Nuance Communications, which had acquired Swype for more than $100 million in October 2011, has launched the next generation of Swype, the gesture based, adaptive touch input keyboard, adding support for the Hinglish language – a mixture of Hindi and English or simply Hindi transliterated into Latin script. Swype says that its mixed-language Hinglish database consists of tens of thousands of Hinglish words, as well as a vast English wordlist, however it did not reveal the exact number of words that are included. The keyboard also saves and predicts new words as the user keys them in becoming more personalized with usage. The new version also supports input for Urdu script. Respondng to our query on support for Hindi and other Indian languages, Nitin Misra, Director Marketing- India & SE Asia for Nuance, responded that the company is working on it, and that it would most likely be implemented by early next year. - On partnerships with Indian OEMs: Misra said that the company was in talks with a few but did not reveal names. Swype is working with 16 OEMs, on a global basis, including with LG and Samsung. When we asked about the number of Swype users in India, he mentioned that it was based on the number of OEM devices sold, hence difficult to predict. Also, Swype does not distribute its app on the android Play Store, and it intends to continue to keep its focus on B2B tie-ups. Interestingly, he also mentioned that the company was negotiating with operators to…
