We have been working with Swype (www.swype.com) to test out their extremely intuitive text input method inside GeoField on Windows-based tablet devices…  And what a great piece of software it is!  In the fifteen years I’ve been working with pen-based mobile devices, I can safely say that Swype is the best input method I have seen for the entry of free-text.

When designing user interfaces and data capture forms, we always try to keep free-text entry to a minimum as the use of drop down lists and push-button options ensure greater data quality.  But there are some occasions where you can’t get away from the need to capture free-text, for example, when describing unusual results during a field inspection, or describing specific customer requirements during a site visit.  Based on what we’ve seen for far in our early testing in Swype, it greatly increases the speed of text entry compared to the use of a standard on-screen keyboard – and it’s also fun to use.

Within seconds of picking up the tablet pen I was scribbling on the screen and testing it out with difficult words – but Swype performed brilliantly.  All this without having to read a user manual or follow a quick-start guide.  Well done Swype, we look forward to offering your technology to our GeoField users!