lot of people were having problems with the installer downloading the wrong version though, so everyone is using this version on the droid.
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-applications/28020-heres-swype-apk-11.html#post333021
I just hope they actually sell it, instead of doing what Swype is doing and only integrating with OEMs, keeping millions of potential customers out of the loop.
Wow, this might be the first idea for mobile text input that is as attractive to me as a real keyboard. (For the record, I have been using Palm Pre/Treo for a while now. Before that, I used Palms that had Graffiti and I didn't mind it at all... it got to feeling natural.)
I've been using something like this on my 5800 for the past two weeks. It's quite useful once you get used to it.
@Goc
And a stylus is really useful when using this, though not necessary.
Does it know txt lingo: u, 2, luv, fml, etc.?
I tried swype on a Nexus One and it was great for writing SMS or emails. however, when you try to enter websites its kinda annoying. Anyone else had this experience or a solution that does not include changing the input method every time in the browser?
@MrN1ce You do know that you can still tap your input like normal on the Swype keyboard.
@MrN1ce
I have the newest beta on my Droid and it works just fine for entering websites. It automatically leaves out spaces so all I have to do is Swype out each word in the address separately and then tap in ".com". Unfortunately, the beta is closed, but you should be able to find the .apk if you look around a bit.
Was already done on "WritePad" application on iPhone a year earlier
@Girish
That's the name, it didn't do it so well
I'm also a Swype convert.
It came on my i920 Omnia 2 and I've loved it since the tutorial.
Anything like this for Jailbroken iPhones yet?
I hate everything about T9... maybe this will change that but it seems slower than just typing.
There is a free or paid version of SlideIT Keyboard (extremely similar) for Android devices. Downloaded it a couple days ago, and so far I like it.
I hate everything this represents. Although my fingers do feel pretty heavy today, maybe it would be nice to not have to pick them up.
@josefpatch: I, too, am using SlideIT and find it to be much better than Swype.
unh, yeah! Righteous!
I have swype on my Touch pro 2. I absolutely LOVE it.
ive used this on the samsung phone and its AMAZINGLY fast. Cant wait for an app to do it on the iphone :)
Is this not the same as Shapewriter? Which is already available on Android Market and I have been using for a while now on my G1.
Shapewriter is a great app, but don't attempt anything when under the influence of alcohol.
Have a beta build on my HTC HD2. No learning curve. Works great and sped up text input massively. Plus it can work on ANY touchscreen device, not just cellphones. Look up the demos on youtube. Can't wait to see this implemented on more devices. Put an end to punching.
Am I the only one who thinks you shouldn't have your spokesmodel smacking on chewing gum through her entire presentation?
This way would be so much harder because you can only use one hand