A mobile text input face-off: Swype vs. Tiki'Notes

We've written a lot recently about Swype, the new text input technology that allows mobile phone users to enter text with the "swype" of a finger rather than the traditional tap. Swype executives have told us that a proficient user of the technology can enter text 30 percent faster than tapping.

Now, a French startup called Tiki'Labs says that its Tiki'Notes text input technology is actually faster. And it produced this YouTube video to prove it.

The comparison isn't completely the same, since Swype's technology is not available for the iPhone. Also, after watching the video, it actually seems like a pretty close race. (About a two second difference).

Nonetheless, it is good to see some innovation emerging in mobile text input -- a real problem for clumsy texters like me. Tiki'Notes said that it has patented its technology, which is the result of several years of research and development.

That R&D includes a prediction engine to suggest words that are being typed and letters that are spread apart in six large keys in order to make them easy to to see and type. At this point, Tiki'Notes is available as a free application for the iPhone.

Swype is working with Samsung, with its technology embedded on the new Omnia II. Others too have compared themselves to Swype, as this iPhone user did using his thumbs.

About John Cook

John Cook is co-founder and executive editor of TechFlash. He has been covering the technology beat for nearly a decade, writing about startups, entrepreneurs and venture capital, most recently serving as a reporter/blogger at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

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