Swype, the quirky way to input text whereby you draw a line from letter to letter when composing a word versus hunting and pecking for a particular key, is now available for Symbian^3 devices. There are only 2 right now, the Nokia N8 and C7, both started shipping recently, and both have identical specifications except for the camera and a few other minor niggles. Swype says that users should get around 40 words per minute with their input system, and we believe that since it was invented by the guy who also created the now famous T9 quick text entry system. Having used Swype on a Google Nexus One, I found the learning curve to be a bit too high for me, and now that I’m using an iPhone 4, I’m finding Apple’s word prediction to be leaps and bounds above anything Google can offer. Google knows this, and it’s why they bought BlindType earlier this month.
Anyway, to Swype or not to Swype? That is the question. Grab it from the Ovi Store and check it out for yourself, because really, no matter what I or any of the other guys at IntoMobile say about this new fangled text input system, only you know yourself and can judge whether or not you’re going to like it. Swype is here to stay as well, coming bundled with more and more devices, especially on those from Samsung, and with support for around 40 languages, this isn’t just something for Americans to play with.
Sadly you’ll have to redo your custom dictionary, so all your swear words, weird street names, and local slang need to be relearned. Oh and one more thing, the keyboard, for now, only works in landscape mode. Portrait support will come later, but no release date has been given.
[Via: All About Symbian]