November 25, 2009   Rumors, Video

New Swype Technology For Typing Text Launched For Smartphones – Will It Replace QWERTY?

A lot of mobile phones today, including the iPhone, have made typing easier by providing QWERTY keyboards.

But can typing on mobile handsets get much more easier than this? Swyping is an upcoming technology that strives to achieve just that.

So how is it different from typing on a QWERTY keyboard? Well, the letters of the alphabet are aligned in pretty much the same way as in a QWERTY keyboard. But instead of pressing the letters one by one while typing a message, swyping lets you to simply touch and drag your finger across the screen to the various letters to input the text.

This new technology has been developed by Cliff Kushler who is also well known for developing the T9 predictive typing technology for mobile phones. The new technology is being made available for the first time on Samsung Omnia II and the company has announced that swyping shall be made available on Android handsets pretty soon.

The technology looks interesting. But is it actually quicker than the present QWERTY keyboard? We have our doubts. A video developed by the company and published by TechCrunch compares swyping on Omnia against typing on an iPhone keyboard and concludes that the swypist is much quicker than the iPhone typist.

The video does not seem to be providing a fair comparison and pits an expert swypist against a newbie iPhone typist.

Nevertheless, it is an interesting technology that could be the future. Kushler’s T9 technology is today available on close to 2.4 billion mobile phones and it will be exciting to see how far this new technology can go. What is your opinion on swyping? Please tell us in the comments.

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[via | iPhone Hacks]

  • CannibalTr0ll

    @guitarnovice7 umad?

  • gbmama

    Apple needs this! Hey Steve Jobs, go license this, acquire it or allow 3rd party developers to use it on IOS! Without it, you’re hamstringing us.

  • MrCj822

    This is a 100% shit test. I have an iPhone 4 currently, but my friend has a Droid X, and Swype is making me seriously consider selling my iPhone, dropping ATT and going to Verizon with a Droid.

  • guitarnovice7

    Garbage. Every time the iPhone user typed a period they didn’t hit double spacebar for instant period and the swype users was automatically inserted. Do a real test idiots.

  • otakukj

    just jailbreak your phone and u can get swype it’s called ShapeWriter

  • Renius7

    Saying the iphone user in the video is slower than the average iphone user is pretty retarded. This demo. You can tell both users were going about the same speed which is what you need for this to actually show which one is better. Doing the same demo. with two people texting three times as fast, will end up with the same result.

  • shawngaran

    Dragon dictation

  • equitek

    @tituss1992 LOL – whatever that’s supposed to mean.

  • TryThrowCatchFinally

    Poor representation: SWYPE is easier, and more often than not, faster, than regular typing… But both the people in this are slow as molasses. The average iPhone user would have beaten the SWYPE user, and an average SWYPE user would have been done in 15 seconds.

  • DJCuerex

    i think this is better than voice dictation and looks promising, i wonder why people are so into voice dictation, i dont want to want that my seat neighbour in bus or trains listens when i get to the next fuckparade xD

  • DJCuerex

    @blahtsk you compare voice dictation with an inputdevice used by hands??

  • blahtsk

    Okay but compare swype with dragon dictation…

  • DenimSaxPlaya

    8pen is teh shit

  • cvl85

    i did it way faster than this 2 guys on my T9.

  • joekrdlsk

    @snakedoc1306 I agree!!!! I haven’t transitioned to Android yet, but swype is the primary reason I want to get off the iphone!

  • eventfularse

    @kazper333 Cool story BRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOO!

  • genovelle

    Looks cool, but the secret to typing on the Iphone is trusting the correction, i blow this away by just typing and trusting and the only word it messes up is mr for me on the Iphone. I can even do it with out keeping my eyes on the phone the whole time. Cant Imagine that while dragging my finger on the screen

  • ratzkikimo

    @snakedoc1306 shapewriter

  • 1990MRmustage

    galaxy S Pwnzzzzz iPhone! ;D

  • MuffinJob

    The phone on the right is a samsung reality, how do you get swype on it :O

  • ukmale164

    @gremioXD haha, hailstone in my experience is some fast shit and can hurt like shit as well if its heavy. snowflakes are slow though, but dont quote me im no snow expert lol.

  • gremioXD

    @ukmale164 I actually meant the ice pellets that fall from the sky.

  • timurketsbaia

    Totally both are bulshit typing methods. T9 on a nokia with responsive normal keys will do the job.

  • WackoKillerDan

    I can text way faster than that guy with an iPhone 4. And if be actually holds it he will text faster. I want thus swype thing in my iPhone 4 tho, it will be way easier to text in class. Time to go to cydia :)

  • ukmale164

    @gremioXD hell*

  • coolerthanice31

    I beat the swype guy on my iTouch. I did it in 28 secs. I still am intrigued by Swype though…

  • lambikins

    It’s a faster way to communicate if you HATE using your thumbs or a stylus to write even the simplest of messages. That would be ME, the anti-texter, until I got a Samsung Galaxy Tablet and learned to Swype; now, I send texts and post to forums all the time through this method of writing. Better? Only if you hate pounding words out with your thumbs. I have Dumb Thumbs!

  • jaycc9

    @kazper333 Nice story bro. Why don’t you write a novel.

  • kazper333

    He did 25 words in 40 seconds so he would have an average of 36wpm and thats the average user speed so I don’t see how this is faster than iphone’s standard texting..a speed demon swyper vs an iphone speed demon texter like me, I know he won’t stand a chance, I believe is a great technology don’t get me wrong but labeling “a faster way to text ” is misleading and false advertising

  • kazper333

    True I’m a txt speed demon, I have currently 65wpm on itextspeed idk many who can type faster than me, mayb one of my friends who is the ultimate gossip queen and has unlmitd plans on evrythin and has a 75wpm on her sidekick 09 which i think is cheating since she had that phone since it came out, we have tried to beat her but she’s just a master txtr, can any1 here txt faster than her, not any1 I know can, she claims she could txt much faster and i believe her

  • Frouza

    I beat the swype with my ipod touch :) The guy is just a retard with an iphone.

  • gremioXD

    The iPhone guy types slow as hail!

  • NoWaiSoLame

    nobody on earth swypes with their index finger or types with both thumbs. completely pointless vid

  • NoWaiSoLame

    nobody on earth swypes with their index finger.

  • Yoshi53131

    of course they made the guy typing on an iphone type much slower! look up other vids and see!

  • Anonymouslives

    @IDontHaveInspiration me too

  • C3M2010

    I think Swype is the best keybord on this moment. I’ using it on my Acer Liquid Metal!!

  • jboram1

    The iphone typer would be faster if he was holding the phone. The swyper is using his index finger, that would be really hard to do in a normal situation!

  • w0tttt

    damn that iphone guy is very slow, he’s about 1/3 of the speed of a normal iphone user.

  • w0tttt

    @AkimboNation ok cool dude.

  • ritam99

    you’re not supposed to press the spacebar! this guy is a fool.

  • xyugi0007

    @ibtakeslives noooo, someone who can think critically instead of being a mindless zombie and fighting over who’s phone has the most sales!? DELETE YOUR COMMENT COMMUNIST.

  • IDontHaveInspiration

    1. The guy on the iPhone isn’t in landscape mode.2. He is typing slow as hell.I did this in landscape mode and I was faster then the guy that used swype

  • ryandhaley2

    I beat it on my samsung rugby flip phone.. its not even made for texting.

  • xrlabs

    @JustMichael1994 relax, we have tapping too on samsung ;) btw i prefer it, too

  • nonikhanna1

    I LOVE IT ON MY N8!!!

  • AkimboNation

    i got swype on my evo 4g

  • ibtakeslives

    i just beat this video on my iPhone pretty easily. I’m not saying Swype isn’t faster, it’s just that whatever you’re used to is what you’re going to be fast at. I’ll even go so far as to say that someone who is good at typing at Swype is probably somewhat faster than someone who is typing on the IPhone, but that doesn’t mean that you are going to automatically type faster when you use Swype.

  • bigbuckingchicken

    I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE SWYPE <3

  • JustMichael1994

    Dont say that im an iPhone Fanboy but in my opinoin are both ways good to use, of course you must get used to swype but since i dont have an android phone i prefer just tapping text in (:

  • mrnicekevin

    the guy on the iPhone types really slow, but swype is still cool

  • MakingxMagic

    Why isn’t swype on the iphone yet. I’ve been waiting on the “BITCH” since last June.

  • elminsster80

    He person typing on the iPhone is slow as hell.

  • johnathon124

    @drofheim which was later broken by a guy on an iPhone. twice.

  • johnathon124

    @PontiusTheBarbarian what do you mean? swype is pretty accurate for me.

  • johnathon124

    @bladenjazz and what if it was turned off? then it wont.

  • yukimushu

    I’m not a particularly fast texter, but even so – since ditching my iPhone for an Android powered phone and getting Swype I’m texting loads faster. Swype is pretty awesome.

  • l3aDl3w0i

    i would say that if you are typing landscape its alot faster IMO

  • KippTheKidd

    Not fair. The person typing in Swype (or iPhone for that matter) did not have a chance to record their typing as many times as it took to beat you, so how would it be a fair contest for you to do it to them?

  • HotSo0P

    Yeah, I can beat Skype using one finger on my iPod Touch. These chumps are slow.

  • bladenjazz

    Apparently this guy doesn’t know his iPhone, double space will give you a period, much faster than hitting the symbol key.

  • PontiusTheBarbarian

    having a galaxy s and an iphone i can say these things……i could make the guy look like a fool…..hes typing at a ridiculously slow rate……and swype is damn sure not that accurate

  • FoodOnCrack

    and if you suck with swype, you can turn it off and use regular qwerty!

  • xkflash

    this has got the be the WORST comparison ever lol. and iLying: I’m pretty sure iPhone isn’t based on business work

  • SleepinDevilX

    @rydewnd2 That Swype typist is shit. I type at least thrice as fast as that.Go Q_Q in the corner iFanBoy. The iPhone typer is typing quite damn fast, face it the Swype method is just way better. Can’t wait to get off my stupid iPhone contract and move onto the Androids.

  • Ibodnano

    Nokia and samsung fund this swype project, my nokia n97mini can already do swyping:)

  • Danjumps

    if iPhone & apple weren’t so totally controlling you’d be allowed swype or swiftkey on apple products. and thats why android is better – just putting it out there.

  • UltramanTiga333

    Both of them are slow as hell.Swype user was as slow as the iPHone user(at the same pace) but the one on the left was using SWYPE so it looked like he did it faster.

  • Robert

    Interesting, as far as I know beside Swype and Shapewriter there is a third actor with a similar product called SlideIT
    http://mobiletextinput.com/