Swype for Symbian (beta) gets reissued, with new certs, still a bit broken

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Never mind the (for me, completely) non-working version of Swype in the Nokia Store 'collection' (guys at the Store, you might want to remove that?), the kind folk at Nokia Beta Labs have put out a re-issue of the 'beta' status Swype 2.1, with updated language packs (over 30 languages supported) and certificates. And it (kind of) works even on the latest Nokia 808 and Belle FP2. Screenshot proof, link and quote below. It's also (kind of) broken, as you'll see if you try it day to day. Comments welcome!

From the Beta Labs post:

April 17, 2013: Update 

Language packs have been updated to version 2.1.895 and have been newly certified.

Installation

All S60 5th Edition and Symbian^3 devices are supported. Swype comes preloaded with English US, English UK, Spanish, Portuguese BR, and French CA. If you want to Swype in a different language, download one of our 30 additional language packs.

Please note: Installing the wrong version of Swype can cause unwanted behavior so be sure to select the correct Symbian version on the download page. 

The latter warning is just to stop S60 5th Edition (e.g. Nokia 5800, N97 mini) and Symbian^3 (e.g. Nokia N8, E6, 808) generations getting their SIS files mixed up.

Swype installs and works as advertised (unlike the official v1.x version in the Nokia Store on the Belle FP2 808), though there are still a few dodgy moments: - when trying to reply to an email with an excessively long subject line, the text entry area was displayed out of sight underneath the keyboard. And if your reply gets too long, the same thing happens. Plus, replying to a text message using the 'conversation' view doesn't work, for the same reason - the text entry field is hidden beneath the keyboard. I guess you can Swype 'blind', but it's not ideal!

It's worth noting that, in addition to Swyping out your words, you can also tap them out old-style. With the optional 'prediction' turned on, you can even get Swype to auto-correct manual pecking as you go, unlike the built-in virtual keyboard, though the pop-up predictions window does feel a bit intrusive. Your comments welcome. Any tips from old Swype hands?

Here's Swype 2.1 (build 4436) being installed and in action:

Screenshot, Swype for Symbian installScreenshot, Swype for Symbian install

As before, grab the beta via Nokia Beta Labs - on the phone itself is the easiest way in, I've found...

Screenshot, Swype for Symbian installScreenshot, Swype for Symbian install

Installing the new SIS file - if you've played with previous 1.x versions, make sure these are removed first and your phone restarted; I'd advise installing on disk C in case of problems later if you lock out your other disks on a desktop when connected via cable

Screenshot, Swype for Symbian installScreenshot, Swype for Symbian install

There's a slightly awkward help pop-up when you try using a Swype keyboard for the first time - it takes a few seconds to go away(!) - but Swype works well (for this use case, at least) thereafter, especially on the portrait keyboard on Symbian, which is usually so fiddly...

You can download this latest beta of Swype for Symbian here. What do you think of it? Any more use cases where this is broken? Comments welcome below, or there's an official feedback page here

PS. Note that some of the related pages on Nokia Beta Labs don't work at present. It's possible that I've been too quick in reporting the update and that these pages will appear in due course.

Source / Credit: Nokia Beta Labs