Swype is freaking awesome (new keyboard for android devices)

[Pantlegz]

I'm really happy with swype, took a few hours to get used to it but now I'm way faster than I was with the stock keyboard. Lack of voice input does kinda suck tho.

 

[dguy6789]

Just set up Swype. It's so amazing, I was pretty good with the stock keyboard but I'm waaay faster with this. Awesome.

 

[Pantlegz]

did swype stop working for anyone else? it still works but doesn't display anything in the message unless I back out of it. makes it really hard to txt, I switched back to the regualr input method and it works ok.

 

[tonie]

Do you have to press space bar to type the next word?

 

[IcePickFreak]

Do you have to press space bar to type the next word?

No, just lift your finger after the first word, then start dragging again for the next word. You only need to press the space bar if the current word you typed isn't in the Swype dictionary.

 

[cardiac]

And what part do you play in the "mobiletextinput" website?

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

i can tweet with one hand in about 5 seconds!

oh SNAP!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Fingolfin269]

I never could use swype very well. May need to give it more of a fair shot.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

I never could use swype very well. May need to give it more of a fair shot.

its definitely worth getting used to. I could never go back to a normal on screen keyboard, and i prefer it over a physical keyboard. I can swype faster than i can type on a BB, and i can do it without looking at the screen most of the time.

 

[jonks]

why exactly is swyping faster when you still have to hit every letter you want to key in except that your finger is blocking the screen so you can't see half the letters?

 

[finbarqs]

I got rid of swype... used it for about 3 months, then the novelty wore off. I can't "swype" blindly while I can type blind. Plus I'm faster on keyboard with the on screen corrections.

 

[Bman123]

Swype has its pros and cons, I use it everyday but I have a lot of typing errors with i

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

why exactly is swyping faster when you still have to hit every letter you want to key in except that your finger is blocking the screen so you can't see half the letters?

because you dont have to be exact, I can type way faster on a swype keyboard than on an iphone keyboard. I can do it without looking at the screen, who doesn't know where which key is?

Im guessing you havent used it before?

 

[jdport]

How do you swype words with double letters? (I have not used it before.. don't have a smart phone yet, still waiting on the elusive Thunderbolt) .

 

[dguy6789]

You draw a little loop on the letter.

 

[jonks]

because you dont have to be exact, I can type way faster on a swype keyboard than on an iphone keyboard. I can do it without looking at the screen, who doesn't know where which key is?

Im guessing you havent used it before?

I know where the keys are, but I guess I'm not exact enough for swype to guess the word. I just tried it for a couple days, not digging it. I don't send more than a dozen texts a day though so maybe its just not for me. How long before you got proficient?

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

I know where the keys are, but I guess I'm not exact enough for swype to guess the word. I just tried it for a couple days, not digging it. I don't send more than a dozen texts a day though so maybe its just not for me. How long before you got proficient?

it took me a few days, but i do text a lot. I'm on a 4" screen which might make it easier than on a smaller screen. I could not for the life of my type on a regualr keyboard as i have pretty fat fingers.

I think once you get the hang of it its pretty quick.

I gave swiftkey a shot a while back, now THATS a hard keyboard to type on.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I got rid of swype... used it for about 3 months, then the novelty wore off. I can't "swype" blindly while I can type blind. Plus I'm faster on keyboard with the on screen corrections.

The problem with Android is the keyboard correction is not that great. The Gingerbread KB added multitouch which is badly needed and the correction is ok still.

Swype is still pretty fast, but what we really need is a fast keyboard on Android. Shrug. I think 4" probably would make my experience a lot better because 3.7" at 854x480 is really annoying.

 

[dguy6789]

Have you tried the keyboard that comes with the Droid X? I feel that it's the best non-swype style keyboard on Android. It's one of the only keyboards that I can type really fast on in portrait mode without making errors.

 

[Ksyder]

Swype is good stuff, but I had to do some tutorials, here's what I've learned, in case anyone needs a crash course.

1. Spaces are put in automatically, assuming you typed a word that was in the dictionary.
2. If you are not putting in a word that is in the dictionary, Swype will not find it. However, if you type it in, Swype will add it to it's list of swype-able words and you can Swype it next time. Commonly used words like Can't will be put in if you swype in "cant", There were some other nuances with punctuation but I don't remember them.
3. If you need to capitalize a letter, after touching the first letter of the word, instead of dragging your finger to the next letter, drag your finger above the keyboard until you see the keyboard switch to all caps and then drag your finger back down to the next letter of the word. It took a few tries in the tutorial but the key is to hold your finger briefly above the keyboard until you see the keyboard letters turn to all caps.
4. If you need arrows, press and drag your finger from the swype key, (the one with the little curved line on it) to the SYM key and the keyboard will switch to a handy set of arrows and selection tools. When you are done editing, hit ABC and you can go back to the keyboard.
5. As mentioned in this thread, double letters are achieved by a circular or scrub motion on the letter you want 2 of.


These are the main things I've picked up recently, mostly from digging around various sources. As with T9, if you can't spell very well then you will likely have problems. (oddly enough, the same guy invented both T9 and Swype!, see http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/01/05/swype.kushler/index.html)

Also, I didn't like the feel of my screen, so putting on a screen protector gave it a faster surface to Swype on as well as the added benefit of the screen protector.

 

[simonizor]

I don't like it. I always end up not hitting the letter I want exactly so I don't get the right words and I have to select which one I want. It ends up taking more time than just using both thumbs to type it out. It seems like they keys are too small, even on a 4" screen. Perhaps sideways would work better, but I'd rather not have to tilt it to type every time.

I still use the swype keyboard for regular input, though. I like how with ABC keyboard you can hold on the letters to get numbers and symbols. I also like how you can swype from the swype key in the corner to the sym key to get the editing keyboard.

 

[JS80]

I gave up on swype and adopted swiftkey. much better IMO.

 

[Ksyder]

I gave up on swype and adopted swiftkey. much better IMO.

Looks interesting. I'll have to give it a try.

Another thing that would be nice is if you could do T9 text input, at least for text messaging, just like on an old school candy bar phone while using a modern touch screen smartphone. The advantage to that is that you could type with one hand, basically.

Edit- apparently Better Keyboard has some T9 support, but I haven't looked into it.

 

[simonizor]

I gave up on swype and adopted swiftkey. much better IMO.

I just downloaded the trial, and I'm really liking it so far.

 

[JS80]

I just downloaded the trial, and I'm really liking it so far.

The more you use it, the more it "learns." Sometimes I write a text and all I do is press space and it completes what I want to say.