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One of the best keyboard applications – at least in our opinion – is set to become a whole lot better with predictive text, voice dictation and plenty more as part of a major overhaul.
We’re talking about Swype of course, which has just been updated and is now available for Android users to download and test as a beta from beta.swype.com. You can head to that site via your smartphone or tablet’s browser and register to test it, although it may not work with every Android device.
So what’s new with Swype? Well, the company who owns the app, Nuance, has added another of its software tools to the app to make typing hands-free. Dragon speech recognition has been added in, and users will see the Dragon symbol to the right of the space bar. Touching this button will allow Swype to listen as you dictate your message, which will come in pretty handy when driving.
Another major feature addition is XT9, which adds a predictive typing method rather than the traditional method that gave Swype its name. Coupled with Swype’s own inbuilt dictionary, users can tap on individual letters to start building a word, and suggestions will appear above the keyboard to save you time. After a short while using the app it will be able to predict what you’re typing faster and more accurately by learning how you type – very clever stuff.
Words can be added to your Swype dictionary from within a multitude of apps on your device, including email, browser and messages, of course. This helps build up a dictionary to make the XT9 predictive typing faster and more accurate.
This new version will land on devices in the near future as an update, but if you’re eager to try it out you can right now by visiting beta.swype.com and registering your interest.
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.
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