Swype Android keyboard out of beta, available in Google Play Store for $0.99

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Swype’s Android keyboard is finally out of “beta” phase and now available to the masses. Swype, a Seattle-area startup that was acquired by Burlington, Mass.-based Nuance  for $102.5 million back in October 2011, has arrived in the Google Play Store. Previously, the keyboard that allows you to form words by dragging your finger from letter to letter… Read More…

GeekWire Radio on stage: Here is our broadcast from Seattle’s Pioneer Square

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Technology was the central topic, naturally, as we recorded the GeekWire radio show for the first time in front of an audience this week, at the HUB Seattle in Pioneer Square. But two unexpected themes also emerged from our guests — teamwork and trust. Our first guest, startup vet Mike McSherry, talked about the importance… Read More…

SwiftKey for Android challenges Swype with integrated ‘Flow’ input

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SwiftKey, the popular keyboard app for Android devices, launched a new version overnight that incorporates a feature called SwiftKey Flow, letting users type by gliding a finger across the keyboard to connect letters, maintaining contact with the screen. Sound familiar? Yes, it is very similar to the core functionality of Swype, made by a Seattle-area… Read More…

Swype debuts Living Language to help create real-time, crowd-sourced dictionary

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The Swype keyboard for Android devices already has a pretty robust dictionary, but now it is improving even more by using crowdsourcing to analyze new words and phrases. Beginning today, the latest version of Swype now comes with Swype Living Language. Users who opt-in can share and receive trending words in real-time to help create… Read More…

Swype adds keyboard features, but no word of iPhone app

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Swype is adding new features to its keyboard app for mobile phones, including a personalized dictionary that syncs between devices; additional language support and a number of new keyboard designs. The dictionary even includes updates of new buzzwords, such as “Gangnam Style.” But don’t try to install the new app on your iPhone. As  has been… Read More…

Take a spin with the new Swype: An Android keypad that learns from you

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Swype is getting a facelift, just eight months after the Seattle upstart was gobbled up for $102 million by Nuance. The popular mobile text-input technology for Android devices now includes both voice and touch into one easy-to-use system, as well as support for dozens of languages. But the key new feature is a smarter algorithm,… Read More…

Swÿp vs. Swype: This could get really confusing

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Swype gained international attention — not to mention a Guinness Book World record holder and millions of customers — for its super-fast and intuitive mobile text input system for Android devices. It became so popular that many in the tech industry started referring to Swype as a verb, like: “I prefer Swyping over tapping.” That’s… Read More…

Seattle 2.0 Startup Awards: Vote for Deal of the Year

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From IPOs to M&A deals to big venture capital financing rounds, today’s featured category in the Seattle 2.0 Startup Awards is Deal of the Year. There certainly were some whoppers in the Seattle area, and this group of companies certainly symbolizes some of the best and brightest in the Seattle tech community. This is one… Read More…

GeekWire Summit: Facebook, T-Mobile, Swype and more join lineup of speakers

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We’re gearing up for our big GeekWire Summit, the inaugural half-day conference March 7 in downtown Seattle. Last week we announced the participation of former Microsoft chief software architect Ray Ozzie, Hulu CTO Richard Tom, and UW computer science luminary Oren Etzioni. Today we’re pleased to announce more industry veterans who will be sharing insights from… Read More…

Year in Review: The 100 most popular stories on GeekWire

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Whoa, can we catch our breath now? We’ve certainly had plenty to cover on the tech beat over the past year, from Amazon.com’s introduction of the Kindle Fire to the untimely death of Steve Jobs to the wacky Post-It note creations adorning Seattle tech office windows. In case you missed all of the action, don’t… Read More…