Swype beta brings Dragon voice control, smarter language
updated 03:05 pm EST, Sun December 25, 2011
Swype beta for Android taps Nuance for help
A new Swype beta this week has given the Android keyboard add-on its first voice recognition. Nuance's Dragon Dictation now lets users speak what they want to say without having to either switch to Google's on-screen keyboard or live with its limitations. The interface comes through a simple keyboard shortcut and doesn't replace the signature Swype interface.
Also new is an improved language modelling system. Swype now recognizes the context for what's being entered based on the language, making it better-suited to the context. The system is adaptive and gets better the more words it's asked to complete.
Only the five major European languages, English, Fresh, Italian, German, and Spanish, support language modelling. Those in other areas now have an option to download one of the over 50 languages directly from Swype's settings instead of loading it separately.
The app remains free, but it now needs at least Android 2.0. Phones on Android 1.6 or earlier are no longer supported with Swype, and the resolution now has to be larger than 240x400 to work.
