

Swype VP confirms talks with Apple on revolutionary keyboard technology - agodoy
http://9to5mac.com/2013/04/26/swype-vp-confirms-talks-with-apple-on-revolutionary-keyboard-technology/

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HorizonXP
I haven't used Swype, but I have been using the equivalent keyboard on Android
4.2 on my Galaxy Nexus, while I wait for my BlackBerry Z10 LE.

Honestly, I haven't used a better keyboard than what's on BlackBerry 10.
Keyboards on Android and iOS are a pain to use in comparison. The swiping
keyboard on 4.2 is pretty good, but still not the same. Everyone lives with it
because there isn't a better alternative. However, keyboards and input methods
are a big part of our experience with computing devices.

And to be frank, Android is the only ecosystem where such innovation can
occur. Due to the platform choices of Apple, Microsoft, and BlackBerry, you
can't implement a meaningful keyboard alternative, so no one bothers trying.
The fact that Swype is an Android-based product being pitched to Apple
highlights this issue.

~~~
tracker1
I do think swype was marginally better than the Google gesture input. Though
not enough that I've tried getting it on my N4. I think it could work well for
Apple.

Of course I'm not likely to ever buy an iPhone or BB device.

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StavrosK
Is Swype still relevant? It was great when it launched, but it wasn't
available in the Play store until, what, ten days ago? It was available in
Samsung phones, but nothing else that I'm aware of.

As far as I can see, nobody was actually able to use Swype, apart from people
who got a Samsung phone with it preinstalled. Almost every single keyboard,
the stock Android keyboard included, has this technology by now.

How come people are still talking about Swype?

~~~
incision
_> As far as I can see, nobody was actually able to use Swype, apart from
people who got a Samsung phone with it preinstalled._

Swype Beta has been available since 2010 and could be installed on anything as
far as I know. It required signing up via email and downloading an APK though.
I'm not sure why they didn't publicize it more.

 _> How come people are still talking about Swype?_

In my opinion, it's far superior to the native Android implementation and
Swiftkey.

Swiftkey Flow is a bit more responsive than Swype and I switched to it for a
while to see if it could unseat Swype as my prime keyboard, but I eventually
found major problems with its accuracy and predictions. I should have kept a
list, there were certain words that proved impossible to enter to matter how
precise the input. I also found that it occasionally (often enough to be
irritating) refused to function as a "swipable" keyboard.

The Android keyboard is pretty bare bones relative to both Swiftkey Flow and
Swype.

Both the Android keyboard and Swiftkey were lacking some very useful shortcuts
present Swype for launching a numberic keypad, capitalization and text
selection/manipulation.

~~~
StavrosK
I agree with you, it just seems to me that Swype was very... unorthodox in its
development. They spent years not publicizing it, the development process was
opaque (not that SwiftKey is more open), etc.

SwiftKey definitely has its flaws too. There are some persistent bugs that
just don't get fixed. I find it very odd that companies with products so
popular act as if they're abandoned.

~~~
incision
I'm as puzzled as you are about _exactly_ the same things.

I think it says a lot that I was genuinely surprised when Swype finally showed
up on Play. I'd written it off as forever sideloaded and not totally
compatible. Likewise, I have no expectation of niggling bugs in SwiftKey ever
being fixed.

As I recall, both Swype and Swiftkey annoyingly expired their beta packages
from time to time and both used confusing non/not-quite mobile pages for sign
up and to download updates.

Baffling.

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makeramen
Swype has had iOS demos since they launched. The source of this article
doesn't prove anything other than that Apple and Swype have talked in the
past, which is only logical.

Sounds like they couldn't come to any agreement though. From the comments in
the reddit post the VP (and probably most people at Swype) just want an Apple
deal and it's Apple that won't go through with it.

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dmix
Never had a good experience using Swype on Android.

I much prefer SwiftKey on my samsung S3: <http://www.swiftkey.net/>

