Swype just sent us an email to inform us that they have opened registrations for their latest version that they need help beta testing. These open registrations are normally offered for a limited time, so head over to beta.swype.com and sign up before it’s too late. All you need to do is provide your email and then Swype will send you a link to download their installer.

If this is your first time to try Swype, check out the detailed installation instructions and FAQ if you need any help. If you are upgrading from a previous version of Swype, please make sure uninstall both Swype and Swypeinstaller.

It appears that Swype’s servers are still getting hammered from all the new users, so if you experience any problems please wait and try again. The important thing is to make sure you register so you can gain access to the Swypeinstaller file.

Check out the new version and let us know what you think. Is Swype your favorite alternative keyboard or do you rock the stock layout still?

Swype is pleased to offer an (updated) Android Beta! Here are the details:

• In English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, and introducing French and an early, *UNSTABLE* preview release of Chinese Pinyin
• Now includes support for Double-Tap-to-Edit, Cursor Restore, and Voice-to-Text (requires Google Voice Search be included in your system firmware)
• HVGA, WVGA, and WVGA854 Resolutions – don’t worry we’ll detect this automatically. Sorry, no QVGA
• Limited End User Support – mostly via our forum
• If your phone came pre-installed with Swype DO NOT download this beta (it won’t work)

PREVIOUS: Android offers many alternative keyboards and I’ve tried them all, but I often find myself returning to the default stock version because all the others remove features that I use. This past weekend I’ve been testing the latest version of ThickButtons (0.9) and it’s the first virtual keyboard that I actually prefer over Google’s.

ThickButtons has come a long way since we first previewed it back in March. The best things about this virtual keyboard is that it does not change the default layout and all the standard features are still included. Instead, the developers of ThickButtons just took the stock keyboard and then added their own enhancements on top of it.

As a user begins to type a word, the ThickButtons keyboard uses predictive text and your dictionary to highlight the next letter of the word it thinks you are typing. It works just like the normal predictive text of the Android keyboard, but ThickButtons also includes the option to change the size of the letters to make it easier to type. Upcoming letters are highlighted and made bigger while letters that are unlikely to be used are made smaller.

For Android phones with a smaller display (2.8 to 3.2 inches), ThickButtons is the perfect keyboard to improve the overall typing experience. ThickButtons recently conducted some usability testing with users who had no previous touchscreen experience and measured a 24% improvement in typing speed  and 31% improvement in accuracy versus the stock keyboard.

Dimitri Lisitski, CEO for ThickButtons, also announced the new features were coming for speed typers. “For example, some experienced users complained that the buttons couldn’t keep up with their fingers if they typed fast.  We are adding a second prediction algorithm in the upcoming version so that even experienced users can type more quickly and accurately on their touchscreens.”

The new version of ThickButtons (0.9) is a preview and Version 1.0 will be shipped on handsets in spring 2011.

The commercial version will feature all these improvements and more, including support for 25 languages. The final version will also be provided pre-installed on select handsets in the first half of 2011, much like the agreement Swype has with handset makers.

If you have never tried ThickButtons, take a few minutes and check it out. Installation instructions can be found on the ThickButtons site. Please let us know what you think of the latest ThickButtons and visit their online community if you have any feature request.

A few of the improvements found in the new free release include:

• Typing in Spanish, German, English, French and Italian
• Voice input for Android 2.2 (FroYo) users
• Smarter support of landscape mode
• Performance improved

ThickButtons Keyboard BrightSide Software MARKET QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

The developer describes the benefits of 8pen as: “Its advantage lies mainly in the fact that it is possible to input text faster than using conventional layouts on small devices, while at the same time mimicking human hand-writing. Moreover, the simplicity of the gestures involved greatly reduces the problem of mistyping that frequently occurs with the classical layout due to the lack of space. For the same reason, it is possible to write without viewing, as only the central region is needed as a reference for starting and ending a movement.”

The 8pen keyboard is now available in the Android Market for only $1.56 and it looks like it could be pretty interesting once you become familiar with its unique style. The 8pen keyboard was supposed to include support for Google’s voice recognition feature, but in order to support older devices from Android 1.6 forward, the feature has been removed.

Please share your feedback if you were brave enough to try it out. Do you think 8pen could replace Swype as the most popular alternative keyboard?

A lot of attention has been paid to Swype, a soft-keyboard app currently in an invite-only closed beta. Many have applied, but few have been approved. If you don’t want to wait to try out this new class of finger-dragging keyboard, there’s an equally impressive free app in the Market called ShapeWriter that works much the same way.

ShapeWriter works by dragging your finger between letters to build words, then lifting your finger off the screen to create a space between words. It uses an algorithm to figure out the most likely word and also displays a few other choices just in case.

For new words not in the dictionary, you can tap the keys just like a standard on-screen keyboard. With one additional tap, it saves the word so it will be recognized when you draw its shape again.

My primary complaint with the stock Android soft-keyboard is having to switch to a new screen for symbols. ShapeWriter solves this by displaying symbols on the keys. To type the symbol instead of the word, just hold the key for a moment and it will change to the symbol.

ShapeWriter also includes a “command stroke” feature that lets you copy, paste, access keyboard settings and more. Just start your press on the command button (the squiggly one next to the space bar) and spell a word to execute the command. A list of commands can be obtained by tapping the command button.

Good:

• Fastest on-screen keyboard I’ve tested
• Free
• Easy to add new words to the dictionary

Bad:

• If your phone is low on resources, the keyboard can lag and unintentionally break a shape into two words
• No voice input
• Does not support themes

Summary

This new class of on-screen keyboard seems to be the most efficient way to input text when a physical keyboard just isn’t an option. With the onslaught of keyboard-less Android tablets predicted for later this year, ShapeWriter’s speed improvements over the default soft-keyboard are a welcome addition to the Android experience.

Note: This review was submitted by Lane Montgomery as part of our app review contest.

Samsung recently started up an ad campaign for their “Omnia II with Swype technology” which shows a man beating the world record for texting on a mobile phone. Well, I saw this and wanted to see if I had what it took to beat the world record and get my lifetime supply of Guinness (that is the prize, right?) from the fine folks at the Guinness Book of World Records. Unfortunately, the Swype beta on Android is closed and isn’t accepting any more people at this time. Thankfully, I wasn’t completely out of luck. A very similar program was already available on the app store named SlideIt and it seems to work just as good.

The idea of sliding a finger over a touchscreen keyboard in order to input text is a hard one to grasp without actually trying it. It seems like such a chaotic and messy way to type, but it isn’t. Thanks to the power of magic (or incredibly adept software) waving your finger like a wand almost always results in the correct word appearing on the screen. When the word you intended doesn’t appear on the screen, either due to incorrect input or a more popular word existing on that same slide-route, a list of other guesses appears and chances are the intended word can be tapped and will wholly replace the incorrect word. I hated the touchscreen keyboard on the MyTouch 3G before SlideIt, but now I am actually excited to type out messages on my phone.

However, SlideIt is not without a huge setback for a certain group of people. Poor spellers. I am a fairly good speller, but I could immediately see a problem when words I struggle with would result in a “???” from the best-guess list. SlideIt handles this in two ways. First, you can still tap each letter just as you do with any touchscreen keyboard. Second, there are endless shortcuts and the user can set up as many shortcuts as they like.

For example, slide over the letters “AFK” and the word “ask” will pop up, but highlighted in green and in all caps will be “AFK.” If you tap “AFK” the words “Away From Keyboard” will pop up. Another great feature is the ability to add proper names and specialized words to SlideIt’s dictionary by simply tapping it in and hitting a plus sign that appears to the left of the best-guess list.

My biggest issue came with typing in passwords. I’m not sure I want to add my passwords to the dictionary list, but I’m not sure I can since they may or may not contain special characters. For example, let’s say my password is “h$7FF3#.” SlideIt would not allow me to start the password with a lowercase letter. I would have to start it by typing “H” and then “h” and scrolling back to delete the uppercase “H.” It also wanted to create a space after almost every character. All of this on top of the fact that getting between the letters and the symbols requires switching menus. You can try a neat “Graffiti mode” which allows you to type in special characters by drawing them, but this is far from perfect and still suffers from a lot of the same issues.

The Good

• Typing has never been faster or easier on a touchscreen
• Inputting text is fun and feels futuristic
• Great shortcut and add-to-dictionary options

The Bad

• Passwords can be a pain
• Hope you are a good speller

Final Verdict

Getting over some of the quirks of typing in passwords is totally worth it. There is a demo version and if you are scared that you may not be a good enough speller, then give it a try. Otherwise, I never see myself returning to any other way of inputing text on a touchscreen. The full version is approximately $8.00.

Note: This review was submitted by Jeff Grubb as part of our app review contest.

Thank you can type Swype the above phrase in under 35.54 seconds? An ex-Swype employee recently set the Guinness World Record for fastest text message on a touchscreen mobile phone, but how long with that time stand?

Swype thinks they have the fastest input method and they are now challenging their users to beat the new record. The current world record was set using the Windows-powered Samsung Omnia II, so it would be cool for an Android phone to take the top spot. I know a lot of our readers downloaded the Swype Beta, so give it a try if you are bored and desire to be in the record books.

Note: Due to the overwhelming demand, Swype has temporarily closed the beta test for their Android app. Visit the Swype Beta for Android site to register and they will notify you when the beta is re-opened.

Update: Thanks to Twitter I found out Andrew Steffy has already beat the record with a time of 34.9 seconds. Who is going to try and top that?

From Swype: If you think you have beaten the record, please contact Guinness World Records. All officially recognized Guinness World Records attempts start by completing and submitting an application accessible through the official site. Please visit Guinness World Records Web site in order to receive record guidelines and other important record-specific information.

“The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human”Official phrase of the Guinness World Records

Mr. Page entered the above phrase in just 35.54 seconds which beat the old record by a full 5 seconds. He was actually using the Windows-powered Samsung Omnia II, but Swype is coming preloaded on most new Android phones and should be available in the Android Market soon.

If you have yet to try the beta for Android, Swype has posted detailed instructions for getting it installed.

How fast can you enter official phrase of the Guinness World Records?