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Actually, it is swype... just not the brand Swype. It's kind of like when people call any 4x4 a jeep... and it is, but it's not a Jeep (notice the capital to show I'm talking about the brand).
Swype is basically the name for the technology. Anyways, there's another keyboard called "ShapeWriter" in the Marketplace that uses the same exact technology.. there's a 30 day trial as well. Has nobody heard of it? I have been using it for some time now.
I have tried ShapeWriter for some time now and I just downloaded Swype. It is much better. The main keyboard is not a lot different but the character and number keyboard is a ton better.
You should definitely download and try Swype.
Last edited by Juneau; December 29th, 2009 at 04:24 PM.
I prefer the Slide Keyboard by koku myself. Basically for each button/key you have up to 5 choices and you slide the key in the direction of the letter/number/symbol you want. This makes the buttons much bigger and so more accurate. It takes some time getting used to though. You also need to download a dictionary if you want the word suggestions. This part could stand to be updated a bit but it's all free.
Here are some key features of "Slide Keyboard":
· 2 styles of keyboards,
· 4 types of keyboard : alphabetic, azerty, qwerty and dvorak,
· quick switch between keyboards with the action button,
· vibration and sound on key press,
· French, English, German, Spanish and Italian dictionaries,
· words suggestion,
· automatically correct common typed mistakes,
· automatically adds new words to the dictionary,
· key shortcuts by doing gesture on the keyboard,
· toolbar for edition action (cut, copy, selection, ...)
· ...
I'm trying this out. I gotta say so far I like it better than both shapewriter and swype.
Why? I haven't tried Swype (the company says the versions floating around now were leaked against their wishes), but I've been using ShapeWriter for a month now and the new version (3.0.0) that was just released a few days ago seems very good. They've fixed some bugs, and I'm finding that I'm making very few mistakes with it any more.
Last edited by wmm; February 15th, 2010 at 02:17 PM.
The reason I like it better is simple, I get more accurate results when typing than the other two. Maybe it's my style of sliding my finger across the screen to the letters that lends itself to more accurate results with SlideIT but I find myself having to correct what I'm trying to type WAY less than I do with either Swype and Shapewriter.
So far I've simply been able to type what I want faster with less corrections with it so far, and that's all I really ask of a keyboard. Time will tell if I find other aspects of it that are hard to deal with. One I know of already is I can't figure out how to not get it to capitalize the first letter without changing it to the standard keyboard and I wish they'd swap the comma and period.
Edit: I will say I didn't try out the new release of shapewriter but I really hated the layout of some of the keys.
Last edited by negreenfield; February 15th, 2010 at 05:11 PM.
Based on your comments, I installed SlideIT and gave it a five-minute trial run. I have to say that I like it a lot. It does seem to require fewer corrections than ShapeWriter. It also has many more symbols and the ability to define abbreviations. I'm definitely going to give it an extended trial.
As for the capitalization, there's a configuration option to control automatic capitalization (via the "Options" key on the symbol keyboard). If you turn it off, you just have to hit the "Shift" key before tracing a shape and the first letter of the word will be capitalized. That's definitely the mode I'm going to use, since the automatic capitalization seems to get confused fairly easily.
Oh, one other advantage SlideIT has over ShapeWriter: it doesn't have the compatibility problem that ShapeWriter has with Documents to Go (and some other text-based applications, I believe, from what I've seen on the ShapeWriter support forum).
I wonder what they are going to charge for the paid version of this. The one that is currently available is nagware -- every so often it pops up a little dialog prompting you to buy it, but the paid version isn't in the market yet. Looking on their site, it appears that the Windows Mobile version is $15. That's kind of pricey for me -- not that it isn't a very good product, but in my experience ShapeWriter is nearly as good and I got that for free during their promotional period, so I'm not sure the delta is worth $15 to me. If they priced it at $5, I wouldn't hesitate.
Actually, SlideIT costs €5.99, or $8.16. I haven't decided, but I'm holding off and checking periodically to see if they ever have a sale. At that price, I might buy it, but I think I'm more likely to go back to ShapeWriter when the current demo expires.
First the technology was referred to as "Shark". Then later, it was called "Shape writing technology". Then the Shapewriter software was part of the Google Android Developer Challenge in 2008. Now in 2009/2010, Swype and SlideIt are out and the technology is now called "Swype". In how many ways does referring to shape writing technology as Swype seem problematic?
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Actually, SlideIT costs €5.99, or $8.16. I haven't decided, but I'm holding off and checking periodically to see if they ever have a sale. At that price, I might buy it, but I think I'm more likely to go back to ShapeWriter when the current demo expires.
My demo expired last night, refusing to enter any more text, so I have indeed gone back to ShapeWriter, perhaps permanently. ShapeWriter is a bit more picky than SlideIT, so I have to be a little more careful of the exact shape I trace in order to avoid mistakes. The way it handles capital letters (a post-facto "change case" key instead of a proper shift key) is quirky and sub-optimal, IMHO. That said, however, ShapeWriter does have its strengths. In particular, the way it handles automatic capitalization and the single-letter words "I" and "a" is just about flawless. SlideIT's strengths, OTOH, include more-forgiving word recognition and support for many more symbols.
I emailed the SlideIT developers with a list of issues I had encountered, and they responded that most of them were not bugs but were not explained well in the users' guide and that they were working on a revised UG that would do a better job. I'll wait to see what that has to say before I finally make up my mind, but given that I think ShapeWriter and SlideIT are pretty close (with a slight edge to SlideIT, admittedly), I imagine that in the end I'll just give up on SlideIT.
I really liked swype but it seemed like after a few weeks it would stop working. like it was eating memory and reaches a point where it stops. I say this because it was consistent in it's failing. About two weeks into using it and when it came time to respond to someone I would press on the text area and nothing would happen. Long press to change input type only pissed it off more.
I'm in the same boat, I tried out Swype (which is pretty accurate but has it's own deficiencies, plus it's technically illegal to use it), and Shapewriter again, but I keep going back to SlideIT. I think it needs a few more enhancements and to maybe get a bit cheaper before I purchase it.
I think the UI needs a few improvements, at least on the Nexus1 the resolution is pretty bad, especially in landscape mode (though I rarely use landscape as it's much more difficult for "sliding"). Also I think there needs to be some long press abilities to bring up question marks, etc. Having to go into another screen for anything besides comma and period is a bit annoying.
Actually, it is swype... just not the brand Swype. It's kind of like when people call any 4x4 a jeep... and it is, but it's not a Jeep (notice the capital to show I'm talking about the brand).
Swype is basically the name for the technology. Anyways, there's another keyboard called "ShapeWriter" in the Marketplace that uses the same exact technology.. there's a 30 day trial as well. Has nobody heard of it? I have been using it for some time now.
Also I think there needs to be some long press abilities to bring up question marks, etc. Having to go into another screen for anything besides comma and period is a bit annoying.
That doesn't bother me -- press-and-wait versus a two-key sequence are both just about the same amount of time and effort for me. I do find that having the parentheses on a different page in the symbols keyboard is a pain, though (especially since navigating back to the "main" symbols page is so flaky).
I don't know what the price elasticity is for an item like SlideIT, but I wouldn't be surprised if the maximum revenue point were somewhere around $3.00. It wouldn't hurt to make that suggestion to them. (BTW, it is a multi-person company, not just "him" -- the reply I got to my suggestions had three CC's on it, I presume to other people in the company.)
AWESOME...was playing with a FITALY alternate layout, was pretty cool, but this thing is a combination of that concept and the swipe/slide of a 'normal' layout....
its a cool app but they want to much for it, plus in less than a week they start to harrass you with popups to buy the paid app. plus the slide doesnt work with contacts so if you goto text somebody and want to insert the first letter to bring up the name it wont pull the contact. big nono. went to swype beta and all is well
Swype felt nice and smooth to use, but had issues filling in web forms. The gestures, like little loops to make double letters, were fine until I tried SlideIT which doesn't require them. I hated the popup word suggestion box. That just needs to go away immediately.
ShapeWriter is my least favorite I think. It felt the least refined when swiping and had the hardest time figuring out what words I wanted. It does have the much nicer word suggestion bar though.
SlideIT takes the best of the other two and combines them. It feels nice and smooth like Swype, has the word suggestion bar like ShapeWriter and has the bonus of not requiring the gestures of Swype. I felt it was well worth the asking price.
I have been using SlideIT for a couple days now. I love the create a quick word shortcut. I use it to create a shortcut for the ! and ? symbols so I don't have to click the symbols button. I also like the auto learn feature for words you make up. I've found that the program has very little errors and if there is an error its my fault 90% of the time. I wish the program had an auto space after you enter a word. this would speed up texting using the program 100x .
I have been using SlideIT for a couple days now. I love the create a quick word shortcut. I use it to create a shortcut for the ! and ? symbols so I don't have to click the symbols button. I also like the auto learn feature for words you make up. I've found that the program has very little errors and if there is an error its my fault 90% of the time. I wish the program had an auto space after you enter a word. this would speed up texting using the program 100x .
I enjoyed the video of SlideIT for Android and it is amazing one. SlideIT is a most exciting way for entering text easily,at much faster speed and with fun. You have to just Slide along the letters with your finger so the words appear magically.
Swype felt nice and smooth to use, but had issues filling in web forms. The gestures, like little loops to make double letters, were fine until I tried SlideIT which doesn't require them. I hated the popup word suggestion box. That just needs to go away immediately.
I have the Swype Beta and that damn popup word suggestion box is so distracting. That really does need to change.
I have the Swype Beta and that damn popup word suggestion box is so distracting. That really does need to change.
Hate that thing. I am trying SlideIt again just because I hate the pop up so much.
I can't imagine myself paying for SlideIt though. They are asking too much for a phone keyboard. I'll probably stick with the demo and switch back to Swype after that.
The technology is properly known as "swipe," not "Swype." Swype is copyrighted.
Looking forward to trying Shapewriter, but it's been sold to a company called Nuance, a great move for both companies, as Nuance is a leader in the field. However, Shapewriter has been removed from the market temporarily during the changeover. We'll see how that goes.
I've used Swype and SlideIT extensively. Of the two, I much prefer SlideIT. Swype seems to have gotten carried away with possibilities. SlideIT just works smoothly, and doesn't have the little quirks. However, it's not quite as tolerant of sloppy swiping, and it doesn't automatically save new words. Auto-save is a mixed blessing in Swype's case, though, because it's what causes the program to slow down as it gets used more. One of the things they're working on while it's in beta.
The paid version of SlideIT is not available in the market for rooted phones. The dev is working on setting up an alternate download site so that us geeks can pay for it if we want to. The biggest difference between the paid and free versions is the ability to get the dictionary to permanently remember words (free expires after 30 mins., enough to allow you to use recurring words in one or two messages or docs, but it doesn't stay permanently). There are a couple of other advantages, which escape me at the moment.
Slide Keyboard: great for hunt-and-peck typists, but it will drive a touch typist crazy. Don't even bother if you can touch type on a full-size keyboard. It's totally counter to all the reflexes you've built over the years. Stick with the board you're used to. I uninstalled it after about five minutes. A clever solution to a non-existent problem.
I've also been using a keyboard called SwiftKey (beta) that's available on the market. It has the best text prediction that I've ever seen -- by far -- and is kick-a** when used with the physical keyboard -- extremely fast. If that prediction engine were combined with SlideIT, the combo would be unbeatable. It's worth trying it out just to see how really well-integrated software works. One big flaw is that the graphics on the keys are thin lines and too small. The superscript is useless, and the whole keyboard sucks for older eyes like mine. If they fix that, I'll buy it no matter what they charge.
I think if you find an app useful and use it a lot, you should be happy to pay for it if the option exists, to keep the developer in the game if for no other reason. As to price, how much is unreasonable for something you use all the time? $15 US comes out to about 4 cents a day, or a tiny fraction of a cent per use, for most users.
Last edited by digitalzen; July 21st, 2010 at 10:06 AM.
Love SlideIT, tried the demo version and liked it so much I paid for the full version. It's amazing how quickly you can get used to it, I can even do most typing one handed now.
just installed today and its awesome. 2 things though, does anyone know how to turn off the auto correct? and is there a way to swipe down to hide the keyboard?
Well, got a repair phone yesterday and shapewriter didn't back up to appbrain. My own fault not backing it up somehow...Now I am screwed out of shapewriter, oh well, slideit is nice so far, looks like I'll be buying it...
I got A cracked Swype that Iv been using forEVER and I am In love with it. I tried Slide-it and It (To me) was not as good as Swype. Swype is much more reliable when im being sloppy and always knows my words. But The Con to this is I cannot find Swype anywhere anymore for my DI because the cracked versions have been pretty much deleted from everywhere. So when a Nice Froyo comes out for my Rooted DI looks like im stuck on Slide-it . Unless somebody has a cracked Swype apk I can get im pretty much Boned lol...
I'm looking at slideit because I can't get in on the swype beta. I'm concerned about security with a keyboard that's not android made. Is that a valid concern? Don't want my passwords stolen and such.
SlideIT for Android
. Unless somebody has a cracked Swype apk I can get im pretty much Boned lol...
