SwiftKey Beta Exceeds 100,000 Downloads in First Week

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM � An innovative text prediction app that takes the strain out of touchscreen typing has exceeded 100,000 downloads in its first week on Google�s Android� Market, its developers said Wednesday.

SwiftKey�, created by British start-up company TouchType, was the most downloaded Android� app last week according to the popular blog �Android and Me�. It was also chosen as a top Android pick by several other major tech sites, including Gizmodo, Tech Radar and Brothersoft Mobile.

�The last week has been phenomenal,� said Jon Reynolds, TouchType�s co-founder and CEO. �We started TouchType because we knew there must be a better way to type on a touchscreen phone. As well as exceeding all download expectations, we have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback about SwiftKey�. It has already established itself as a market-leading text entry solution.�

Tech blog Engadget heralded SwiftKey��s launch as the introduction of �world class predictive text� for Android phones, saying the app has �an uncanny ability to guess what your next word will be� In our early tests, we�re pretty darn impressed.�
TechRadar named SwiftKey� as the best keyboard app on Android�. Placing SwiftKey� at the top of its Android� apps of the week, Gizmodo said: �The star feature of SwiftKey� is its predictive text � it literally learns the way you type.�
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What makes SwiftKey� revolutionary is TouchType�s patent-pending language technology, which understands how words are combined within sentences and continually learns as a user writes.

�We�ve analysed over 50 billion words in nine major languages to build the models that drive our prediction engine,� said Ben Medlock, TouchType�s Chief Technical Officer. �SwiftKey� is the first text entry app on the market to harness the incredible power of statistical language processing. It takes predictive text to a whole new level, resulting in an unparalleled user experience.�

TouchType says the user feedback it has received so far has been incredibly positive. �I think this is the best way to text ever invented,� one user said. �SwiftKey Beta is probably the best thing that happened to Android in recent times,� commented another.

The beta is currently available to all smartphones running the Google Android� platform. TouchType says it is working hard to make a series of enhancements in response to beta feedback before a full paid launch later in the year. The first update to the beta was released Wednesday.