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Swype - My Thoughts....

First off: I text A LOT, so having decent text input options is very important to me. I send upwards of 3500 sms per month
I have known of Swype for a long time now. I enthused about it when i first saw it demoed, but later found it to be less than efficient; but that was on the Windows Mobile platform. Now I might have been a little bit harsh on swype in the past but seeing the final Beta up for open testing i felt I HAD to give it another chance. This is a new operating system after all, and there has been plenty of time to iron out any flaws. So here is my take on it:
it is well designed and feels like a lot of work has gone into it BUT I just don't see how it could EVER be faster than typing with the default Froyo keyboard. For one, you can only use ONE finger, standard keyboard lets me use TWO, thereby doubling PRODuctivity (!); for two, much as Swype's predictive algorithms are GOOD, the fact that the standard keyboard shows suggestions along the top bar as you TYPE is a lot more efficient. In the event Swype gets it wrong you have to highlight the word, press the Swype button in the corner and choose the alternative word. You also hit a stumbling block when it comes to punctuations too as Swype doesn't seem to suggest possessives or other grammatical nuances. So there it is: I'll be Swyping Swype from my Android phone and forever wondering why it even exists.
What do other people think?

leoni1980 said:
What do other people think?
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I think its terrible, horrible and YUK
Kev

Swype has a learning curve. Most people who learn to use it find that they type much much faster with a single thumb than with two.
I swype probably 5 times faster than I type, now that I have gotten the hang of it. Just keep practicing. At first it is slow and sucks. Give it a chance. Now I can't imagine typing on my Nexus without it. I really hate it when I have to go terminal to do something and then have to switch to HTC or standard keyboard to get the emulator to take the input.

moved this thread to general, which is the better place for discussions like this.

So if would type with three fingers you would get triple the productivity? Sorry, but this is BS mate. Same with making mistakes. I don't know about you, but I was making mistakes way too often on HTC_IME, and had to go back as well, or choose a different word from the suggestion list (which brakes my train of thought).
At the end of the day it is all about WPM and if you can squeeze more words on a traditional soft keyboard then do it. I swype almost as fast on my phone as I type on my laptop which in my case means really fast.

I can't imagine using anything other than Swype these days. I switched to it from HTC_IME a few weeks ago and immediately felt an increase in composition speed. However, Swype's dictionary can get a little odd sometimes and there is a definite learning curve when it comes to using punctuation. However, once you get used to it, it's better.
Also, if you are having trouble with possessives, just spell out the noun. Then, drag down to the apostrophe then back to the S. Swype will automatically put the correct suffix on the noun.

Swype has a steep learning curve. But once you've mastered it, it's painful to go back to the primitive way of typing. I think Swype will ultimately become the standard of touch interface. It's perfect for tablets too, knowing that you'll always have one hand holding the tablet and only one hand available to type.

I agree, after mastering swype, it blows everything else away. Also, you are ALLOWED to make mistakes with it versus if I made a mistake on a regular keyboard, it usually screwed up the word prediction.
I say give it a try, man. I disliked it at first too tbh, but now I won't text without it.

I like swype a lot. Just got it last night. It does have word prediction if you want it.

I usually use Swype instead of my Milestone's hardware keyboard!
I would hate to have to revert to the standard software keyboard since Swype is so quick and easy to use once you've practiced a bit.

The new Swype auto-punctuates for you (eg. dont will be don't). Each to their own really, I use Swype when I need to be one handed as I have the hardware keyboard for two hand times, it is a useful setup.

Swype is the faster keyboard, but is my opinion only

when the swype beta on my phone ran out for that day i felt handicapped trying to type on the default keyboard again
once you get used to it, its amazing

Forgot to say, read up up on the tips and tricks. It will amaze you how much faster it can become even after mastering it.

It is my #1 must have, most used app by a mile! I feel awkward even trying to type on a regular keyboard now. There is definitely a learning curve but once you get used to it, it is amazing!

After I got used to swype it's way faster. According to my own speed tests (timed by a stopwatch). I can finish a 40 word paragraph roughly 6 second quicker using swype, and I can FLY using tap keyboards.
It's far more accurate for me personally. For sure had a learning curve but I'd feel naked without it now.
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Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App

This might sound odd, but one thing I do like a lot about Swype is that it is fun. I like challenging it sometimes with super-long words, and it amazes me how it recognizes the swiping patterns. Now admittedly, I'm not a "power user" who needs to text and email constantly, so I could understand why people might tire of it, but for longer emails I actually find it very useful, and I think if I had to use my phone constantly, it'd grow on me even more and become invaluable. What I do love, and this is what make Android so versatile for me, is that we get the choice. It's easy to switch from the stock keyboard to Swype in a second, and that's valuable in itself, because so many other smart phones don't allow the user that much choice.

One other thing I forgot to mention is that unlike with the stock Froyo keyboard if you type with Swype you have to put in EVERY letter, much like with the old number pad T9. Just for example, almost every word I am currently typing with the stock keyboard requires only half or less of the actual word to be tapped out before it guesses and autocompletes it with a press of the spacebar. This is how I am able to type so fast. It basically ups your word productivity by about 50% at a guess.

A while ago I did some tests and found roughly the following order for my particular fingers (greater means faster):
Swype portrait N1 > landscape iPod Touch > landscape stock Android N1 > portrait iPod Touch > portrait stock Android N1 > landscape Swype N1
In landscape Swype is truly awful... the spacing is just too awkward to make it work. But it's very handy in portrait. Currently I'm on my Milestone so it works out nicely. For my N1 it would be nice to be able to choose separate keyboard options for portrait & landscape modes.

cmstlist said:
A while ago I did some tests and found roughly the following order for my particular fingers (greater means faster):
Swype portrait N1 > landscape iPod Touch > landscape stock Android N1 > portrait iPod Touch > portrait stock Android N1 > landscape Swype N1
In landscape Swype is truly awful... the spacing is just too awkward to make it work. But it's very handy in portrait. Currently I'm on my Milestone so it works out nicely. For my N1 it would be nice to be able to choose separate keyboard options for portrait & landscape modes.
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Agreed. I really wish I could have Swype in portrait and HTC_IME in landscape.

Dvorak keyboard layout

Hi does any one know of a dvorak keyboard layout for our evos? I have a sneaking suspicion that we would see some nice speed gains in typing using that layout.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

I think this would be interesting to have. I tried teaching myself Dvorak last semester, but I had too many things to type up so I was faced with 1) stick with QWERTY and ruin my learning, or 2) use Dvorak and slow my typing down to 15 WPM. Maybe I will give it another shot in the future.
Edit: AnySoftKeyboard in the Market has a Dvorak add-on pack.

I've tried the any keyboard and didn't like it. If we could get that layout for the stock or modded htc keyboard that would be sweet.
I would mod it myself but I have no knowledge of these things and from all the digging haven't been able to figure out where to start.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

I have been doing some digging myself, because I really want this to happen, and it looks like in order to make a dvorak keyboard layout, we would have to start with the source code found here, and build our own.
h**p://android.git.kernel.org/?p=platform/packages/inputmethods/LatinIME.git
The layout information can be found in the java/res/xml/kbd_qwerty.xml file, seen here:
h**p://android.git.kernel.org/?p=platform/packages/inputmethods/LatinIME.git;a=blob;f=java/res/xml/kbd_qwerty.xml
However, the big problem with just changing all those keys to dvorak ones is that the symbol keys on dvorak are on the top, but on the bottom on qwerty. So if you count just the actual letters, the letters per row will be off.
Basically, what we need to do is move the delete key to the upper right, and rearrange the number of keys per row.
I've never done any coding for Android before, and so I've tried, but I'm still trying to figure out if I can build only the LatinIME.

I finally found some time to take this on.
It's not perfect, but maybe it will work for you.
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=809930

Type Faster With SwiftKey’s Predictive Android Keyboar

Swype Beta was the very first app that I made a video demo of. Ah, it brings back memories. It was also the demo that launched with The Droid Demos in June of 2010. However, there was another Android keyboard app that was released shortly thereafter. It was called SwiftKey. Unlike, Swype, SwiftKey doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel…I mean keyboard. Rather, it brings us an even better traditional keyboard. With a sleek look that slightly resembles the HTC Sense keyboard, SwiftKey prides itself in helping you type faster without changing any habits. How? SwiftKey not only has an amazing spell correction engine, but it actually predicts what you’re going to type. That’s right, a keyboard that predicts the future. Okay, so maybe not quite, but it gets close. By analyzing your typing habits and messages, SwiftKey learns how you type and uses this data to suggest what word to type next, allowing you to quickly tap to select or hit space to select its prediction. No hassle guaranteed.
I've got a video demo, as always of SwiftKey. Check it out. Download link provided.
SwiftKey Video Demo with Download Link

I have personally found the stock Htc sense keyboard to be better than Swiftkey because the error correction is way better. I type fast enough that it would slow me down considerably to pause to read and select the word it predicts for me. When I try to type fast as would with the Sense keyboard, I get many spelling errors because of mistypes. With the sense keyboard, most words are corrected properly. Try it. Try typing without worrying if you pursed exactly the correct key. I find portrait mode works fastest as you don't have to move your fingers much. I use two thumbs.

Interesting.I like swype a lot but swiftkey sounds like it's worth a try thanks.
I've been on for the hunt for a good keyboard solution for about 3 years.swype is as close as I've come and as you can see I'm still ferrying..getting.. used to it. :/

I'm actually using SwiftKey right now. I tried Swype for a couple of weeks but found that the words that often come up aren't the words that I meant to swype and I end up going back and adjusting the words. So far I've been very satisfied with SwiftKey but I'll try out the suggestion someone mentioned above about using the stock keyboard. One thing that I would like to see though is multitouch support added to SwiftKey.

In my personal opinion, swiftkey sucks...I am like the first response, it slows me down horribly having to select words. Prediction is no good either. The best keyboard I have found for pure speed has been Smart Keyboard Pro in the market. It's multitouch, the keys are spaced nicely and prediction is accurate and fast along with ability to customize as needed.

admorris said:
In my personal opinion, swiftkey sucks...I am like the first response, it slows me down horribly having to select words. Prediction is no good either. The best keyboard I have found for pure speed has been Smart Keyboard Pro in the market. It's multitouch, the keys are spaced nicely and prediction is accurate and fast along with ability to customize as needed.
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Thats on my list of keyboards to demo

Using Swype and been using it. Tried swiftKey before and it doesn't match up to SWPYE at all..Swype its thee way to Text..
Sent from Htc Evo using XDA App

I'm liking it so far. However, the prediction on the stock HTC keyboard is still the best imo.
Sent from my FROYO'D EVO using xda app

Nothing beats droid multi touch keyboard folks. No fril solution for all your typing needs.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

The fastest keyboard on Android has to be TouchPal, the king of Windows Mobile keyboards.
If you have ever used WinMo, you should know how TouchPal murders any other WinMo keyboard out there. TouchPal Android version is no different.

admorris said:
In my personal opinion, swiftkey sucks...I am like the first response, it slows me down horribly having to select words. Prediction is no good either. The best keyboard I have found for pure speed has been Smart Keyboard Pro in the market. It's multitouch, the keys are spaced nicely and prediction is accurate and fast along with ability to customize as needed.
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As I promised, here's the demo of Smart Keyboard Pro
Smart Keyboard Pro Video Demo

The beta program is about to close but you can still get in:
SwiftKey VIP

admorris said:
In my personal opinion, swiftkey sucks...I am like the first response, it slows me down horribly having to select words. Prediction is no good either. The best keyboard I have found for pure speed has been Smart Keyboard Pro in the market. It's multitouch, the keys are spaced nicely and prediction is accurate and fast along with ability to customize as needed.
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+1 For Smart Keyboard Pro, by far the best I have used. Personally I don't use any prediction, I just seem to make less mistakes with SKP and the mistakes I do make it will autocorrect most of them. I think it is the virtual key resizing that makes it work so well.

largest keyboard app

Which of these keyboards have the biggest keys when using the phone in portrait mode; the android keyboard, the ime mod keyboard or better keyboard? I am looking for one that makes it less likely for those of us with fat fingers to fat finger what we are typing.

Um, i'd have to say Smart Keyboard Pro with the HTC Skin has the biggests keys. And it's not as big of a file as the HTC IME mod so there isn't that much lag when using it

come keyboards i have used
There is a keyboard called thick buttons which resizes the keys as you type making the keys that are most likely the next letter in the word larger and the rest smaller, you can also set the resize rate (small,medium, large)
SwiftKey is a pretty cool keyboard that scans your chat history to try to predict what word you will type next. They keys are pretty much the same size as the htc keyboard though. feature updates to the app will be able to scan sms, twitter, email and then create different recommendations based on the app you are typing in i.e. sms, email, or twitter.
Right now my fav keyboard app is touchpal. Don't be afraid that a lot of the text about the app is in chinese in particular parts of the tutorial they board can be set to english and all your txt recommendations will be in english. This keyboard has three layouts (my fav is the compact keyboard which gives you two letters per key but with txt prediction enabled typing is not a problem. they keys in this layout are pretty big to making it hard to miss the one you want) What is really cool about this keyboard is the ability to swipe either side ways to change keyboard layouts or down to access the secondary key (e.g. swiping down on say e will give you a 3) or in full quwerty keyboard swiping up gives you the capital letter of the letter.
Another keyboard you might want to put on your radar is blindtype. It is not out yet but it looks really awesome. It functions similar to swype but instead of swiping your finger across the keys you type normally. Look it up and you can see videos of it being demoed. It is not aval right now though but it looks like the keyboard to have for us with big fingers lol

blindtype DOES look amazing!
cant wait for it.

umm, it does not show up in my market. wth

you might want to check out ultra keyboard it allows you to re-size the keyboard making it bigger or smaller and it also has incorporated swype style typing and it also allows you to use better keyboard themes it's a paid app but in my opinion well worth it

been using big buttons keyboard for months. since i only type one handed in portrait this works perfect. it's laid out different but within a minute of typing im a pro.

itrackit said:
umm, it does not show up in my market. wth
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No offense if you looking for blindtype they said in the post its not in the market. Don't feel bad I didn't completely read it the first time
Sent from Froyo 2.2 Super Hero

How to get a different keyboard in landscape?

So i have swype on my evo and well it is great for portrait mode but when i go into landscape well it just sucks anywho so i was wondering if there is way to get a specific keyboard when portrait and a different specific keyboard in landscape
is there an app or some way to do it rooted way?

I'd love to find something like this too!

Bump - was thinking about this the other day

I mentioned this a long time ago. I really like shapewriter, but would love it if my phone could automatically toggle to the stock keyboard in landscape mode and shapewriter in portrait.

Yeah haha I feel ya, in landscape it takes up the entire screen and swyping across the evo's entire length makes for difficult swyping. I'd much prefer the stock keyboard on landscape
Sent from my EVO

Zori said:
Yeah haha I feel ya, in landscape it takes up the entire screen and swyping across the evo's entire length makes for difficult swyping. I'd much prefer the stock keyboard on landscape
Sent from my EVO
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DITTO DITTO DITTO!! That would rock my socks off. Until then...

I would love this also, swype kinda sucks in landscape...
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

there was another long thread on this awhile ago. someone with the know how stated that it didnt seem possible as security measures in android prevent an application from changing the input panel without user interaction. he mentioned that it may be possible to create a new input panel that has swype as the portrait and standard as the landscape though. would just need a developer skilled enough to pull apart the two apk's and somehow get them to work together.

You realize you dont *have* to swipe around the Swype keyboard right? In landscape mode you can use it as a standard keyboard and tap with your thumbs (or however you'd type on a standard landscape keyboard) and use it like any other standard multitouch keyboard.
I was after the same dual functionality as all of you until I realized this. Not so much a realization as breaking a habit of thought.

pseudo_nomen said:
You realize you dont *have* to swipe around the Swype keyboard right? In landscape mode you can use it as a standard keyboard and tap with your thumbs (or however you'd type on a standard landscape keyboard) and use it like any other standard multitouch keyboard.
I was after the same dual functionality as all of you until I realized this. Not so much a realization as breaking a habit of thought.
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yeah, but swype not swyping sucks imo. the droid x multi touch keyboard blows swype away in landscape.

bwahahahaha got it, doesnt work perfectly and required tinkering to get it working but good enough.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2010/0...ientation-using-keyboardmanager-roottutorial/
have found a few times it doesnt change and have to close the input panel and open it again to get it to change.
actual thread here on xda,
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=8148657#post8148657
dev is ne0fhyk looks like work has ceased so i advise posting like mad in that thread to get the devs attention and maybe inspire him to pick back up and give some polish to this app.