Swype finger-tracing text entry seems fast, hypnotic, and magical
by Sean Cooper 
posted Sep 11th 2008 at 7:18PM
OK, well maybe difficult is stretching it somewhat, but it does look like it'll take some getting used to. Swype's creator is none other than one of the people involved in developing T9 -- which we simply couldn't get by without -- and applies the same concept of quicker typing, with less work. Instead of tapping keys, Swype has you simply trace your finger through the letters you want to use to spell the words. The system will apparently enable even a novice to quickly get up to speeds of 40 words a minute. We're itching to check this out and with the glut of touchscreen sets on the market -- iPhone, Touch Diamond, and on, an on -- we can see this really taking off if it works as well as in the demo. Nothing to download just yet, but we've signed up and are waiting for the word.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dave Thackwell @ Sep 11th 2008 7:37PM
I saw the image before I read the headline and immediately thought it was a story about an application I already have on my iPhone.
‘Writing Pad’ for the iPhone does this already – the application creator calls the technology ‘ShapeWriter’.
Who copied who then? Or is this just a coincidence?
Matt @ Sep 11th 2008 7:42PM
Who cares? What I do know is that this application would be bliss on most Windows Mobile phones. I want this now!
Tomoki @ Sep 11th 2008 8:26PM
I think in this situation it was neither. In a video interview regarding this product, the creator stated that he also co-produced T9, which every phone on the planet has (almost.) I don't think he saw the iPhone App and suddenly had the idea to make Swipe.
gm76 @ Sep 11th 2008 10:50PM
I think this one came first:
http://www.mobiletextinput.com/Product/SlideIT/SlideIT.php
SlideIT is protected by US Patent no. 7,199,786 , issued April 3, 2007. (based on application from Nov 2003 and provisional from Nov 2002)
sepirioth @ Sep 11th 2008 8:33PM
jailbroken or appstore program? sounds interesting...
Josh @ Sep 11th 2008 8:33PM
The "WritingPad" is actually a port of an Android soft-keyboard. Just FYI :)
James @ Sep 11th 2008 8:46PM
I tried this on my HTC Touch a month or so ago. It was the stylus version, while it worked, it was far too slow in some ways. Maybe the finger-friendly version will be better able to keep up than using a stick.
--James
TareX @ Sep 11th 2008 8:45PM
Saw it for Android 6 months ago.... "WritingPad"
bver100 @ Sep 11th 2008 9:46PM
I got to try this at TC50, it's kind of ridiculous how quickly the guy can type, using some seemingly odd scribbles. Was fun. He was using the stylus on a tablet, so perhaps sensitivity or newer software could be attributed to the improved speed.
john @ Sep 11th 2008 10:55PM
How does it tell the difference between pint and point?
bver100 @ Sep 11th 2008 11:12PM
I remember during the demo, the guy would sometimes jump over the letter if it was in the way. Possibly annoying while learning, but i guess if you're familiar enough with it, it isn't too bad.
mykie @ Sep 11th 2008 11:46PM
I'm digging the big dedicated blue "123 @ Winking Frown Emoticon" button.
neokepplar @ Sep 12th 2008 12:04AM
I used this type of writing system on an iphone app a while back, and I have to admit that while it's a new and innovative way of communicating, it eventually becomes onerous to constantly swipe back and forth when a left and right thumb can skip the distances required with one finger.
neokepplar @ Sep 12th 2008 12:05AM
I used this type of writing system on an iphone app a while back, and I have to admit that while it's a new and innovative way of communicating, it eventually becomes onerous to constantly swipe back and forth when a left and right thumb can skip the distances required with one finger.
aoi tsuki @ Sep 12th 2008 1:37AM
This style of input dates back to the era of Palm OS 3.0, possibly 2.0 or even earlier. i can't remember the name of the original app, but it allowed you to do basically the same thing on the Palm as what Swype is promising. Eventually, there were a few of these apps that did this, some with optimized keyboard layouts which placed the most commonly-used letters close together to eliminate the amount of travel necessary.
The video demo on the site gives you some idea of how it works, but you really have to use it to truly understand just how simple yet fast it is. The learning curve's not steep at all, though it's not for everyone.
kaily @ Sep 15th 2008 5:40AM
i most to tell you guy's that i'm usnig in SlideIT from Dasur and it's working very well on my ppc MIOp350
you can download it from here : http://dasur.co.il/Product/SlideIT/DownloadDemo.php
and to see it work here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkFSGfe2NEQ