14 DAY TRIAL // Swype, the already highly popular developer of virtual keyboards, has reportedly agreed to be bought by Nuance, which will pay around $100 million for it.
For those out of the loop, we should note that Swipe has developed and released a virtual keyboard for handsets that sport touchscreen displays, enabling users to type faster through swiping their fingers across keys.
The software is already popular among owners of Android devices, especially since it was pre-loaded on various smartphones coming from Motorola or Samsung, yet it is also available on handsets running under other mobile operating systems out there.
Soon, the Swype application is expected to have been installed on a number of over 100 million devices, and the number will certainly continue to grow.
On the other hand, Nuance also has popular software available on mobile devices, including voice recognition software integrated in various smartphones, such as T-Mobile’s MyTouch devices.
The company also makes the Dragon dictation software, which is quite popular as well. Moreover, Nuance is said to have something to do with Siri on the new iPhone 4S.
Nuance has been in an acquisition spree lately, TechCrunch notes, pointing on the purchase of speech recognition software company SVOX in June, and at the recently closed acquisition of software developer Equitrac (for $157 million).
Nuance is already a heavy player in the voice recognition software area, and it seems that it wants to conquer more ground in the input technology area as well.
At the moment, the company owns both Swype and T9, another predictive text app. Chances are that the company will put them together and come up with a new, more powerful product, aimed at offering an enhanced experience to its users.
Nuance was already tied up with various manufacturers, carriers, and software makers, the same as Swype, and the new purchase will bring the former even closer to some of its partners.