Software Magic

I got me a new phone last week (huzzah!), a Samsung Galaxy S something +. It looks and works a bit like an iPhone, and there are several court cases going on around the world where Apple is claiming the same thing. Anyway, the new phone is handsome, works very well and I'm liking it a lot.

When I first switched it on, it ran through a bunch of setup things, and when I got to the keyboard bit, it said 'do you want the regular on-screen keyboard, or do you want Swype?' Well, I'd never heard of Swype, so I had a look at the mini-tutorial, and decided to give it a go.

If you've never heard of it either, you should check it out (if it's not pre-installed on your smartphone, you can get it as an app for iPhone, Android and Blackberry). Basically what it is is a new way of inputting text. Instead of hunting and pecking at individual letters, you just drag your finger across the keyboard, making sure you start with the right initial letter and end on the last one, and wiggle across the ones in between. It sounds deeply improbable, but it actually works incredibly well. It supports a reasonable range of languages, and I was delighted when I switched to Spanish and input 'empadronomiento' and it got it first time. Astounding stuff!