Swype gesture keyboard

[DssTrainer]

This already exists on WinMo.. its called SlideIt

[InvincibleLiving]

Originally Posted by DssTrainer

This already exists on WinMo.. its called SlideIt

thanks, I'd never heard of this! wish it was more finger friendly though...

[O'Neil Mitchell]

Look cool, but you have to pull out the stylist everytime you want to type something. Im sure just using our fingers would be a BIT_H

[tgmuhammad]

Originally Posted by docjones

Ok. I was pretty set on the Touch Pro, but then this came out today:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/09...ed-data-entry/

Now I'm debating myself. It would appear I could probably type faster, and all things considered, I probably used the keyboard "rarely" on my PPC6700. A keyboard is way nice to have, but only because it was the fastest and most reliable way to get text entered. The softkeys on iPhone and Winmo gave me wrong letters too often to be able to get any speed going.

Yea, I went to their website, swypeinc.com. The product seems pretty cool. It's similar to Dasur's SlideIT keyboard, but has a much better interface. I tested out the SlideIT and the software was pretty accurate, even with sloppy gestures. Yet, SlideIT can only be used with a stylus, but Swype can be used with finger, thumb or stylus. However, it isn't available yet. Their still working on Beta version to go with various devices. I'm gonna check it out when it's made available.

If you wanna check out SlideIt, go to mobiletextinput.com.

[jason25]

Any word on a release date for this yet?

[santod]

Has anyone else seen this or had the opportunity to try out the Beta from them? Looks like it could be a nice alternative.




What is Swype?

Swype provides a faster and easier way to input text on any screen. With one continuous finger or stylus motion across the screen keyboard, the patented technology enables users to input words faster and easier than other data input methods—at over 50 words per minute. The application is designed to work across a variety of devices such as phones, tablets, game consoles, kiosks, televisions, virtual screens and more.







Simply Trace a Path

The word “quick” was generated from tracing the path shown above in a fraction of a second, by roughly aiming to pass through the letters of the word. A key advantage to Swype is that there is no need to be very accurate, enabling very rapid text entry.


**EDIT**

I just found there is an old thread about this as well. However there was no Beta even talked about at that time. It appears this is almost ready to see the light of day.

[redd214]

Fingerkeyb 2.1 is solid but i will always try something new. ill give it shot

[Atomic2Mod]

is the second picture for real? it seems way too small for vga landscape...

I've tried the other one (Shapewriter) and it was so buggy and the authors didn't provide the proper forum/feedback for being a beta tester.

Hope Swype does better.

[gearjunkeez]

Originally Posted by Atomic2Mod

is the second picture for real? it seems way too small for vga landscape...

I've tried the other one (Shapewriter) and it was so buggy and the authors didn't provide the proper forum/feedback for being a beta tester.

Hope Swype does better.

Obviously just a photoshopped rendering for demo purposes. But who knows what the final product will look like...?

[santod]

I hope they do better as well. It appears so far, that is how big it would be in portrait, not sure if it stays that way when in landscape or not in the official release.


Specifications

Swype has been designed to run in real-time on relatively low-powered portable devices.

• The Swype software is very tightly written with a total memory footprint of under 1 MB,
• An application requiring from 500K – 900K (depending on options, when compiled for the Windows Mobile platform).
• 65,000-word language database with an average size of approximately 250K.

• It is made up of three major components:
• Input path analyzer,
• Word matching search engine with accompanying word database,
• User interface – which is customizable by OEM’s.

• The algorithms used for Swype were invented by the founders, and contain unique concepts that make the software both powerful and fast.

• The software has been developed from the ground up with an eye toward localizing it to other languages as well as porting it to other operating systems.

Fast!

You can go fast and be sloppy. There’s no need to try to accurately hit each key. Just make a reasonable effort to trace through the word and Swype will do the rest.
Easy to Learn

The keyboard layout is QWERTY, so there is virtually no learning curve if you’ve already learned to type on a regular keyboard.
Natural Feeling

The smooth motion of sliding from letter to letter feels very natural, not to mention fast.
Finger-Tip Operation

Swype can be used equally well with either a stylus or your fingertip. You don’t have to be precise; so even if you have a large finger that partially obscures the keys, Swype still works!
Auto-Spacing

You can go even faster since Swype automatically enters spaces for you. (Spaces are prepended in front of each word entered by Swype).
Auto Spelling Correction

Not only can you go fast and be sloppy, in most typical cases, Swype will even correct misspelled words. For example, trace out “freind”, and Swype will automatically generate “friend”.
Capitalization Shortcut

Save time by capitalizing any letter in a word with a simple gesture: just slide from the letter to off the top of the keyboard and the continue entering the rest of the word.
65,000-word Learning Dictionary

Chances are the word you are typing is already in the Swype dictionary. But if it isn’t, just tap it out once followed by a space, and Swype will automatically learn it for next time.
Statistical Tracking

Keep track of your speed using Swype’s built-in statistical tracking.
Accented Characters

Words with accented characters (“diacritics”) require no special action - just Swype the word and the correct spelling will be entered. New words with accented characters can by typed by tapping and holding on the letter to see all possible variations.
Over 50 Symbols

Most common symbols are on the main keyboard layer and can be quickly entered by tapping on the key and sliding off the top of the keyboard. Many other symbols are readily available on Swype’s second keyboard layer.
Automatic Help

Swype detects when you may be having trouble or might be able to benefit from a particular feature, and prompts you with helpful tips and instructions.
Interactive Tutorial

Get up-to-speed quickly with the fun and fast Swype interactive tutorial.
Advanced Features

When the Swype software is first started, it runs a short piece of test code to estimate the overall speed of both processing and file access in its current environment. This estimate is used to establish a default value for a “Swype Operation” parameter that can be adjusted by means of a slider control displayed in the user options.
Input Slider

The slider is labeled at the far left with “Faster Response” and at the far right with “Sloppier Input.” This slider setting controls a broad range of internal parameters that determine the breadth of the initial database search to identify the most likely matching word for each entered input path. It also controls a large number of other thresholds, such as how close the path needs to come near a key in order for that key to be potentially considered as a “match” to the path at that point. The slider is initialized to the determined default value, which results in an average response time of less than 250 milliseconds. This means that, on average, Swype will generate the intended word for an input path within ¼ second of when the stylus or finger is lifted from the screen at the end of the path