We’ve all done it, in one way or another. Downloaded a Swype.apk file to give Swype’s amazing keyboard a try. Found a Swype.apk and sent it to our friends. But the fact is that some aspects of distribution are illegal according to Swype Inc.’s copyrights. Swype has released an official statement, directed mainly at users on XDA, about when it’s okay or not okay to distribute Swype on devices. The official statement is below.
Basically what it says is that adding Swype to a ROM built for a device that ships with Swype is fine, as long as it’s the same version number and all the licenses are intact and included. Furthermore, modding Swype.apks with Metamorph to change the UI of it is totally permitted, but of course the distribution falls back to the first rule. I think Swype is being fairly reasonable about this. Most companies would have someone’s profile on XDA shut down for distributing their software, but not Swype. I’d say that’s commendable. Any questions?
According to an article on XDA’s site, it appears that they wanted to administer a caveat to their members regarding the use and distribution of Swype Inc’s popular keyboard application, named after the company. It appears that XDA had a hunch that some distribution laws were possibly being violated, and rightfully so. They reached out to the company regarding the issue for some clarification and this is what Swype Inc had to say on the matter: Read More…
Those of you who keep missing the open beta registration for Swype, it’s time to get the lead out! Head over to beta.swype.com and get registered. Silly me, I never registered until just now; but I’ve already got it up and running on my device.
A lot of the newer Android phones come with the awesome Swype keyboard pre-installed. If you have a Galaxy S phone, for example, you’re very familiar with Sype. If you aren’t familiar with it, it allows you type simply by tapping the first letter of the word you wish to enter and simply dragging your finger over all the letters in the word. Personally, in spite of the physical keyboard on my Epic, I rarely use it due to Swype. The only downside of Swype was that if it did not come pre-installed on your phone, it was only available via a very limited, closed beta test. Until today. Swype announced today that they are opening the beta up to anyone interested in giving it a try.
Keep in mind, this is still a beta application, and may have some issues on your particular phone. But if you have been waiting for this, hit the source link and sign up with an email account that comes to your phone. Note: If Swype DID come pre-installed on your phone, this won’t work at all…but you don’t need it.
Swype users should be happy to hear that the popular keyboard replacement has received a bit of an update to version 2.15.56.14870, which brings some fixes and new features. In addition to fixing an accuracy issue that was raised after the last release, Swype now supports double tap to edit, which allows the user to simply tap an incorrect word twice to bring up a word replacement window.
Another new feature is a voice to text button, although right now this only works with QWERTY layouts and phones with ROMs with Google Voice Search integration. They are currently working on support for Voice Search installed from the Android Market.
As you might have read on my ZDNet blog, I purchased an HTC HD7 this week and have been spending a lot of time with the new Windows Phone 7 platform. While it is slick and fun to use, the battery life is not very good and there are definitely limitations in this version 1.0 product. I put my SIM back into the Nokia N8 after receiving information that the official release of Swype has come to the N8 along with a beta version of Mobbler that supports the N8. Both are now installed and working well on my N8 and my device is now much better.
Swype
About a month ago I was given access to an early beta version of Swype for the Nokia N8. It performed pretty well, but it would lag at times too and I understood it was still in beta so didn’t worry too much about what the final product would be like. I read over on The Handheld Blog that the official version of Swype for the Nokia N8 is now available and confirmed this by visiting the Ovi Store on my N8. I removed the beta version and installed the new official release and so far it is performing wonderfully.
I highly recommend all N8 owners download and try out the free Swype keyboard. You will be amazed by how accurate and functional it is on your device. It still does not work in portrait orientation and as I have stated before this is due to a required N8 update from Nokia to provide this support.
Here is one cool tip to keep in mind: slide your finger from the Swype icon in the bottom left to the Sym key to reveal some cool controls. After making this gesture you will see the controls as shown in the screenshot above with directional arrows and other controls.
Mobbler
In other news that also makes my Nokia N8 that much better, I was informed that Mobbler was released with support for Symbian^3. You can visit the Mobbler download page and get the 0.10(80) beta version that supports the N8. I installed it last night and it works like a champ! I am a big fan of streaming music apps and with Mobbler and my Zune Pass music I have a rocking Nokia N8!
Registered as part of the ongoing Swype beta? An update is now available for you, so jump on it. The new version brings many improvements, including Speech to Text support, double tap to edit, and continued fixes to accuracy and test input. You will have to download the update manually to your handset by visiting the Swype beta page and entering your info.
Speaking of Swype, in the wake of several top class text-entry alternatives for Android, does it still hold the favor of as many as it used to? Or have people moved on?
Many of you are familiar with Swype. Many of us love it and use it daily. What some of you don’t know is that they are constantly looking to make Swype better and have been beta testing various updates with a selected group of users. This is not the Swype you have installed on your stock or potentially rooted device.
The Beta is up to version 2.10.52.13753, which taking a look at the version I have right now on my Samsung Vibrant (2.8.50.12808), I am pretty far behind. The latest update includes:
Resolved an accuracy issue that was introduced in the last Beta update. New software features supporting additional languages were included in the beta before the test plan for those features was complete (it is a beta after all). Subsequent testing identified the accuracy issue and corrections made. These new tests have been incorporated into our regression testing to prevent future accuracy issues.
Added Double-Tap-to-Edit and Cursor Restore
Added microphone button (QWERTY only. Requires Google Voice Search be pre-integrated in your phone’s ROM)
Added French & EXPERIMENTAL Chinese Pinyin languages
Modified new word priority defaults. The word-choice-window will now be ordered more intelligently when encountering custom dictionary words
Fixed a bug where an extra space would be added when replacing a word by Swyping after opening the word choice window
Improved the “Hidden-Word” dialog handling so it doesn’t show up as often (more improvements to this next time)
Improved prediction when handling various path collisions
Lots of minor bug fixes
Thats a pretty good list of additions to an already really great keyboard. Any Beta testers out there care to comment on how the progress is going? Do you think an update will hit for the rest of the general users soon?
Thanks to Chanse’s feedback I posted on how to make your N8 keyboard experience better and I admit I have been pretty happy with that setup. However, I love using Swype on my Android devices and was pleased to see it coming to the Nokia N8. You can actually now go and download the beta of Swype for yourself. Search the Ovi Store with a C7 as your device. I posted the video below of Swype in use on my N8.
As discussed before, Swype cannot work in portrait because Nokia has some kind of limitation is place and Swype won’t work until Nokia provides an update. That said, it is still quite good in landscape orientation.
I also posted the video below to show some of the widgets I like and a couple other tricks I use on my own Nokia N8.
I used to be a die hard QWERTY keyboard fan and still find the keyboard on the Nokia E73 Mode to be extremely efficient and effective. However, on larger touchscreen Android devices I have come to embrace Swype and find I am very quick with it. Thus, I was extremely pleased to read over on All About Symbian that Swype is now available from the Nokia Beta Labs site for S60 5th Edition (aka Symbian^1) devices and this means we will most likely also get to use Swype on the Nokia N8. If Swype is on the N8, then any concerns I had for a hardware keyboard and funky text entry are gone.
Swype is a company based here in Seattle and just about every single person I know that has tried it out has embraced it. I plan to install it on the Nokia N97 mini and give it a shot. FYI, one of the best tips I can give for Swype is to slide your finger from the very bottom left corner (where the Swype logo key is) to the right over the Sym key and you will get a directional pad and other cool functions on the keyboard.
Swype for Symbian has been tested on the Nokia 5800, 5230, X6, N97, and N97 mini.
Have any of you tried Swype yet on your Android or S60 5th Edition device?
In case you hadn’t heard, the Motorola Droid X is the latest in a growing line of Android smartphones to come with Swype pre-installed as a software keyboard option. It isn’t the only big name handset getting Swype either, as the Samsung Galaxy S (and presumably its variously titled US carrier variants) is also shipping with Swype on board. And along with Swype recently re-opening its beta to all Android users, don’t expect the number of phones leaving the factory with Swype to decrease any time soon.
According to a report by Reuters, Chief Executive of Swype Mike McSherry is suggesting their software keyboard solution will be on over 50 phones by years end. While the majority of these phones up to this point have been Android-based (90 percent, in fact), Swype is eyeing other options just as fervently, including the iPhone.
I’m and avid user and supporter of Swype, and its great to see it making its rounds to some bigger smartphones this summer. Given a little more time, I wouldn’t be surprised if Swype-style input becomes the standard on touchscreen devices.
Apparently seeing the interesting new Swipe keyboard bundled on the Droid X is only the beginning. CEO Mike McSherry stated that although this is the biggest break yet, it will certainly not be the last. He is estimating the keyboard will be on around fifty devices by the years end.
The company continues to pursue integration with the iPhone but is more than happy to feed the product to whoever is biting. So far Swype can be seen on HTC, Motorola, and Samsung devices to include the upcoming Droid X from Motorola, to be released July 15th.
In case you aren’t familiar with the Swype keyboard, the app allows you to simply trace a path between the letters of a word you are trying to type. The app then chooses the word that fits with the letters traced and inputs it automatically, claiming to save you time and effort typing longer sentences faster.
We’ve all done it, in one way or another. Downloaded a Swype.apk file to give Swype’s amazing keyboard a try. Found a Swype.apk and sent it to our friends. But the fact is that some aspects of distribution are illegal according to Swype Inc.’s copyrights. Swype has released an official statement, directed mainly at users on XDA, about when it’s okay or not okay to distribute Swype on devices. The official statement is below.
As you might have read on my ZDNet blog, I purchased an HTC HD7 this week and have been spending a lot of time with the new Windows Phone 7 platform. While it is slick and fun to use, the battery life is not very good and there are definitely limitations in this version 1.0 product. I put my SIM back into the Nokia N8 after receiving information that the official release of Swype has come to the N8 along with a beta version of Mobbler that supports the N8. Both are now installed and working well on my N8 and my device is now much better.
Thanks to Chanse’s feedback I posted on how to 
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