Good news! Nokia beta labs released a beta version of Swype compatible with the following Nokia S60 v5 phones:
1. 5800
2. N97
3. N97 Mini
4. X6
5. 5230
6. 5530
For those of you who don’t know what it is, Swype is an alternative way to input text on handheld devices. It also also utilizes a virtual keyboard but the big difference is tapping or touching the keys, you make a continuous stroke or a swipe across the virtual keyboard and the words will be typed in by the application. It sounds difficult but actually it isn’t. It’s similar to typing but you just don’t lift your finger.
This patented technology has already been used by phones using Android OS – Samsung Galaxy S, for example. Nokia seems to be planning on integrating this technology on their phones in the future.
How fast can you type with it? Well, that depends on how responsive your cellphone is and how fast you can swipe. I’ve installed it on my N97 Mini and all I can say is that my cellphone struggles in coping up when swiping long words. Well, it’s still a beta version so I am still having my hopes up that Nokia will improve this later on.
The debate on which text input is faster still goes on but it all comes down to the user’s preference. Here is how I rank the speed of the different text input methods:
1. QWERTY Keypad
2. T9
3. Swype
4. Virtual Keyboard
5. Multi-Tap (no predictive text)
On accuracy, at first I was very skeptic about Swype. I was thinking that it would be so difficult and meticulous to hit all those letters as you type but to my surprise it was really easy to swipe!
As it turned out, you do not need to be that accurate when you swipe. The application can predict accurately the word you intend to type similar to T9 but not quite.
If the application predicts multiple words based on your swipe, it displays eight of those words and lets you choose among the results. If the word you intend to type is not in the list, just press backspace and swipe again.
Based on my experience, I only got errors when I “mis-swipe” words. Most of the time, words that the application types are accurate. I even tested long hard words (i.e., indistinguishable, superposition, presidency, etc.) and it gets them accurately but it takes longer for it to display the result.
I observed that the longer your words are, the more accurate Swype is but it still depends on whether your swipe is done correctly.
Unfortunately it inly supports English language but now worries there because the application is also intelligent enough to learn words. You only need to type it in letter-by-letter and it will store it in its database. What’s more, it even includes your contacts’ names which is cool and convenient.
The virtual keyboard of Swype can be in mini-qwerty (portrait) or full-qwerty (landscape) mode and it responds to the phone’s accelerometer although there were times when it doesn’t.
Please be reminded that the application is still under development and bugs are expected. There were times when it even crashed and my phone went back to the Home Screen.
Although very usable and accurate, Swype has few disadvantages. First, you will need two hands when swiping to maximize speed and accuracy. Second, you will also find it difficult to swipe when you are in a moving vehicle or while walking – hardware QWERTY, T9 and multi-tap will be preferable in these situations.
Here are the Key Features of Swype by Nokia Beta Labs:
- Standard QWERTY keyboard layout makes Swype easy to learn
- Use a stylus or finger – Swype’s amazing input path analyzer allows you to go fast and sloppy. Just make a reasonable effort to trace through the word and Swype will do the rest
- Double Tap Editing – Make a mistake? Double tap on a word to bring up a list of other possible matches.
- Auto-Spacing
- Auto-Capitalization
- Auto Spelling Correction
- Automatic Help – Swype detects when you may be having trouble or might benefit from a particular feature and prompts you with helpful tips and instructions
- Instant access to Symbols, Numbers and Editing functions
- 65,000-word Learning Dictionary – Chances are the word you are typing is already in the Swype dictionary. If it isn’t, just tap it out once followed by a space and Swype will remember it for future use.
To install Swype on your phone, you need to download the sisx file here and install the application through Ovi Suite.
Be sure to restart your phone after installation.
Happy Swyping!
Source: http://forum.dailymobile.se/index.php?topic=29147.0
