Am I the only one who is unhappy with swype?

[Jeffruby]

I used to LOVE swype. Now, a year i have grown increasingly frustrated with it. Yeah, they got rid of the hidden pop up message, and made accuracy better, however my mistake frequency has gotten worse and worse. Not sure if it has to do with a poor add words system, as many of my words, which seem undeniable keep popping up.... or is it the size of the dinc face. Certain words for me are100% pure misses. I waste way too much time editing my messages afterwards.

On my droid 1, I used to fly accurately using swype

 

[flipn0tic]

No. I had the same problem and it forced me to start. I loved Swype at first, and the word prediction got progressively and significantly worse as it built up its library. I ended up switching to Smart Keyboard Pro.

All the other Swype-esque keyboards weren't anywhere near as sharp as Swype so...

 

[cluelezz]

I can't compare it to older versions of swype, but I tried it and hated it. SwiftKey's my fave.

 

[judge_droid]

Without actual keys, I couldn't get by very well without Swype.

But it is still very frustrating at times. I've tried a few different keyboards, and each has one problem or another. I keep thinking of how some of the nice ideas from different keyboard apps could be merged into one (SuperSwype), and I can think of things that could make it better in my opinion.

Maybe we could start a wish list of the tweaks that a lot of people might like (but you can't make everybody happy at the same time)


Some of the problems I have are with shorter 2 to 4 letter words.

I'll pay more attention now to see what changes I would like to see. Here are a few that come to mind.

1. Can we get a very simple undo feature with a shortcut swype action to use it. Some thought would have to go into doing it right though.

2. After a swype action, and it brings up alternative words, I would prefer that for very short words it list them in a horizontal row (like some other keyboard apps do) instead of how Swype does it now. I understand how some folks might like it the way it is already. I think I even prefer the way it does it now for longer words.

3. If Swype senses the finger isn't sliding immediately after first pressed, if it could behave like a non-Swype keyboard for that character. For instance, it could popup a view of the letter you're on just like the normal Android keyboard does. And also have a horizontal row of all the letters that are adjacent to the one you pressed, so that you can have a one-tap correction.

4. For those of us without a trackball, I know Swype allows you to bring up arrow keys to move the cursor exactly where you want it. But it would be nice if there was some type of faster swype shortcut from the main keyboard to move the cursor one space to the left or right.

5. It seems like I can't remove words from the library if they were part of the original library. Is this correct? If so, I would like ability to remove certain words (and then provide a feature to bring all the built-in words back if needed, or maybe even keep a list of all the default words that are currently deleted)

6. I would like a way to customize how many words Swype is willing to suggest after a swype is complete.

I think Swype may have some nice features that I haven't even figured out yet, still kind of a rookie at it.

 

[takeshi]

Am I the only one who is unhappy with swype?

Nope. There are plenty of people that do not prefer Swype if you read around.

The answer to any "Amy I the only...?" or "Is it just me...?" question is no. Odds are extremely unlikely that you're the only person with a given opinion -- whatever it may be.

 

[Szadzik]

Unhappy with on-screen keyboard? Get a physical qwerty phone and you will never have to look at those again.

 

[Tangent]

Overall I'm still happy with it, but there are definitely things I'd like to see changed. Being able to customize the word priority for some gestures or just have them change it to a more logical order would be nice. I can't think of a specific example right now, but if a gesture can be interpreted as either a common word or something rarely used in anyone's day-to-day speech, it often will pick the rarely used one by default.

 

[judge_droid]

Overall I'm still happy with it, but there are definitely things I'd like to see changed. Being able to customize the word priority for some gestures or just have them change it to a more logical order would be nice. I can't think of a specific example right now, but if a gesture can be interpreted as either a common word or something rarely used in anyone's day-to-day speech, it often will pick the rarely used one by default.

I agree, forgot about that one. This is one of the top things they could do to improve it.

Regarding slider phones with querty keyboard, will still consider for the next one, but they are a little thicker, normally cost more, and a little harder to find a nice case for. Also another item to break. Never thought I'd join the touchscreen only club, but I think I have.

 

[BookLover]

Might have to do some cleanup. When a wrong (assume misspelled) word pops up, hit the swype/options button and delete and that should delete from the library.

Another option is to change the swype accuracy vs speed setting to set it for greater accuracy. Maybe go that route first as that would be less work than cleaning up your swype library.

 

[OstrichSaK]

I gave it a month or so when it first came out and thought it was faster until I went back to the stock keyboard and realized it really wasn't. I was hammering out full messages must faster because you can type a few letters and then your word is suggested... proper spelling and all. With Swype you have to type the whole word, correctly AND you have to type it beginning to end. This is a pain if you're in the middle of something and need to stop mid-word regularly. Can't be done with Swype. If I type a letter with the stock keyboard and have to look away for whatever reason then I can look back and continue where I left off. Swype is alright for some but for me it wasn't the best option.

 

[NoMoreSymbian]

No. I had the same problem and it forced me to start. I loved Swype at first, and the word prediction got progressively and significantly worse as it built up its library. I ended up switching to Smart Keyboard Pro.

All the other Swype-esque keyboards weren't anywhere near as sharp as Swype so...

+1 on Smart Keyboard Pro!

 

[sookster54]

It's not that I'm not unhappy with Swype, it's a great keyboard but I found SlideIt a bit more functional (with a BIGGER spacebar) and Smart Keyboard Pro with its portrait T9 keyboard and awesome 3Dkey skin.

 

[RichSz]

I wouldn't go as far as unhappy, but I prefer Swiftkey. Like others said, sometimes Swype would just refuse to understand a word, got frustrating.

 

[reinbeau]

Swype came installed on my Captivate, and I have to say, if anything it's gotten better as I've used it. There is a great tutorial out there, well worth taking a few moments and working through - it explains so much. Maybe the difference is between the betas out there vs. stock? I dunno, all I can say is it's my preferred keyboard now, and I've tried them all (Own Swiftkey and a few others).

 

[lornaevo]

I was also a love of swype until I met Smart Keyboard Pro. This is the best keyboard I have every used. The keyboard is the only thing I was jealous of on the iPhone, But not anymore. It's worth the money. I don't even use swype anymore.

 

[holgalee]

The Gingerbread keyboard is the best I've tried so far as it has word prediction and you can still teach the software to remember words. I've only used it for a few days though, and realise I need to quickly double-check before sending, in case text prediction chooses the wrong word for me.

 

[mldiroff]

Have gone back and forth between Swiftkey and Smart Keboard Pro, which I use now and LOVE it.

I can't compare it to older versions of swype, but I tried it and hated it. SwiftKey's my fave.

 

[wayrad]

I think almost all of us DInc owners are unhappy with Swype. It won't function properly on the DInc after a reboot until you perform the proper ritual, and there is apparently no interest in fixing it. I'm using UltraKeyboard myself.

 

[Deleted User]

Swype has annoyances for me, but the problem is I've gotten used to it to the point that I find myself going back to it after trying other keyboards.

 

[wmm]

If you're holding the phone with one hand and swyping with the other, you could just as easily be tapping with that other hand so I don't see the difference.

The difference is that tracing is a LOT faster than tapping with one hand. My previous phone had a landscape-mode slide-out hardware keyboard, and as I recall when I was in practice, I was nearly as fast with two thumbs as I am now with Swype/SlideIt/Shapewriter. Trying to replicate that in portrait mode on a flat screen without any tactile feedback just didn't work out; my thumbs aren't that coordinated. But I can get the same or better speed with tracing, and it's much more accurate and comfortable.

But to each his own I guess.

Yes, that was really my point; the person to whom I was replying had ended his/her comments with "It's crazy!", as if the issues he/she had cited were fundamental and obvious flaws with the whole approach. I just wanted to point out that, to the contrary, the very characteristics he/she was complaining about were exactly the things that I personally found most valuable. I wasn't asserting that everyone should have the same experience.

 

[reinbeau]

i agree, wmm, swyping is much quicker than tapping. Tapping is a problem for me, also, because I'm a fast touch typist, and I can't touch type on a keyboard. It's so confusing to have to try to type on something without the correct fingers. Swyping removes that confusion for me. I 'know' where the keys are better with one finger on that little virtual keyboard.

 

[jae_63]

Hey, are you telling us you can swype words with Keypurr? I've been using it & I didn't know it had that too...

Not that I would use that mode since I've gotten fast at tapping with the big keys, but it does make a curious point.

No, that's not what I meant. They are totally independent of one another

 

[OstrichSaK]

Three words: Smart Keyboard Trial. This has become my new favorite keyboard. Much like the rock keyboard w/the ability to customize & tweak to individual liking. Some nice upgrades to an already good program w/o having to completely recreate the wheel. This keyboard is full of win.

 

[BookLover]

I love swype myself. Can type faster with swype than with physical keyboard.

However, I must say it's easier to swype PORTRAIT than landscape. My finger travels less in portrait so its faster. Swyping in landscape mode is very frustrating for me and I make more errors.

As mentioned in my earlier post, in the settings you can set the accuracy vs. speed setting until you find the right combination that gives you the fewest typos.

I've set my Speed Vs. Accuracy bar up to about 80%. Swype does a better job of guessing when the bar is high in the "Error Tolerance" side, which means you can be relatively inaccurate and based on the totality of your swyped word, Swypes makes a better guess than if you have the bar set low towards "Fast Response".

 

[hkay1]

I didn't like Swype either but I love SlideIT!!!! If the word you try to swipe isnt in the dictionary you can add it for next time. The only negative I have is that if you swipe a word and lets say its the plural version of a word it knows but it doesnt know the plural its hard to edit the word and add it. You have to manually type it to get it in the dictionary. I am still sooo much faster with SlideIt than I was before. I also like it because unlike Swype, I can use SlideIt in portrait mode which makes the phone easier to hold. I also hate landscape because you can see so little of what you are typing cuz the keyboard takes up too much of the screen.