Swype

Last updated
Swype
Developer(s) Nuance (Microsoft)
Initial releaseDecember 2, 2009 (2009-12-02)
Final release
Android
1.6.20 (November 19, 2014;9 years ago (2014-11-19) [1] ) [±]
Operating system Android 2.2 and later, Bada, MeeGo, Symbian, Windows 7, Windows Mobile, iOS 8 and later
Type Virtual keyboard, speech recognition
License Proprietary

Swype was a virtual keyboard for touchscreen smartphones and tablets originally developed by Swype Inc., [2] founded in 2002, where the user enters words by sliding a finger or stylus from the first letter of a word to its last letter, lifting only between words. [3] It uses error-correction algorithms and a language model to guess the intended word. It also includes a predictive text system, handwriting and speech recognition support. Swype was first commercially available on the Samsung Omnia II running Windows Mobile, [4] and was originally pre-loaded on specific devices.

Contents

In October 2011, Swype Inc. was acquired by Nuance Communications where the company continued its development and implemented its speech recognition algorithm, Dragon Dictation. [5]

In February 2018, Nuance announced that it had stopped development on the app and that no further updates will be made to it. [6] The Android app was pulled from the Play Store. The iOS app was also pulled from the App Store. The trial version of Swype is not visible anymore for users in Play Store except users who have installed the app by accessing it in the installed apps part of the Play Store. Cloud features of the paid version such as "Backup&Sync" no longer function, and Nuance Communications has refused to issue refunds to customers who have purchased the app and can no longer reinstall it.

Software

Swype consists of three major components that contribute to its accuracy and speed: an input path analyzer, word search engine with corresponding database, and a manufacturer customizable interface. [3]

The creators of Swype predict that users will achieve over 50 words per minute, with the chief technical officer (CTO) and founder Cliff Kushler claiming to have reached 55 words per minute. [7] [8] On 22 March 2010, a Swype employee by the name of Franklin Page achieved a new Guinness World Record of 35.54 seconds for the fastest text message on a touchscreen mobile phone using Swype on the Samsung i8000, [9] [10] and reportedly improved on 22 August of the same year to 25.94 using a Samsung Galaxy S. [11] The Guinness world record text message consists of 160 characters in 25 words and was at that time typed in 25.94 seconds, which corresponds to a speed of nearly 58 words per minute, or 370 characters per minute. However, it has since been bettered by the Fleksy app on an Android phone to 18.19 seconds in 2014. [12]

As of March 2018, Swype supports the following languages: [13]

KeyboardHandwriting Dragon Dictation
Afrikaans Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Albanian Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Arabic Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Armenian Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Azerbaijani Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Basque Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Belarusian Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Bosnian Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Bulgarian Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Burmese Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Burmese (Zawgyi font) Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Catalan Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Chinese (CN, TW, HK)Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Croatian Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Czech Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Danish Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Dutch (BE)Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Dutch Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
English Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
English (US)Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Estonian Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Farsi Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Finnish Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
French (FR, CA, CH)Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Galician Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Georgian Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
German Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
German (CH)Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Greek Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Gujarati Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Hebrew Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Hindi Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgYes check.svg
Hinglish Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgYes check.svg
Hungarian Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Icelandic Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Indonesian Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Irish Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Italian Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Italian (CH)Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Japanese Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Javanese Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Kannada Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Kazakh Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Khmer Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Korean Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Latvian Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Lithuanian Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Macedonian Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Malay Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Malayalam Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Marathi Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Norwegian Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Polish Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Portuguese (BR, PT)Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Romanian Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Russian Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Serbian Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Sesotho Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Sinhala Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Slovak Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Slovenian Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Spanish Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Sundanese Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Swahili Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Swedish Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Tagalog Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Tamil Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Telugu Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Thai Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Turkish Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Ukrainian Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Urdu Yes check.svgYes check.svgDark Red x.svg
Vietnamese Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgYes check.svg
Xhosa Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg
Zulu Yes check.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svg

Swype was listed among Time magazine's 50 Best Android Applications for 2013. [14]

Availability

In February 2018, the Android app was pulled from the Play Store. The iOS app was also pulled from the App Store.

Starting from 2018, users need to use a 3rd party service to download the full version of Swype.

In late February 2018, the full version of Swype was discontinued. The trial version of Swype is hidden from the Play Store and App Store. The Swype website was also discontinued and has become a redirect page to XT9 Smart Input.

In a statement emailed to The Verge , Nuance Communications said it would discontinue support of the Swype keyboard app and instead focus on other products. "The core technology behind Swype will continue to be utilized and improved upon across other Nuance offerings—and integrated into our broader AI-powered solutions—most notably in Android-based keyboard solutions for our automotive customers," the company said.

See also

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References

  1. "Swype - Android Apps on Google Play" . Retrieved 23 Jan 2014.
  2. "Swype Home Page". SwypeInc.com. Archived from the original on 2008-09-10. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
  3. 1 2 "Swype product page". SwypeInc.com. Archived from the original on 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
  4. "First Swype-enabled smartphone coming to Verizon in the Omnia II". Geek.com. 2009-11-24. Archived from the original on 2009-11-28. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  5. Arrington, Michael (2011-10-06). "Nuance To Acquire Swype For $100+ Million « Uncrunched". Uncrunched.com. Archived from the original on 2013-04-28. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
  6. "Swype Keyboard now discontinued". GSM Arena. February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  7. "Tech Crunch 50 Swype Presentation". Blip.tv. Archived from the original on 2008-10-22. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
  8. Rafe Needleman, Move over T9, here comes Swype Archived 2011-05-10 at the Wayback Machine , CNet News, 9 September 2008
  9. "Samsung Mobile And Swype Set New Guinness World Record" (Press release). Samsung USA. March 22, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-03-26. Retrieved July 14, 2010.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. "Swype user sets Guinness World Record for texting speed" (Press release). TechCrunch. March 22, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  11. "Salford woman makes bid for fastest text title". BBC News. August 24, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  12. "Teen Breaks Record for Fastest Text". CNN News. May 15, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  13. "Swype | Supported Languages". Archived from the original on 19 May 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  14. Jared Newman (2013-07-01). "50 Best Android Apps for 2013". Time . Retrieved June 30, 2013.