Swype, meet Shapewriter
“Hi this is Swype. A new way to type. Just make a reasonable effort to trace through the word and Swype will do the rest.”
Those are the words used as a challenge between the new version of Samsung Omnia II which will be released by Verizon in the US and the iPhone.
The video by TechCrunch shows you how using Swype technology, the typist (swypist?) can complete the challenge faster than using an iPhone. I call bunk. I can type faster on my iPhone than the person swyping on the Omnia II and so do many other people who are used to using the iPhone.
Oh and guess what, there’s an app for that. Shapewriter for the iPhone has had this ability since it was released in July 2008 with support for Email and SMS integration. Sure, it’s a separate app but it’s there and it’s patented by its developers. It’s also available for the Android platform since April 2008 and hey, it’s on Windows Mobile as well!
Erick Schonfeld doesn’t seem to know about Shapewriter but TechCrunch readers do. I’ve used ShapeWriter in the past but I couldn’t get used to it. This could be a reason to fire up the app and give it a new shot.
Yes, Swype was done by the people behind the T9 predictive text technology commonly found on most mobile phones in the last decade but the technology behind Shapewriter is around the same age which means it predates Swype.
So, Verizon, Samsung, Swype, there’s absolutely nothing new about your “new” way of texting.
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