If you tried out the excellent (and unofficial) Swype beta for your Nexus One–the keyboard replacement that makes touch-typing much easier–you may be getting an annoying popup about how the Swype package you installed doesn’t match the screen size. I love Swype so much I’ve been putting up with the error for weeks, constantly dismissing it. Turns out a better version for N1 users kills the error. I uninstalled my error-prone version and installed this one yesterday; happily there are no more errors.
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10 Comments
jeffh
What’s the difference between an unofficial beta being distributed by third parties and pirated software? Does the company behind Swype view people using it on unsupported devices as beta testers or pirates?
beyond-hostile.com/
I can’t tell you how much I love you for this post. The error message version would crash out almost every bar code reader app, and maybe others too.
@jeffh interesting question
TheSwypeTeam
Hi everyone,
We would like to provide an update regarding the unauthorized distribution of our Swype software for the Android platform. We realize that many sites are now distributing this software and several are providing installation instructions.
We are glad that you like Swype, but we did not release or leak it for distribution and do not currently support any downloadable versions.
There are now two devices that ship with the Swype keyboard pre-installed: the Verizon Samsung Omnia II on Windows Mobile and, more recently, the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G. We’re very excited about these releases, and there will be a number of new device launches in the near future. Because our partners are highly sensitive about their product releases, we really cannot say anything further. But a lot of work goes into making sure that Swype integrates perfectly with each device we release and by comparison, any leaked or hacked version of our software will work improperly or not at all (as you’ve noticed).
One might ask why we don’t just release it ourselves and save everyone the hassle? The reason is that we have spent seven years building Swype and our business model at present is OEM licensing. We do plan to get to direct-to-consumer distribution, but it is a different sort of business with unique challenges and thus it is hard to say when.
So, in answer to your question, Jeff, we do not support this so-called “beta” and ask that you refrain from using any downloadable version of Swype. Thank you for being respectful of our legal stance in this matter.
Stay tuned (and provide feedback) on our forum at http://www.swype.com.
Regards,
The Swype Team
Our lawyer has asked us to remind everyone that Swype does not explicitly or implicitly condone the unauthorized copying and distribution of the Swype software and to inform you that the Swype software is proprietary to Swype, Inc., is the copyrighted work of Swype, Inc., and Swype, Inc. has and always will reserve all of its rights.
Michael Burton
Just heard about this on TWIG. I have a droid, and wow, swype is really fantastic for data entry. As someone who tends to jump in, I appreciate your advice for going completely through the tutorial. It’s funny – after swyping on my droid for the last fifteen minuts, I really want to do the same thing on my “real” keyboard now, too! I think that’s a sign of a good interface…
evanw
I too enjoyed Swype but the fact that it is unofficially released (therefore not receiving bugfixes and updates) was quite problematic.
If you liked Swype, I’d highly recommend checking out ShapeWriter which is available in the Android Market. It’s free (used to be paid, I think) and does exactly the same thing Swype does only with a slightly different keyboard layout (and you don’t need to draw loops on duplicate letters).
Overall a more refined program – just by the nature of being officially released – and you get the benefit of receiving updates.
Hope that helps!
Evan
evanw
I should also mention that ShapeWriter has great auto-capitalization and punctuation/spacing which seemed to be not working properly in Swype.
lungcookie
The Masses: “This is awesome! Best thing since sliced bread! Where can I buy it?”
Developer: “Sorry, that’s not our businesses model. Please go away.”
The Masses: “But, we want to give you money for it and everything. Really. It’s great!”
Developer: “Nope. You can’t have it, not at any price. Selling our product is not our business model.”
The Masses: “Um, okaaaay…”
lungcookie
…the important last bit of my post seems to have been chopped off:
The Masses: “Um, okaaaay…” (PIRATES THE APP)
Regis Komperda
When I use Swype it appears as though I no longer have the option to do voice input as that icon is not on the keyboard anymore. Is there another way to do voice input besides tapping on the text box? I’d like to use Swype, but I don’t want to sacrifice the voice input on the Nexus.
Thanks!
kaikanpanda
If you long press and switch back to the Android Keyboard you can then swipe across the keys to trigger the voice input.
The nice thing about doing this is you also get your comma back.
I wish the swipe worked in swype though.