I‘ve always thought text inputs from anything other than a keyboard were clunky. Cliff Kushler, the man who invented T9 (a word completion aid) has developed Swype, a new text entry method that capitalizes on eliminating the press and release component of the touchscreen. What was once a discrete target acquisition task becomes a continuous one.

In the CNET interview, Kushler points out his age (55) and his words-per-minute with Swype (50). Not bad.

If you’re interested in research on alternate text input devices, check out some of the following:

• O’Brien, M. A.; Rogers, W. A.; Fisk, A. D. & Richman, M. (2008). Assessing Design Features of Virtual Keyboards for Text Entry. Human Factors, 50 (4), 680-698.
• Wobbrock, J.O. and Myers, B.A. (2008). Enabling devices, empowering people: The design and evaluation of Trackball EdgeWrite. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 35-56.