A beta version of Swype’s very-excellent software keyboard interface has been made available to Android users for a limited time—“probably a few days”—according to the company’s website.
Swype takes the traditional on-screen keyboard model and tweaks it a bit to allow “one continuous finger or stylus motion” instead of the tried-and-true method of poking your grubby fingers at little boxes. The result, according to the company, is the ability to enter text “at over 50 words per minute.”
The software has until now only been preloaded on certain models of phones but this freely available beta version opens it up to just about anyone with an Android device. If you haven’t tried it, you might as well take it for a spin. You’ll have to initiate the download directly through Swype’s site, so make sure you register for it with an e-mail address you can access on your phone.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnQts9NUnL4]
Check out the above video to see Swype in action.
(More on Techland: Popularity of Texting Edging Out Cell Phone Calls)