Symbian in Motion

Say Hello to the New Version of Adaptxt!

by Zach at 10:46 am | April 02nd, 2008 | Category: Productivity, Updates

Sorry guys, I completely forgot to mirror this post. I’ve been so busy at CTIA (despite the fact that it’s incredibly lackluster). You’ve been waiting for it… I’ve been waiting for it… And now it’s here!

Admit it, as much as you love your Nseries you would gladly trade it in this second for a QWERTY S60 handset that was just as capable spec-wise. It’s ok, so would we. We know it’s coming down the road but we need something to tide us over in the meantime. T9 is terrible as far as text input goes, but there are a few other options. Our favorite by far is Adaptxt. It’s been around for a while on Windows Mobile devices and a few months ago S60 users got their first taste of true predictive goodness. For those who don’t know, Adaptxt is an intuitive text entry system that not only predicts words for you, it learns how you write and predicts the current word as you type, the next word, phrases and even sentences. It really is a fantastic app. The initial release had some issues that lead to the application being pulled for a while, during which time Keypoint tweaked the app to work a lot better with third-party applications among other things. The result is a brand new version arriving just in time for CTIA. The new version is dubbed beta but don’t be fooled, our tests have gone very well for the past few days. What’s more, Adaptxt is a payware application but while the new release is in beta it is available for free during the trial period. Not for the standard seven-day trial mind you, we’re talking a full 90 days of free Adaptxt love. Granted, you’ll know you can’t be without it after 24 hours but hey, free is never a bad thing.

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    Yeah, yeah, I have been waiting for this one and I must say I'm a bit disappointed... Not only are the Keypoint guys VERY late, but the beta is only available in english !! Isn't it a predictive input software ? How are we supposed to try it if it isn't available in the language you write ?
    I hope they won't wait another 4 (!!) months before releasing french and other dictionnaries...
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    But it's behind a paywall!
    You're required to enter your credit card information before you get to download the application.
    One of the problems I had with the previous version was the phone-home type license. Now I have to hand over my credit info to some random financial 'authority' to test something that is supposedly free?
    VERY disappointing.
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    Hey Zach, wasn't there a speech-to-text engine under development for s60 by some company too?
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    The English version doesn't work - at least not on my n95 8Gb with latest firmware (v15.0.015): all the suggestion box entries when typing and all the titles on the options menu screen appear as little square boxes.

    All a bit discouraging after such a long wait, but they did reply quickly to my support ticket even if it wasn't with a solution !
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    Keep the feedback coming guys! While Keypoint is likely following this post, I hope that you're all emailing them your feedback as well to ensure that they address every issue...

    @Qasim - Yessir, it's called VoiceMode by VoiceSignal.
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    If you decide to go backwards in a text to insert a word.. how do you move forward again? It just keeps inserting words when hitting the right button to get back to where you were. If that makes any sense. Kind of annoying.

    It seems some texts start out as capitalized and some don't.
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    I won't admit that I want a QWERTY N95 because it's not true. T9 is faster, more convenient, and more efficient than QWERTY and I've got the thumbs to prove it. 80% of my posts on HoFo and sites like this are done entirely from my N95 and I wouldn't have it any other way. I even wish I had some kind of T9 on the N810 to speed things up.
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    You and krazykritter are two less people to jump in front of me in line for the Nseries qwerty then. ;)

    T9 is definitely an acquired taste and I suppose myself and others simply never acquired it. When I use my mobile, I want it to be as close to a computer-like experience as possible. Similarly, when I type I want the device to know what I'm typing without having to look at the screen and correct it. When I type "if" I don't want it to say "he", I want it to say "if". Adaptxt is one step closer to making this happen for 12-button keypads. As you use it, it learns your patterns and tendencies and at times it will even surpass the qwerty experience.

    For example, instead of typing "if" and getting "he", I'll type "if" at the beginning of a sentence and get "if you want". 25% of the time I want all three of those words and I get them with two button presses (five counting right-presses on the dpad). Another 50% of the time I at least want "if you" so it's still saving me time by being more efficient and intuitive. On the flipside of the coin, if I type "he" after the word "doesn't" Adaptxt knows I want to say "he" and not "if" because it has learned my patterns.

    For those addicted to T9, I would say leave Adaptxt alone because you'll be digging for reasons to dislike it. Understandably so, and no reason to sully your experience with a beta. Once the release version is issued however, dig into it for two solid weeks - love it or hate it. After two-three weeks of using and teaching it, you'll be more efficient than you ever were with T9.
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    If only this would work in conjunction with T9.. that would be amazing :(
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    The difference being between the two text input methods is that T9 is consistent while still able to adapt. When I start to text, I don't need to look at the phone to know if I'm typing "if" or "he". Part of knowing T9 is knowing when to hit the alternative key to get the word that you want. At the same time, if you're someone who curses a lot or uses words you won't typically find in the T9 dictionary, you can of course add them accordingly so that you don't slow yourself down. The beauty of it all is that there isn't any room for error. If you misspell a word, you won't be able to finish the word and your phone will let you know that you screwed up somewhere. In that way, it is its own spell check system.

    Going back to consistency, this is something that applications like Adaptxt will never be able to compete with T9 on. You may be able to have it predict the word "he" after you type "doesn't", saving you some keystrokes, but you have to consistently type the same text to make it effective and efficient. The only phrase I usually frequent is "I love you" to my girlfriend. Everything else I text is diverse to everyone I text with, and though it may be more keystrokes, I know exactly what words are going to come out of my typing without having to look at the screen, and even if I do mess up somewhere, I can usually correct the error without looking at the phone as well. All of the time wasted watching the phone with Adaptxt to make sure it completed my word correctly could have been more confidently spent spitting out a T9 message that I know won't have errors with a smaller range of motion since the buttons are much larger and closer together. This is also true of the iPhone's autocorrect feature, which drove me absolutely nuts.

    I understand what you mean when you talk about trying to get back to a desktop experience for typing, but there is no such thing on a mobile. No matter which mobile device you're using, you'll always be using your thumbs rather than all of your fingers like you would on a traditionally QWERTY. Despite all of the entry methods of the N810, if I plan to type something like this out, if I'm not doing it on my desktop keyboard, the next best thing is T9 on the N95.
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    Why should you have to know T9 though? Why can't T9 know you? Perhaps "if" and "he" is a bad example because it's a short commonly used word. There's no way to memorize all of the instances that fall under 'it said this but I wanted it to say that' - and you shouldn't have to memorize them. Also re: adding words, I find that T9 often 'forgets' them or doesn't carry them over from one app to the next for some reason.

    In any case you should give this app a shot once the release version is issued. Try it for two weeks and if you don't like it better, ditch it. No harm, no foul. Just as it took you some time to get used to T9, Adaptxt takes time as well. It'll take more than two weeks to master (just as T9 did) but after that short period of time you'll get the hang of it and it will have learned you pretty well. At least that was my experience. Also, you can jumpstart the process by teaching it using emails and texts that you have already sent/received. Smart app, it really is.
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    I love this program- pity I use an E61i which it does not work on. Qwerty still can use a predictive text program. it is so needed. A lot of other operating systems have them and it saves a LOT of time whne you are a power emailer like myself. I CANNOT beleive a developer out there cannot issue a stable one for qwerty S60 devices. I would gladly pay usd 50.00 for such a program ( I am sure a lot of others would as well)-are you listening developers???
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    robert, there's a predictive solution for qwerty S60 devices that you might be interested in: QuickWrite
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    zach-i do own quickwrite-however it always crashed my e61i. went round and round with mobisystems on this. nice people- they finally refunded my purchase. my expirience- doesn't work on an e61i.
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    There really aren't that many instances. As long as you're still using punctuation correctly, you can fly right through it. T9 does pay attention to your patterns and will give you the words you use more regularly first as you phase other words out. And regardless, it's not an inconvenience anymore than learning Adaptxt would be, except T9 is already in place and much more universal. The only thing I would want from T9 is foul language built in instead of forcing me to program it in with every reset.

    I'll give it a shot, but I'll only keep it if it's faster and fixes the problem I just mentioned.

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