Back in the early days of mobile smartphone use, my Treo 600 had a physical keyboard and very much resembled the then increasingly popular RIM Blackberry. When the HTC Dream (Google G1) arrived, in October of 2009, it had a swing-out physical keyboard. I moved on from there to the Motorola CLIQ which also had a swing-out physical keyboard, but as with the G1 the extra layer added bulk and weight. I wanted a smartphone that required no physical keyboard, but I did not want keys that would be hard to type on.
Along comes Swype in all its glory. It takes some getting used to, but the concept is actually as brilliant as the driverless car (you still need to "do" something, but it is much easier). I've progressed with Swype to the point where I can do all my text entry with one finger (often the thumb on my right hand).
The graphic above gives the most basic idea of the method. Rather than hitting each individual key to spell out each word as we do on a standard keyboard, the words are spelled out by dragging the finger across each letter. Spaces can be added in at the end when you lift your finger off. Accuracy and speed can be changed in the settings. Capitalization and double letters can be added with simple motions in the "Swype"-ing motion.
Grab a copy of Swype for Android at Swype.com. (sorry iPhone users)
For further instruction, here's a video
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