Fast text entry for WM phones

If you look at some of my other post you know i have the Sprint Touch by HTC-

Recently a few similar programs have come to light…

SWYPE has been in the news because of it’s success at Techcrunch50.

Swype:

Swype provides a faster and easier way to input text on any screen. With one continuous finger or stylus motion across the screen keyboard, the patented technology enables users to input words faster and easier than other data input methods—at over 50 words per minute. The application is designed to work across a variety of devices such as phones, tablets, game consoles, kiosks, televisions, virtual screens and more.

However, now that it has gotten a lot of attention, many are saying it’s not an original idea at all. I found two other companies with similar ideas:

ShapeWriter:

ShapeWriter™ makes mobile phones, tablet computers, game pads, and all other touch-screen devices more useful – and user friendly.

The next step in the evolution of touch-screen technology has arrived. ShapeWriter makes using touch-screen devices easier, faster and more enjoyable than ever before. Ideally suited for touch-screen devices such as mobile phones, handhelds and tablet computers, ShapeWriter’s cutting-edge text input technology helps manufacturers of these devices create the most innovative new products for consumers.

ShapeWriter is already out on certain devices, however the only one i care about is WM6 since that is what my phone works off of, and no it’s not out yet on WM but i’m hoping sooner than later.

SlideIT:

SlideIT™ is a breakthrough, speedy and intuitive way to write text on touch screen enabled devices. Instead of the current method of tapping each letter on the screen, the user points to the first letter of a word and slides the stylus to the subsequent letters. .

When reaching the last letter of the word, the user simply lifts the stylus and the recognized word is automatically inserted together with a space after the word. Suitable for writing text in all applications, users love the feel of being able to write quickly and accurately. Speeds of more than 50 words per minute are achievable.

SlideIT is the only out of the three that is currently available for WM.  SlideIt offers a free demo and if available for purchase a low $40.

I’ve tried out Slide it and it’s pretty fun. My gripes about it include the half dome shaped keyboard (i know they do this in order to allow for the graffiti input to the left).  However i have found my speed on the keyboard increasing as i use it more and more.

Check back as i will be updating as i start to use some of these other keyboard options soon. Of course if you have tried any (of these or others) feel free to comment.

Touch ROM update?

I think it’s time for an update on what’s going on with  my phone, but first i would like to share the news that i heard that the long awaited official ROM update should be here TOMORROW!!

The ROM update is said to have:

• Sprint’s EV-DO Rev.A
• enhanced GPS functions
• Opera browser
• full on-screen QWERTY keyboard

We’ll see what happens tomorrow!

Touch my Buttons? (new ROM for Touch)

I know there aren’t that many buttons… but on my Sprint HTC Touch the green, red, camera buttons do not work (the other ones do… dpad, on off screen)

I’ve reset it to the manufacture default 3 times and the buttons work for a few minutes… and then it goes back. anyone have any other ideas?

also occassionally when i plug in or unplug my phone (from computer or charger) it resets (completly power off and back on).

other than these two issues im quite happy with the phone –

talked to the guys at HTC and this is what they told me:

Hello Anomoly,

Thank you for your inquiry

Anonmoly, I understand your concern with regards to the buttons issue that wasn’t resolved by doing the hard reset. Unfortunately it sounds like it could be a hardware issue and possibly a software issue, but that can only be verified through a rom update of the device. Currently there exists no rom update for the device just yet, I recommend you contact UTStarcom for troubleshooting and warranty information regarding your device.

UTStarcom 1-800-229-1235 Mon-Fri 8:30AM to 5:00PM EST

so i asked … do you know WHEN a new ROM update will be out?

Hello Anomoly,

Thank you for your inquiry

Anomoly, We do not have a specific time on when the update will be released but it will most likely take 2-3 months to include Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade.

so i’ll try that number and see what they say… but at this point i think it might be something that only an update could fix (or a new phone) ….

my biggest problem was i couldn’t take pictures… but i figured out i can use the big key in the middle of the d-pad (action key?) to make calls, and take pictures.

the good thing is that i can still use the phone, it’s just annoying having to power the screen on in order to hang up a call. (adds about 3-5 seconds to the end of a call)