SwiftKey Challenges Swype With New Predictive Android Keyboard
SwiftKey today previewed a beta version of its new Android keyboard that will predict what you want to type and allows for gesture-based typing.
SwiftKey Flow – open soon in beta – allows the user to transcribe messages without lifting a finger. Specifically, it offers real-time prediction as you type, similar to the meme-tastic iOS auto correct.
But SwiftKey Flow goes one step further to let you type without ever lifting your finger from the screen. Simply swipe your finger across the keyboard to each different letter and let go as soon as the desired word is predicted.
SwiftyKey rival Swype offers a similar service.
"This means you can seamlessly switch between the two as you please, 'flowing' a quick text if you only have one hand free, or tapping out a longer note with both thumbs at speed," CMO Joe Braidwood wrote in a blog post.
Braidwood boasted about SwiftKey's power of prediction, saying that "you may not even have to type at all for some words."
The app's claim to fame is that it will boost smartphone typing speed by learning users' typing style and capturing context clues from across the Web. It even got an update that eliminates the need to hit the spacebar to type an entire sentence.
The beta version of SwiftKey Flow will be released soon, but interested Android users can register now to test it out. SwiftKey 3 Keyboard is now available for free in the Google Play store.