In the 1990s, Kushler invented a cell phone technology called T9, which helped launch the text messaging phenomenon. And before that, he developed a once dominant language input gizmo for the disabled.
Now Kushler, 58, is rethinking the keyboard again with Swype.
Swype's technology lets users of touch-screen keyboards type -- if you can call it that -- by using their fingers to connect the dots between letters in a word. Users don't have to lift a finger from the screen to type a word or worry if their aim is a little shaky, because Swype's software can smartly and accurately figure out what they meant to say.
Dozens of smartphones running Google's popular Android operating system come with Swype installed, and Swype recently began letting anyone with a newer Android phone download the application for free. Nokia Growth Partners, the venture arm of the world's top phone maker, invested in Swype last year, and the product is available on Nokia's flagship N8 smartphone.
The app isn't offered yet in the online Android Market, but the company is taking requests for those who want access to a beta version. In that short period, it's netted more than 500,000 downloads in addition to the 20 million devices it comes installed on.
Ask anyone who's spent time using Swype, and odds are they'll sing its praises. Gadget enthusiasts consistently rate it highly, and buzz continues to build.
With phones' small screens, typing can be a chore. Even the most adept BlackBerry typists can't compete with Swype's efficiency.
To illustrate what a leap forward this concept is, Samsung Electronics enlisted the help of a young office administrator at Swype's Seattle headquarters to demonstrate the technology on camera. In the commercial, Franklin Page breaks the Guinness world record for text-messaging speed using Swype on a Samsung phone
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