Ever wish your Nokia was more like a Motorola? Before you surf away in disgust, there was one thing that Moto handsets always did well, and that was predictive text. Instead of using the usual T9 software, Motorola developed its own iTap system that gave you a choice of words after you had typed a single letter.

QuickWrite brings something very similar to your Nokia S60, ditching T9 in favour of a pop-up list of words from customisable dictionaries in six European languages – handy if you’re often texting abroad.

Because QuickWrite replaces your default text system, it works automatically in any application on your handset, from messaging to contacts to the web. The QuickWrite application itself is just a single screen offering a choice between AknFEP (Nokia’s text engine) and QuickWrite. Switching to QuickWrite takes just a second, which is a good job as you’ll need to do it every time you turn your phone on.

QuickWrite installed easily enough but failed to work on our N81 8GB test handset. It did work on a 6110 Navigator, offering an intelligent selection of alternatives after typing one letter. Unlike many dictionaries, it includes all the most common swear words, and adding new words takes mere moments.

But it’s difficult to see the point of QuickWrite. There’s a reason why T9 predictive text is found on almost every phone on the market: it’s fast, smart, efficient and everyone is used to it. Going back to the old a-b-c method of spelling, however clever the software behind it is, just won’t catch on. One for polyglot text fiends only.

Key details

Size: 1.26MB

Price: 7 day trial, then $29.99 (£18.40)

Download here: S60.com