I’m a big fan of Swype. It’s a custom keyboard for Android phones – and now, with Swype 3, for tablets. The bad news for iOS users is that these sorts of apps are illegal in the Apple ecosystem because they replicate features that Apple themselves wish to provide (generally, in Apple’s eyes, to preserve the user experience).
The lure for Swype for me was the ability to type just by trailing my finger over the keyboard. This means it’s far easier to use the touchscreen from the back of a bouncy taxi. I don’t need to poke at keys. I’d indicate the shape of the word and Swype would work out what I wanted.
Then I uninstalled Swype. Why? It’s a fat beast of an app that can’t be moved to the SD card. My poor old HTC Desire is running out of memory; mainly due to Google Maps and Contacts and not much else. I barely have four apps that reside on the phone itself and yet am pestered by constant low memory problems. Swype, at about 12megs, had to go.
In a couple of months, when I get a newer phone (thanks to my o2 contract nearly being up), I’ll re-install Swype. Should I ever manage to land myself an Android tablet I’ll also rush to install Swype. This video shows why. It’s such an powerful keyboard. So bloomin’ useful!
