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SwiftKey Cloud exits beta, available as free update in version 4.2
After nearly a month of beta testing, SwiftKey Cloud is now ready for the masses. Now in final form, the popular Android keyboard can backup and sync customizations across devices, and it can even learn phrases that are trending across the globe. Thanks to one-click authorization, it's now easier for SwiftKey to learn phrases from your Facebook and Gmail accounts, and it can also now tap into Yahoo Mail. You'll also find more responsive Flow predictions in the final version, along with some Emoji fixes. SwiftKey Cloud arrives as part of SwiftKey 4.2, which is available as a free update to current users. The app is also available for a free 30-day trial, but for a limited time, you can also snag the paid version for $1.99 / £1.49, which rings in at half off the regular price. Certainly worth checking out if the stock Android keyboard is no longer cutting it.
Touchtype Case is the happy marriage of iPad and Apple Wireless Keyboard
I spend most of my day typing on an Apple Wireless Keyboard. I love the feel of the keys, the long battery life and the compact form factor. That's why I do all of my blogging and most of my other writing on my iMac -- I love this keyboard. And that, among some other reasons, is why I don't keep my iPad in a keyboard case. I just don't like the feel of 98 percent of the keyboards built into those cases, with Logitech's Ultrathin Keyboard Cover as the exception. So, what if someone made it easy to carry an Apple Wireless Keyboard with an iPad? That's exactly the story behind the Touchtype Case (US$49 and $99). The case started out as a Kickstarter project by Salman Sajid and received a lot of backing -- $45,749 compared to a $2,500 funding goal. Salid feels the same way I do about a lot of the iPad keyboard cases, so he decided to do something about it. The result is a very slender case that carries your iPad (any generation) and Apple Wireless Keyboard. Of course, the Touchtype Case also acts as a stand so your iPad can be propped into a good orientation (portrait or landscape) for viewing as you type. The Touchtype is currently out of stock, but one TUAW reader will get one as an early Christmas present. Check out the review, and then enter the giveaway. Design Rather than spend a lot of time explaining the design of the Touchtype Case, I'd prefer to let the inventor do that. Here's his Kickstarter video: How well did Sajid's design match his dream? Very well! I tested one of the gray polyurethane "pleather" models, and it's one of the thinnest iPad cases I've ever used. However, it still works well as an iPad stand as well, and I like that the iPad can be used in either portrait or landscape orientation. In case you're not thrilled about gray polyurethane, there are two more "real leather" versions -- one in a dark brown "Wild Espresso" tint and the other in Functionality Do you really need a case that can carry your iPad and an Apple Wireless Keyboard? That's the big question that you'll need to ask yourself. If you currently carry both in a backpack or bag and that's working out for you, then spending $49 or $99 for a case is probably an expense you don't need. But if you're carrying the iPad and keyboard loose and want a way to organize them, then the Touchtype case makes sense. %Gallery-172805% The workmanship on the Touchtype is probably some of the best I've seen on any iPad case. The keyboard fits snugly into its pocket on the case, but is easy to remove. Elastic and leather straps on iPad cases are usually poorly made -- here, Sajid obviously paid attention to detail, as the straps look good and are very usable. Any downsides to the Touchtype case? If anything, I have a bit of a concern that the product is out of stock with just a "get notified" email link available. Of course, there's no cost for giving Sajid your email address. Conclusion Anyone who likes to use an Apple Wireless Keyboard with their iPad should buy a Touchtype case when they become available. It's well designed and implemented, and a very compact way to carry the duo to wherever your computing will be done. Pros Beautiful design Top-quality construction Very reasonable pricing on the gray polyurethane model Ability to stand the iPad up in either portrait or landscape mode Cons Out of stock at the present time Who is it for? Those who love to use the Apple Wireless Keyboard who are unhappy with the current crop of iPad keyboard cases. Giveaway Now, here's your chance to win one of these great cases. Be sure to read the rules: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before December 9, 2012 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive a Touchtype iPad case valued at $49. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
SwiftKey 3.0.1 brings new themes, languages and bug fixes
Rejoice, Android keyboard enthusiasts! SwiftKey announced today that it's pushing out an update to its popular virtual keyboard that brings new themes, languages and bug fixes. Version 3.0.1 incorporates two new summer themes -- Sky blue and Fuchsia -- and bumps the language count to 44 with the addition of Malay and Urdu. The keyboard now also supports continuous dictation with Google voice typing on Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean. Most important, however, are a plethora of tweaks, performance improvements and bug fixes designed to further improve the SwiftKey user experience. We've been using the update for a few hours now on AT&T's red Galaxy S III and it definitely makes our favorite Android virtual keyboard even better. Hit the break for screenshots of the new themes plus the full PR.
SwiftKey 3 Beta launches, no space bar required (video)
Just when we thought our favorite Android virtual keyboard couldn't get much better, TouchType decided to prove us wrong by launching SwiftKey 3 Beta. If you're one of the product's 30,000+ VIP users, you'll want to get your hands on the company's newest creation right now, for free. What's new? The space bar is no longer required, for one -- Smart Space detects and corrects "miss-typed or omitted spaces across whole phrases." Paradoxically, that same space bar is now wider, just in case you're feeling nostalgic. Smart punctuation further enhances the UI, with language-specific improvements in tow. In fact, SwiftKey 3 offers support for seven new languages -- Korean, Estonian, Farsi, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian and Serbian (for a total of 42). Finally, you'll find two lovely new themes, Cobalt and the Ice Cream Sandwich-inspired Holo. We've been playing with TouchType's latest and greatest for a few hours now on both our HTC One X and our Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 and we've stopped using the space bar completely. Did you notice? Wedidn'tthinkso. Check out the gallery of screenshots below, hit the break for a demo video and the full PR, then follow the More Coverage link to sign up as a VIP.
SwiftKey launches SDK, phones and tablets get more predictable
SwiftKey is responsible for as many saved typing hours, as it is crushing affirmations of just how predictable we really are. A fact that can now be drilled home by infinitely more devices, thanks to a new SDK for OEMs. Developers for a variety of platforms and programming languages (including C++, iOS and JVM) can access SwiftKey's core language-engine technology for their own UI or on screen keyboard, and with support for over 40 languages, we can expect many more tablets, phones and even white goods to worryingly know what we were going to say.
SwiftKey X 2.2 arrives for smartphones and tablets with support for 35 languages
If you're unhappy with your current Android keyboard, TouchType would like to think that it delivers a better option. The company's popular input alternative, SwiftKey X, has just received another major update -- this time with support for 35 languages, along with full localization for the major European ones. Even if you happen to speak plain ol' English, the software promises better accuracy and prediction than before with a new multitouch framework. There's even something for those who like to go really alternative, as Dvorak and Colemak layouts have been added to the mix. Topping it all off, version 2.2 introduces support for Ice Cream Sandwich, along with a host of user interface refinements -- which you'll find in the gallery below. After a quick run around the block with SwiftKey's latest, we must say that we were quite pleased. Then again, we happen to really like Android's stock keyboard, too. As for the complete list of languages, just check the PR after the break. %Gallery-139826%
SwiftKey X for Android hits v2.1, fingers party everywhere
Rejoice, virtual keyboard aficionados! SwiftKey X 2.1 for Android tablets and smartphones just became available today, and brings a bunch of new features and bug fixes to your favorite touchscreen device. Since our hands-on with v2.0, TouchType has updated its on-screen keyboard using the feedback it gathered from its 25,000+ VIP members. The new version of SwiftKey X adds blog personalization, insights about your typing (shareable with friends), heat-map visualization (see screenshot above), localization / language enhancements, and an auto caps toggle. We've been using the final build of SwiftKey X 2.1 on our Nexus S for the past couple of days and noticed some improvements in terms of typing speed and accuracy. Pricing remains $4.99 for SwiftKey Tablet X and $3.99 for SwiftKey X. Full PR after the break.
SwiftKey X virtual keyboard launches for Android tablets, we go hands-on (video)
We're no strangers to SwiftKey here at Engadget HQ, and today TouchType is launching a major new version of everyone's favorite Android virtual keyboard -- SwiftKey Tablet X for devices running Honeycomb, and SwiftKey X for devices running Android 2.x. Both applications improve upon the original by using TouchType's Fluency 2.0 artificial intelligence engine, a unique predictive phrase system which learns how you write. New features include cloud learning, which analyzes how you type in Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, and text messages to predict phrases in your style, plus keypress technology which continually monitors your typing precision and adapts the touch-sensitive area for each key to improve prediction accuracy. SwiftKey now supports 17 languages (with more coming soon) and is smart enough to interpret three languages at once. There's also a handful of other enhancements, including support for themes which allow users to customize the look and feel of the keyboard. And that split keyboard option we first encountered at CES? It's there of course, in the tablet version. We've been testing SwiftKey Tablet X on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 for a few days now, alongside SwiftKey X on a handful of phones (including the Nexus S and the EVO 3D), and it's probably the best virtual keyboard we've used on Android yet. In fact, it's now replacing the stock keyboard on all our HTC Sense-equipped handsets. Prediction accuracy improves quickly after you start using the keyboard, and we liked having the option to turn off the spacebar-triggered auto-completion of words and phrases. Another useful feature is the ability to display arrow / cursor keys on the phone version. The supplied themes are attractive (especially Neon), and the layouts are intuitive -- although we'd have preferred the numbers to be arranged in a row instead of mimicking a numpad. Both applications are available today only for $1.99 in the Android Market. Regular pricing is $4.99 for SwiftKey Tablet X, and $3.99 for SwiftKey X. Take a look at our screenshot galleries below, and hit the break for our hands-on videos and more. %Gallery-128376%%Gallery-128378%
Inq Cloud Touch preview
We can't accuse Inq of having the best timing in the world -- the company announced its new Facebook-centric Cloud Touch and Cloud Q phones at about the same time that HP was busy blowing minds with its new webOS range in San Francisco -- but at least that gave us an excuse to get out of the Engadget bunker this morning and go check out some new gear. We've gotten to grips with the 3.5-inch touchscreen-equipped Cloud Touch and have broken down our first impressions of the device for you after the break. Aside from Facebook, Inq has chosen to integrate Spotify Premium into this phone along with Fluency, the typing prediction engine that powers SwiftKey. The two serve as significant upgrades on the default media player and keyboard software, respectively, and add a nice sprinkling of value to a phone that's already expected to go easy on the wallet. The gallery below will illustrate anything else you may need or want to know, although you'll have to check out the video to see the multifunctional unlock screen and Facebook widgetry in action. %Gallery-116210%
TouchType debuts SwiftKey Tablet app for Android tablets, we go hands-on (video)
We got a taste of what TouchType was doing to tweak its SwiftKey keyboard app for tablets back at CES, and the company has just now gotten official with the final result: its SwiftKey Tablet app. It's apparently been designed "in partnership" with Google and Motorola to coincide with the launch of the Xoom and, as you can see above, it's clearly been tailored specifically for Honeycomb -- the company describes the skin as "holographic" and "thumb-optimized." As with previous SwiftKey keyboard apps, it makes use of the company's so-called Fluency Prediction Engine, which promises to predict "around a third of words" before you enter a single character, and can now even analyze your Gmail, Facebook and Twitter accounts to learn how you write (though that can apparently be turned off if you prefer). Head on past the break for a quick video, and stay tuned for some hands-on impressions. Update: Impressions after the break! %Gallery-115597%
Swiftkey Android keyboard goes HD, adds new tongues and improved language prediction
Even the most loyal Android user is bound to kvetch about the stock keyboard at some point or another, and while Swype has definitely grabbed the hearts of a good many Froyo users, Swiftkey remains our third-party keyboard of choice. After escaping beta just a few months ago, TouchType has just outed an 'HD' build that's designed to cope with many of the higher-resolution displays being used on today's gargantuan Android phones. Moreover, we're guessing that this was done to look a bit better on devices like the Galaxy Tab, and there's no denying that the new design elements are a real step forward. Aside from the makeover, the app is also gaining five new languages (Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, Danish, Norwegian and Polish), improved language prediction quality and a new US layout that nixes accented characters. For those who've yet to try it, the latest version can be tested for a full 31 days, after which you'll be coerced into ponying up $3.99 for the real-deal. Hit the source links below (or the QR code shown here) to give it a go.
