SwiftKey: In the smartphone and touch screen era, typing messages and large texts remains a "headache" for users, as the use of small keypads on the touchscreens involves a lot of mistakes, while autocorrect is very often proven to be a "reissue generator" rather than a useful tool.
A lot Companies are trying to change that by making mobile keyboards 'smart', but few seem to be succeeding – including SwiftKey, a London-based startup that released a keyboard app in 2010. The SwiftKey app until last weekteam κόστιζε τέσσερα δολάρια, ωστόσο πλέον μπορεί να αποκτηθεί free. As stated in a NY Times article, citing the company, it has since been downloaded more than 30 million times, while it is now rated as one of the most popular applications on Google Play.
The app in question predicts what the user will type through artificial intelligence and analysisς online data, τα οποία περιλαμβάνουν αυτά που πληκτρολογεί σε άλλες εφαρμογές, «μαθαίνοντας» ποιες λέξεις uses usually. All of that information is used to make a "prediction" about what the user is likely to want to type next. A key component of the app's success is personalization, offering different predictions for each user based on how they type, what their interests are, and what language they use. In total SwiftKey offers word predictions in 66 languages.
"There is tremendous strategic value in dominating the world of keyboards," says John Reynolds, one of the co-founders of the company, to the NT Times. "Whatever app you use on your phone, we're there," he adds.
The SwiftKey application is believed to be currently in 250 million phones, and naturally it has attracted the interest of large companies in the field of technology. According to the report, which refers to well-informed sources, Google and Facebook have explored the possibility of acquiring the company, but no agreement has been reached.
The application now follows the so-called "freemium" model, which has long been adopted by many gaming companies in particular: the app is available for free but there is a charge for a number of extra features. This particular model is particularly popular with the sale of applications in countries like China and India, where many users are negatively affected by the prospect of paying for applications - yet they are not as negative about paying for premium material.
So far, the app is for Android, and the company works with manufacturers like Samsung and LG. However, there is also an intention to extend to the "world" of Apple users.
Source: naftemporiki.gr