Swype is a next-gen virtual keyboard that comes pre-installed on the Samsung Galaxy S. It gets rid of the constant tap-tap-tap of the standard virtual keyboard in favour of a more louche approach. You don’t even need to take a finger off the screen between letters. Find out hot to become a Swype pro here.
The hows and the whys
When using the Samsung Galaxy S’s Swype keyboard, instead of tapping each virtual key, you draw a path between the letters in your word and Swype judges which letters you landed on by assessing your movements. Why should you care? Because it’s the fastest way to type on a touchscreen. Fact.
In March 2010, a new Guinness World Record was set for touchscreen typing, by Swype intern Franklin Page. He managed to input 160 characters in just 35.5 seconds using Swype – positively smashing the previous record of 40.9 seconds.
Baby steps
Don’t expect to reach these speeds as soon as you get your fingers on the Swype keyboard though – there’s a learning curve involved. Thankfully, the Samsung Galaxy S gives you enough Swype training wheels to turn this virtual keyboard into an 18-wheeler.
By default, Swype takes into account that you’re likely to be less than entirely accurate with your touchscreen paths. The key to upping your accuracy is to only move your thumb when drawing your path – assuming that’s the digit you’re Swyping with. Thanks to the Samsung Galaxy S’s massive 4-inch screen, this can be harder than it sounds, but you’ll soon get into the Swype swing.
Learning how to get really fast at Swype tripping isn’t entirely unlike learning to touch type – it’s all about training your muscle memory so your thumb knows where to go without even looking at the screen. Mostly, this just involves using Swype whenever possible, but it’s important to take those training wheels off before too long.
Going pro
Swype is hugely customisable – you tweak its options from within the Locale and Text submenu within the main Settings menu. These options include auto spacing, auto capitalisation, word prediction and audio feedback, but it’s the subtler variables that will increase your Swype powers.
You can determine precisely how long the Swype path and word choice window pop up for, and how quickly Swype responds to your inputs. Cut these down and you’re speeding Swype up. Do this too early and Swype may end up frustrating, but tweaking these settings will be how Franklin Page set the Guinness World record with this keyboard.
A helping hand
The trickiest part of Swype is the first few minutes you spend using it, as your fingers start to get used to the feel of this new virtual keyboard. The Samsung Galaxy S is on-hand to help though, with a built-in, interactive Swype tutorial available from within the Settings menu.
Check out the Samsung Galaxy S in action…
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