QOTD: Handwriting?

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Shaun

If a device was released (smartphone or iPad sized) that required a stylus to write on and which could 99% translate what you are writing would you be interested in buying it? I believe this to be the next big step in mobile computing.

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19 Responses to QOTD: Handwriting?

  1. gavinfabl says:
    July 9, 2010 at 6:11 am

    No, too used to stylus free now.

  2. Graham says:
    July 9, 2010 at 8:04 am

    I would possibly be interested and I actually prefer styli to finger input. The problem is my handwriting has got so bad that even I can’t recognise it at times.

  3. Peter says:
    July 9, 2010 at 8:09 am

    We have been educated to use every conceivable kind of more or less inadequate keyboard in the last 15 years and now have become used to fiddle around with keyboards on touch displays. We can adapt.Time to go back to try out simple and fast handwriting (Although this will never be for everyone. Got a mean hand myself ;o) ). So, yes: I would like to see some advanced tec in this respekt.

  4. Philippa says:
    July 9, 2010 at 8:11 am

    Required me to or gave me the option? The latter I think, I would love something for notes and diagram sketches.

  5. jah says:
    July 9, 2010 at 8:30 am

    I don’t need OCR type functionality just hand writing and fine sketching would be sufficient.

  6. statto says:
    July 9, 2010 at 8:44 am

    Have to be something good to sort out my scribble :-)

  7. Joel says:
    July 9, 2010 at 9:15 am

    A tablet with great handwriting recognition would be a nice device for me.. Prefer with Android OS ;-)

  8. Sidthebad says:
    July 9, 2010 at 9:33 am

    I’ve not used it myself bit don’t OneNote and Evernote do a pretty good job already?

    Sid

  9. Murray says:
    July 9, 2010 at 9:40 am

    Of little interest to me,

  10. RuiD says:
    July 9, 2010 at 10:39 am

    In this regards I have to say that I totally understand the finger-friendly type of devices they are producing these days (actually that’s what people wnat), but I still use my old TH-55 sometimes with stylus, sometimes without the need of it and I must admit that you can do a lot more things with a stylus: icons to click are much smaller than finger-friendly and you can have a lot more options on screen because of this, you can actually draw whatever you want or take handwritten notes and attach them anywhere (very nice), etc.

    Bottom line is: stylus input can also be a great feature on small screen devices.

    And another thing: I used to handwrite a lot on paper… later on and since 2000 I’ve been typing a lot on keyboards and “drawing” characters on a virtual graffitti area and I must say I’m having difficulties in writing normally on paper these days… and now comes the finger-friendly devices. I guess in a decade people will have a huge problem with handwriting letters, words, i’m sure.

  11. shaunbowen says:
    July 9, 2010 at 11:53 am

    I still accidentally write certain characters in PalmOS ‘Graffiti’ style from time to time. I would love to see a system where you hold a button and scrawl graffiti characters over the whole screen (as with Graffiti Anywhere).

  12. Zelph says:
    July 9, 2010 at 12:58 pm

    Stylus input would be more accurate. I still get b’a and v’s when I hit the space bar ón my iPhone and don’t get mé started on trying to place the cursor for editing…

    But the next great thing will be voice navigation. The public don’t want to have to grab a stylus to maneuver around their device. They don’t even want to use their finger.

    The want to say “Beam mé up Scotty” and have their portable device “make it so.”

  13. Tom Munch says:
    July 9, 2010 at 2:16 pm

    Yeah, I think finger input is greatly over-promoted. I could write very fast in the first Graffiti – even while not looking at the screen. My screen wasn’t all smudged up with fingerprints and grease either, and I could navigate very quickly to what I needed. I really like the iPhone, but I still struggle with the keyboard when I have to get something entered very quickly. Steve Jobs is a little off-base on finger entry being the future IMO.

  14. vboelema says:
    July 9, 2010 at 5:11 pm

    I like keyboards myself. It’s less tiring than handwriting.

  15. Eliyahu Ben-Haim says:
    July 10, 2010 at 8:09 am

    Back to the Future.
    Give me back my Grafitti 1.

    Much faster than keyboard.

  16. Peter says:
    July 10, 2010 at 10:41 am

    Shaun, you hit a nerve with this question ;ol)
    Congrats :o )

  17. TeeSa says:
    July 10, 2010 at 12:30 pm

    Interesting that SWYPE has just broken the ‘land speed’ record. Did you know you can type ‘Serasalmus and Pygocentrus’ in under 2 seconds on a mobile phone (apparently)? David Frith (alias ‘Double Click’) seems to differ.
    ttp://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/swype-off-the-fierce-piranhas-new-way-to-type-on-mobile-touchscreens/story-e6frgakx-1225885344802

  18. Graham says:
    July 10, 2010 at 2:56 pm

    I have to say l am quite impressed with Swype. I am getting reasonably good at it now but it did take a while to get the hang of it. Can’t do Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus in under two seconds though.

  19. teejay69 says:
    July 10, 2010 at 3:04 pm

    In and of its self – no. As a feature thats available, it would help.