Swype

Swype
Developer(s)Nuance (Microsoft)
Initial releaseDecember 2, 2009 (2009-12-02)
Final release
Android
1.6.20 (November 19, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-11-19)[1]) [±]
Operating systemAndroid 2.2 and later, Bada, MeeGo, Symbian, Windows 7, Windows Mobile, iOS 8 and later
TypeVirtual keyboard, speech recognition
LicenseProprietary

Swype was a virtual keyboard for touchscreen smartphones and tablets originally developed by Swype Inc.,[2] founded in 2002, where the user enters words by sliding a finger or stylus from the first letter of a word to its last letter, lifting only between words.[3] It uses error-correction algorithms and a language model to guess the intended word. It also includes a predictive text system, handwriting and speech recognition support. Swype was first commercially available on the Samsung Omnia II running Windows Mobile,[4] and was originally pre-loaded on specific devices.

In October 2011, Swype Inc. was acquired by Nuance Communications where the company continued its development and implemented its speech recognition algorithm, Dragon Dictation.[5]

In February 2018, Nuance announced that it had stopped development on the app and that no further updates will be made to it.[6] The Android app was pulled from the Play Store. The iOS app was also pulled from the App Store. The trial version of Swype is not visible anymore for users in Play Store except users who have installed the app by accessing it in the installed apps part of the Play Store. Cloud features of the paid version such as "Backup&Sync" no longer function, and Nuance Communications has refused to issue refunds to customers who have purchased the app and can no longer reinstall it.

  1. ^ "Swype - Android Apps on Google Play". Retrieved 23 Jan 2014.
  2. ^ "Swype Home Page". SwypeInc.com. Archived from the original on 2008-09-10. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
  3. ^ "Swype product page". SwypeInc.com. Archived from the original on 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
  4. ^ "First Swype-enabled smartphone coming to Verizon in the Omnia II". Geek.com. 2009-11-24. Archived from the original on 2009-11-28. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  5. ^ Arrington, Michael (2011-10-06). "Nuance To Acquire Swype For $100+ Million « Uncrunched". Uncrunched.com. Archived from the original on 2013-04-28. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
  6. ^ "Swype Keyboard now discontinued". GSM Arena. February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.