Swype is an exciting alternative input system that has steadily been gaining in popularity across a number of mobile platforms, and version 2.0 of the service has just popped up for Symbian smartphones including Symbian Anna phones on Nokia Beta Labs. Read on for all the details. 

Symbian Anna update: 10 things you need to know

Swype has been around for a couple of years now, and has become a firm favourite for many smartphone users around the globe as a replacement for the traditional screen-tapping input method typically used for typing text on touchscreen phones.

It involves sweeping your finger from one letter on the QWERTY keyboard to the next, meaning you're effectively drawing words rather than typing them.

The technology first appeared for Symbian smartphones around a year ago, and now Nokia Beta Labs has announced the arrival of an updated versions, fresh with new features.

Responding to user feedback from Symbian^3 users, Swype version 2.0 contains a number of improvements, plus incorporates some cutting-edge features that have appeared over recent months on other platforms such as Android.

These include portrait and split-screen support for Symbian Anna devices, cutting-edge predictive tap auto-correction engine, 30 downloadable language dictionaries, all sorts of interface changes based on Nokia and Android feedback plus literally hundreds of bug fixes.

All Symbian S60 5th Edition, Symbian^3 and Symbian Anna devices are supported, so there's no excuse not to give it a try – simply head over to Nokia Beta Labs now. Don't forget to leave some feedback too so they can make sure the final version is even better!

Have you tried out Swype? Do you see the benefit or do you prefer the tried-and-tested input method? Let us know in the Comments!