I have been waiting for Symbian version of Swype since it was first launched. And few days back Nokia Beta Labs introduced Swype beta version for Nokia S60 5th Edition running handset, my prayers answered! After reading about Swype on Andriod and other devices, i had high expectations from this software but i was let down when i gave it a try on my Nokia 5230.
Before i begin my review, check out what Swype offers over and above the regular virtual QWERTY keyboard as provided my Nokia:
- Auto-Spacing
- Auto-Capitalization
- Auto Spelling Correction
- Automatic Help
- Double Tap Editing
- Instant access to Symbols, Numbers and Editing functions
- 65,000-word Learning Dictionary, and more!
Swype Review
The installation size is hefty with Swype taking approximately 10 MB of space and since i installed it on phone memory (to get maximum performance), the already depleting phone memory suffered a lot. Once installed you are required to restart your device to use Swype instead of the default Nokia keypad, similar to Dasur SlideIt. Upon doing so, using Swype is easy in-fact you don’t need to do anything else just the regular tap on the screen to bring out the Swype keyboard (in portrait or landscape mode). Swype replaces the default virtual keyboard in landscape mode and allows you to use mini virtual keyboard in portrait mode or the regular (default) typing pad. As far as the flexibility of Swype is concerned, it allows you to edit almost all the settings including the Ability to turn off the word prediction, Vibration on key presses (Turn it off as the vibration is long), Auto spacing, auto capitalization, word choice windows, etc, the only settings that i couldn’t make use of was Speed vs Accuracy (i wanted low accuracy and high speed but for some reason it didn’t work).
Speed was the main reason why i un-installed it soon after, i felt comfortable with Nokia’s default QWERTY keyboard even though it doesn’t offer word recommendation but for me speed is more important. Secondly, other than speed, it was the mini QWERTY keyboard that was yet another reason for me to ditch this mobile application. The portrait mode QWERTY is so much cramped up that it is difficult to tap keys with your Index finger (forget the thumb) and using stylus isn’t the most speedy way to write. To sum up, i believe this application has the potential to make its mark in the upcoming phone models of Nokia and can be a “must have” application provided they address the issues of Speed and Mini-QWERTY in the upcoming releases.
Swype is compatible with Nokia 5800, Nokia 5230, Nokia X6 (no portrait mini-qwerty for firmware v21.0.004), Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini and Nokia C6. You can download the latest version of Swype (for the time being) from Nokia Beta Labs here.
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