predictivetext
Latest
SwiftKey's first Microsoft-era keyboard predicts your emoji
Wondering what SwiftKey has been up to ever since Microsoft bought it early in the year? It's not necessarily what you'd expect: meet Swiftmoji, a predictive emoji keyboard app for Android and iOS. The software uses both the context of what you're typing and worldwide trends to suggest emoji when you've decided text just isn't enough. They're a bit like iOS 10's suggestions, only with a culturally savvy bent. Swiftmoji will offer "queen" and "bee" if you're raving over the latest Beyoncé single, for example. If you regularly venture beyond the basic emoji, this might save you some time digging through 1,800-plus emoji to find the perfect picture.
Easy capitalization using iOS 8's predictive typing
One of the features of iOS 8 that we weren't expecting to use on a day-to-day basis was predictive texting. Normally it's faster to just type out the words, but using predictive text -- especially with longer words -- is a simple joy we didn't know we needed until it was here. We've discovered a new little feature in the predictive texting function that some of you may find interesting: smart capitalization. Let's say that I forgot to capitalize the word "church" in the text below, and want to do that after the fact. To do this, I simply select the word in question by tapping it twice, tap the shift key, and select the proper spelling from the predictive typing menu. This replaces the normal cumbersome method to capitalize a word where you would need to hold down the cursor, move it until you can delete the first letter of the word, and then replace the letter with a capital letter you were looking for. Now say you want to make a word all upper case letters. The process of making a word all caps is just as simple as capitalizing only the first letter like I did earlier. Here, you simply tap shift twice once you've highlighted the word -- effectively activating the caps lock -- and predictive text offers up a number of fully-capitalized suggestions as a replacement. If you proofread and edit your texts after they're written, this trick could help you save some time in the long run. Enjoy.
Samsung Galaxy S 4 drafts in Swiftkey to power its keyboard
We'd heard rumors that Swiftkey might have assisted Blackberry on its well-received (and often prescient) BB10 keyboard, but the app maker has now confirmed that its software is behind the Galaxy S 4's native keyboard. It's the first time that the company's publicly admitted to powering a handset manufacturer's keys and will sidestep the need for S4 users to download its standalone app. Though, there's still plenty of reasons to download the app from Google play if you dig the customization options and themes of the original. Swiftkey's CTO Ben Medlock said that the keyboard is "at the heart of [Samsung's] flagship smartphone" and is hopefully just the first of many Android devices arriving with the company's voodoo already built in. We've added Ben's full statement after the break. Update: The company reached out to us to clarify that while its prediction engine is at the heart of Samsung's keyboard it is not Swiftkey in the purest sense. The natural comparison it reached for? Android and TouchWiz.
Fleksy predictive keyboard is free for iOS now and forever
We've long been fans of Syntellia's Fleksy for its astonishingly accurate predictive touch keyboard, and were excited to see an Android version finally come out to play at CES 2013. Well now there's news that'll please fans on the iOS side: the company has announced the full version of the app, formerly $4.99, is now available for the unbeatable price of free. This isn't just a special weekend offer either; CEO Kostas Eleftheriou told us in an email that it'll be free forever. Eleftheriou said that this is in the interest of a "more open keyboard space, so that more innovations can happen in the area," but also as a service to the blind community, which was Fleksy's original target audience. Interestingly, the updated app even includes a direct button to email Apple's CEO Tim Cook so that users can advocate for a more native OS-level integration of Fleksy. It's an audacious goal, but as Eleftheriou stated in the blog post, it's also one that many users have demanded. While we're not sure if such a grass roots campaign will work with Cook and co., you can certainly download the new fully gratis version of Fleksy at the App Store source to give it a go yourself.
Fleksy for Android beta hands-on (video)
You may be familiar with Syntellia's Fleksy -- its predictive touch typing solution has already been available to iOS users since last July. But as we recently learned at CES, the company's gearing up to offer Android and Spanish-language versions. It's not something you'll necessarily see in the Google Play store, however, as we were told the company intends to license the platform out to various Android OEMs. We pressed CEO Kostas Eleftheriou for more details on possible partnerships, but he remained tight-lipped, only assuring us that talks were in progress. So, how does it work? For starters, the Android version offers two keyboard options -- a simple QWERTY-only and one with a space bar -- that can be toggled on or off with a two finger swipe down. Text corrections are also controlled via gesture control, with your seemingly garbled input transformed into the closest possible word match via a right swipe. Users can even browse through a list of suggestions by highlighting text and then swiping up or down. Admittedly, word prediction seemed to fare better for the company's (well-trained) reps than it did for us, but we'll chalk that up to a learning curve. Punctuation is handled by swiping twice to the right and the symbol menu can even be accessed by a swipe up from the right edge of the full keyboard. Since its announcement this week, Fleksy for Android's managed to notch around 5,000 beta testers and Kostas expects that number to continue growing. If you're interested in taking the mobile keyboard alternative for a test drive, we'd recommend you head to the company's site now to sign-up. Otherwise, content yourself with our gallery below and a brief video demo after the break.
Fleksy predictive text beta software for Android wanted to write this post for us, will be demonstrated at CES 2013
If touchscreen typing worked flawlessly, we wouldn't have Bluetooth keyboards to avoid it, or special software around to make it a little easier. Syntellia is one company working on a solution in the latter category -- a predictive text engine called Fleksy -- that makes some pretty bold claims. Apparently, the technology means you can type accurately "without even looking at the screen," producing perfect prose regardless of if you "miss every single letter." Fleksy is already available on iOS, but Syntellia is showing off the beta of its psychic software for Android at CES 2013 (watch out Swiftkey!). We hope to put it through its paces on the show floor, but if you feel like you're missing out, head to the source link below where you can register for beta access yourself. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
SwiftKey Flow keyboard takes the fight to Swype with predictive gestures (video)
SwiftKey must be keen to finish its bout with Swype, as it just went for the knockout. It's launching SwiftKey Flow, an extension of its Android keyboard that blends SwiftKey's familiar word prediction with the hold-and-swipe gestures we most commonly associate with the company's arch-rival. Speed-minded typists now just have to glide across the virtual keys and let go as soon as Flow makes a correct guess. They don't have to pick a typing mode and stick with it, either, as both gestures and the usual taps will work at the same time. Prospective testers will want to sign up today for the SwiftKey Flow beta starting in the next few weeks. Everyone else, though, might want to watch from the bleachers -- the new parallels between SwiftKey and Swype just made this fight infinitely more entertaining.
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.
KeyPoint's Adaptxt keyboard enters beta for Android tablets, adds handwriting for that extra touch
Aftermarket keyboard layouts are still relatively rare among tablets, which makes KeyPoint Technologies' new Adaptxt beta for Android tablets that much more valuable. Along with optionally splitting up the keyboard to make thumb typing that much gentler, it expands on the stock keyboard formula with aggressive word prediction and shortcuts for words or whole sentences. The wait for a tablet version has also rewarded the patient with a handwriting recognition extra, just in case they'd like to revive cursive writing as an art form. The beta is is free to use for anyone who's running at least Android 2.3 on a big-screened slate, although only for a "limited period" -- if you're willing to accept a few rough edges, we'd recommend hitting the source links before there's a price tag attached.
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 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%
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.
Co-creator of T9, Martin King, passes away
Some of today's young'uns starting out on QWERTY and full-touch devices might not even know what T9 is, but let us tell you something: back in the day, it was the way things got done on your phone. Copied by a number of manufacturers and software firms (notably Motorola with iTap), T9 was the premier product of start-up Tegic that would eventually find its way to a majority of phones with numeric keypads sold around the world -- several billion, in fact -- and continues to enjoy enormous success today. T9's co-inventor, Martin King, passed away this week after a protracted bout with cancer; though he hadn't been actively involved with Tegic (now a part of Nuance) in some time, he had been engaged with a newer startup, Exbiblio, whose technology actively parses words snapped by cameraphones and directs the user to more information in real time. We'll pull out our old Sony Ericsson T68 in your honor, Martin.
Swiftkey beta brings new keyboard, world class predictive text to Android
The software and language engineers at Swiftkey have been toiling on this app for the past two years, and at long last, it's being made available for precisely nothing to anxious Android users. Hot on the heels of Swype's own beta, the Swiftkey beta is now available to download directly from the App Market, and once installed (along with language packs of your choice), it can be used in place of your stock Android soft keyboard. We've never been the biggest fan of Google's factory keys, and while we still feel that Swiftkey's letters are a tad on the skinny side, it's definitely an improvement. But that's not where the magic's at -- this software has an uncanny ability to guess what your next word will be, and it actually looks at your prior SMS list (if allowed) in order to "learn" how you converse. In our early tests, we're pretty darn impressed, and yes, it's definitely worth the $0.00 price tag. Get your download on right now, or hop past the break for a video demonstration if you still need convincing. [Thanks, Martino]
Swype psyched to be on Droid X, fifty total devices by the end of 2010
Love it or lump it, looks like Swype is making inroads into the mobile space. We've seen it on a few handsets already, and we know how eager the company is to get on the iPhone, but still it doesn't look like Apple's ready to bite. In the meantime, it seems that the company is more than happy to make due with the likes of HTC, Samsung, and Motorola -- the latter having gone with Swype for the Droid X. According to CEO Mike McSherry, this is the company's biggest coup yet, though certainly not the last -- he says to look for the app on some fifty phones by late 2010.
Nokia Custom Dictionary takes predictive text to the obvious next level
Nokia's just posted its literally-named Custom Dictionary utility to Beta Labs' hallowed halls of experimental wares, finally bringing what appears to be a thorough, editable predictive text solution to S60 devices so that you can use (in Nokia's own words) friends' names and nicknames, places, and "slang" (read: every four-letter word you know) with aplomb in the course of normal textual conversation. What makes Custom Dictionary cooler than the average predictive text system, though, is the fact that you can load, unload, and transfer custom word lists to and from your PC and between devices, making it easy to back up your nonsensical gibberish in the event you lose or change phones. As with anything in Beta Labs, you've got to proceed at your own risk -- but the stuff's available to download now. Follow the break for a video demo.
Texting makes kids dumb -- science fact!
Ready for your daily dose of wildly speculative extrapolation and unfounded fear-mongering? Predictive texting is the latest suspect in the ongoing war against things that make children dumb. A new study from Australia's Monash University has shown that predictive texters finish their exams faster and with more errors than others, because of course, when your mobile finishes your words in a text, you expect it to finish your sentences in a test. We jest, and there may be a sliver of truth to this contention, but let's be forthright here -- you could probably do more damage to your brain with a good night's alcohol intake than you can with a lifetime of texting. [Via Switched]
Swype finger-tracing text entry seems fast, hypnotic, and magical
OK, well maybe difficult is stretching it somewhat, but it does look like it'll take some getting used to. Swype's creator is none other than one of the people involved in developing T9 -- which we simply couldn't get by without -- and applies the same concept of quicker typing, with less work. Instead of tapping keys, Swype has you simply trace your finger through the letters you want to use to spell the words. The system will apparently enable even a novice to quickly get up to speeds of 40 words a minute. We're itching to check this out and with the glut of touchscreen sets on the market -- iPhone, Touch Diamond, and on, an on -- we can see this really taking off if it works as well as in the demo. Nothing to download just yet, but we've signed up and are waiting for the word.
