Misc

Swype Beta for Android Gets an Update

33

Swype LogoGreat news for those who were lucky enough to get into the Swype beta before open registration was closed, a new version of the swipe-to-type QWERTY software keyboard is now available. The update provides a few improvements and a slew of bug fixes that gets Swype up to date for newer Android phones. Ever since the last beta update, Android 2.0 users would receive “Limited Functionality” errors when rebooting their phone. That glaring bug has been erradicated, as well as a few other less intrusive hiccups in the software.

A big part of the update also focuses on imrpoving the intuitive use of Swype, including auto apostrophes for contractions such as ‘won’t’ and ‘can’t’ and smarter handling of text input fields to keep passwords out of the user defined dictionary and reduce auto-spacing for entry of URLs and e-mail addresses.

If you are currently participating in the beta, your current version of Swype will soon expire and require that you update. You will need to first uninstall both Swype and the Swype Installer before requesting an e-mail to be sent to your phone containing a link to the updated installer file. If you missed out on the beta, well you really are missing out. That being said, there is still no word on when we may see an official release into the Android Market (though the Samsung Galaxy S and a few other phones are coming with Swype out of the box).

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33 Comments

  1. Be warned: I just tried to update it and I now get “The Swype package you installed is configured for another device and will operate with limited functionality.

    Please contact Swype about this issue.”

    I’m using a Motorola Droid

  2. About time, im going to log in right now to check this out

  3. Bryan,try switching to Android Keyboard and switch back to Swype. Have that bug on my G1(2.1),this fixes it 95% of the time.

  4. This exclusivity is BS! It can get taken out of beta and we all know that. If it is such a great product (which it is), SWYPE trying to “Flagship” on exclusive phones is a lame approach. If your going to spend the money to make a commercial; then make sure the product is available to all douche’s.

  5. Have they got it working on myTouch 3g yet?

  6. i’ve been waiting for this cuz ever since i got 2.1 i could never really get it back installed on my moment

  7. I keep getting the error “The Swype Beta is not available for this phone’s screen size.” SMH

  8. Can someone leak this already. I am using the 5612 beta and it feels solid to me. Seems really dumb for Swype to keep this thing in beta when for the most part it works great.

  9. Using using Samsung Moment by the way

  10. Swype is a really great keyboard but hey really need to add a voice to text button which I do not see as part of this release. Google’s voice to text feature us way to handy to give up.

  11. I got into the swype beta but it kept giving me a corrupt apk file when I tried to download it from my android browser. Oh well, at least I still have HTC IME.

  12. Can’t one just hunt down the apk which is bound to be floating around somewhere by now (right?) and just install it that way (I don’t believe this requires root, right?).
    .
    Please correct me if I’m wrong, b/c I don’t actually have any experience with Android yet: I’m just an avid follower.

  13. So for the rest of us, expect an .apk in the next few days. Total bozos for not releasing it on the market, by making it exclusive (which would be an even bigger idiot move on the part of whatever manufacturer goes along with it) they are just going to encourage piracy even more.

  14. I found the beta version on the web and wasn’t part of the official party…I love Swype though, it’s a great idea and a natural fluid movement.

  15. I’ve never seen a company so reluctant to sell a product to customers standing in line to give them money. I don’t buy many software products. I choose carefully. I’m ready to pay for this one but they won’t take my money! Bad business model.

  16. Swype sounds good and I will try it out when it becomes fully functional, ie. no beta version. At the moment, I am using Shapewriter (Free, available via Android Market).

  17. Just got the email about that this afternoon before lunch and updated, verified that damn bug on reboot is gone, that thing was driving me insane. Seems to actually run a bit more fluidly now.

    However, this product is plenty functional enough to be on the market, I have no idea why it’s not.

  18. @Andrew: ‘I keep getting the error “The Swype Beta is not available for this phone’s screen size.”’

    I got that too when trying to use the old installer to download the update. You need to remove the installer, and re-download it from the link they sent you in your email.

    .. except, now that I did that and have the latest version, it doesn’t work at all. Now I have the same message as Bryan (I’m on a Moto Droid too) every time I try to use a text box. I used to get this message on startup, but it never seemed to affect anything.

    … further more, I can no longer swipe to input words – the box just flashes blue. This used to be fixable by switching the input to the default Android keyboard and back, but no longer.

    So rather than fixing the two major bugs I’d encountered previously, this update made them much, much worse. I don’t recommend it.

  19. Why not just find the .apk file online and install it on your phone that way? That’s what I did to get it on my Evo. It’s working just fine!

  20. Hi everyone. I’m the beta community relations rep for SwypeInc. If you’re having trouble with installation of the update, please check out our forums where many problems have already been addressed (http://swype.uservoice.com) or send an email to me at [email protected]. I’ll help you out if I can.

    We’re doing really well with this rollout, and hope to be able to add more users to the beta soon.

    Also, I’m obligated to say that we in no way condone the use of unlicensed versions of Swype. This isn’t about intellectual property as it is about keeping track and a modicum of control over what versions of our product exist in the population. If there’s a bug that needs fixing, we want to be able to fix it and make sure there aren’t broken versions in the wild. Patience will be rewarded ;)

  21. Also, now Italian is a supported language.

  22. Updated today. Works great. No longer have the error “This is configured for another device” when I turn on the phone, and having to un-select and reselect the swype keyboard.

  23. Brian: thanks for posting… I partially understand your call for patience but its still hard to swallow when plenty of apps (and the android os itself) are updated all the time with few concerns.

  24. Darren has it right. Swype is currently one of the best keyboard concepts and would make the company tons of money if they would put it for sale at a reasonable price (say $3.99). Eventually somebody else is going to come up with an even better idea and make this concept obsolete, leaving the company with tons of investment and no sales.

    The product is already working quite well. In fact, the only problems I ever have with it is the “The Swype package you installed is configured for another device” message from what I can only assume is some DRM protection mechanism. This is just another example of being far too controlling. This ridiculous DRM system is a waste of development time anyway since it keeps getting cracked.

  25. Got it working on my Sprint HTC Hero. I’ve been missing it since Android 2.1 upgrade. Glad it’s back!

  26. I got round the “The Swype Beta is not available for this phone’s screen size.” problem on a G1 by:
    Switch to android keyboard (long press on a text entry box and select input method)
    Removing the old swype installer (settings -> applications – > manager)
    Rebooting
    Installing the new installer

    I was worried the keyboard was making it confused about the screen size, so I entered my username and password using the android software keyboard.

  27. How does Swype compare to Shapewriter? The latter really needs an ‘enter password’ toggle….

  28. Just got the update and love it on my Nexus One

  29. So can someone please post the updated version that doesn’t give the error about the size being wrong!!! please!

    (please)

  30. Rich:

    Please make sure you’ve uninstalled both Swype and SwypeInstaller completely before trying to install the update. The error you’re receiving results from app-data from the old SwypeInstaller still existing after installing the new version.

    Thanks!

  31. how do i get swype on my EVO

  32. still desperately hoping to be added to beta list. :(

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