By It’s been a long, but pleasant, ride. After months of private and public testing and swyping, Swype’s apparently just about ready to come out of beta, according to sources of Droid-Life’s. This final pre-release update will fix a lot issues including increased accuracy in the word selection algorithm and should do away with any installation problems.
We don’t know when we’ll see this update – nor do we know what else has been fixed – but we’ll be on the lookout. Hopefully this thing finally comes to the Android market for everyone to enjoy. It’ll be nice to get my friends out of my hair about using my beta login.
This came pre-loaded on my MyTouch. I have spent the majority of my time on SwiftKey. If they can this working better than the Beta on my phone I might give it another try.
I use this on my DX evey day. It works very well for me. Couldn’t even tell it’s beta.
Its in Beta? Have it on the Galaxy S and use it every time i text…works great!!!
Also, have in on my Galaxy S (Captivate) works like a charm for me….just wish they’d push froyo out….
I don’t understand how this can be going through final QA if it’s broken on about 50% of devices running Froyo. That seems more like alpha quality then RC or stable quality to me.
I’ve got Swype on my Samsung Galaxy S and it works pretty well. The main gripe is that on Swype when you want to write something with a double letter, you have to do a loop over the letter or double back over the letter. If you don’t do the loop when you are supposed to then sometimes it can work it out but other times it can’t. Shapewriter which is very similar doesn’t require this and seems to work out from the context so I wish Swype would do this too. One great idea would be to combine the technology of SwiftKey and Swype into one application. You have the speed of SwiftKey with it’s next word predictability and you have the speed of Swype when you need to write the word out. Hopefully the Swype devs are reading these comments :-)
I had no idea this was in beta. I bought a Droid X a few weeks ago as my first plunge into the smartphone ocean and Swype has been the only input method I’ve known. Love it, but I certainly won’t say no to an update that improves accuracy.
works fantastically for me. So well in fact I have no desire for my next phone to even have a physical keyboard!
Works like a dream on my Galaxy S. Fantastic piece of software.
Pleasant ride? Some of us had a buttcrack time trying to get an apk because of the closed beta, not to mention the frequent expiring…
I like Swype preloaded on my DX, but I recently started using the motorola multi touch keyboard and I love the word prediction and sensitivity . Glad I have the choice.
I use it constantly on my N1 and on my Archos 5IT and can’t stand to be without it. I use it every time I post. When I updated to Froyo I lost it for a few days and just about went nuts trying to get it back lol.
I would even PAY for it if I had to in order to keep it!
I didn’t know that it was a beta on my DX. I’m also curious if we (DX owners) will get it for free or if we will have to cough up some cash for letting us test it for them. I think it’s decent, but the word prediction is still quirky. I’d be curious to see what a refined version would bring.
So are they finally addressing the accuracy issues introduced in last month’s update? Swype went from being a pleasure to use, to being a headache to use thanks to the September update.
I enjoy my Swype, even with its problems. The only thing I would change is: include a voice button so I can talk to the phone…
Hey folks, Community Relations Specialist for Swype here…
Just an FYI this article has got it a bit wrong. The upcoming beta release is NOT a “final beta before full launch.” In fact, for this very reason, we’re thinking of switching the name of our beta program to something more along the lines of “technical preview.” You see, our beta isn’t a “get ready for the final release” beta. We already have the full version of Swype available pre-installed on several of the Android devices on the market (Droid X, Galaxy S, MyTouchSlide to name just a few). Instead, it’s more like a “check out some bleeding edge code, and help us track bugs” type beta.
Sorry for the confusion, folks. The Droid-Life article is a bit unclear, but it’s this particular beta update that’s going through the last stages of QA.
Thanks!
So… when can us peasants without said phones that include Swype get our grubby mitts on said software?
I wondered why a beta keyboard was pre-loaded on my phone! At any rate, my works really well. I use it all the time, and I like doing the loops for the double letters, its fun. :-)
I found an .apk on the nets somewhere and have installed and been using it nicely on my Evo 4G for a while now… works great with just a tiny few bugs… come on guys, don’t be stingy… release it to the world of Android users…
Is it possible to have Skype be active, _except_ for the unlock screen? at unlock time, I want a very reliable way to get through.
Thanks
How can you say this has been pleasant? Release the damn thing already. It’s been a million years of betas (public and private) with it being released in ROM on some phones a long time ago. So why the long delays? Get it out there, already. For those of us who do beta test, it expires every other day (OK, slight exaggeration). It’s great, but it’s been a painful journey, really.
Dave: the “final” version is already “released”, swype inc is just only selling it through manufacturers.
they have a setup you usually don’t see in commercial software.
a “stable” line, which is paid for by manufacturers and can be considered “final”.
and an “unstable” line which is free, and will contain experimental updates which might not work at all.
both will remain available, and will keep receiving updates.
Finally, maybe now I will be able to get this thing. I had the beta and it expired a long time ago. I kept trying to get it reinstalled but it always expires and messes up. I would gladly pay $5 for this, I don’t see why they didn’t put it on the market a long time ago.
I had a hacked version for the Htc Incredible. I hope they release it for my phone or else I will get a phone that has it. YES this is that awesome!
The reason that Swype isn’t coming to the Android market, and never will, is because it’s far more lucrative for them to fleece users and manufacturers by only allowing it to run on a handful of devices on which it’s preinstalled. Once the beta ends, anyone without a Galaxy S phone wanting to use Swype will essentially be screwed. Swype’s business model involves making you but a new phone, and in the future that’s exactly what you’ll have to do if you want to use their software.