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Android Input Devices

Google Adds Handwriting Input To Android 124

Posted by timothy from the dreaming-of-sheep-is-next dept.
BarbaraHudson writes: The Reg is reporting on the release of Google Handwriting Input for Android smartphones and tablets: "The Chocolate Factory's research arm says handwriting recognition is needed because touchscreen keyboards remain modestly effective and while 'Voice input is an option, but there are situations where it is not feasible, such as in a noisy environment or during a meeting." The Google Research Blog notes that it allows recognition both on-device and in the cloud (by tapping on the cloud icon) in any Android app.

It works as advertised on my smartphone, so now I can type, speak, or scribble my searches, texts, etc.
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Google Adds Handwriting Input To Android More

Google Adds Handwriting Input To Android

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  • Question still remains (Score:3)

    by NotInHere ( 3654617 ) on Saturday April 18, 2015 @01:49AM (#49498837)

    Did they add it to android or to google apps?

    • I see, they have added it as yet another app in the app store, not open source, and I guess requiring to have google apps installed. I don't need shit like that.

      • Re: Question still remains (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Exactly. I still don't use the Google swipe keyboard because they didn't add it to AOSP, so I doubt I'll use this one either. Fucking assholes.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by biojayc ( 856286 )
          assholes? For offering a free app that adds functionality that wasn't there? They aren't even charging for it! A company releases a complete OS open source, and then gets called an asshole when it releases a free closed source app... You may not like anything closed source, and that's fine and your prerogative. But that doesn't make Google an asshole. Serious question, would they be less of an asshole if they didn't release the app at all? By releasing a free app to those that want it, and making no change
        • yeah how DARE they release a FREE app! we should stone them for their audacity right away

      • I see, they have added it as yet another app in the app store, not open source, and I guess requiring to have google apps installed. I don't need shit like that.

        Wow! We're back to what Palm did quite well 15 years ago! How wonderful!

        Fact is, Palm had it made. The OS had shortcomings but they had a mini-computer in a handheld device, with adequate handwriting recognition.

        They threw it all away to compete in the "mainstream" cell phone business, and producing "mainstream" cell phones, giving up all that made them unique at the time. What a waste.

        Hint to future Palms: don't give up what you're good at, in order to compete in a market that is already doing all

        • I still miss mine. The scheduling app they had was the most effective I've used.

        • Re:Question still remains (Score:4, Interesting)

          by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Saturday April 18, 2015 @06:22AM (#49499357) Homepage Journal

          Wow! We're back to what Palm did quite well 15 years ago! How wonderful!

          Actually, it's more like what Apple did 16 years ago, since it's natural handwriting recognition, and the Palm required you to use a special alphabet.

          Fact is, Palm had it made. The OS had shortcomings but they had a mini-computer in a handheld device, with adequate handwriting recognition.

          Yes, that was truly an epic moment in time.

          hey threw it all away to compete in the "mainstream" cell phone business, and producing "mainstream" cell phones, giving up all that made them unique at the time. What a waste.

          And here's where you go straight off the rails. See, space curved there. In specifics, the PDA market went away, and was replaced by the smartphone market.

          • Re:Question still remains (Score:4, Interesting)

            by LinuxIsGarbage ( 1658307 ) on Saturday April 18, 2015 @06:51AM (#49499419)

            Actually, it's more like what Apple did 16 years ago, since it's natural handwriting recognition, and the Palm required you to use a special alphabet.

            The original palm pilot is 18 years old, and the original Newton is 22 years old.

            Though Palm required you to learn a modified alphabet in the form of Graffiti, it had simpler strokes that were faster to enter, and it allowed more differentiation between characters by the device, and higher accuracy.

            Then Graffiti 2 came out, which sucked, but was due to patent problems.

            • The original palm pilot is 18 years old, and the original Newton is 22 years old.

              Yeah yeah, I didn't bother to look up the timescale this time, but I got all the other particulars correct.

              Though Palm required you to learn a modified alphabet in the form of Graffiti, it had simpler strokes that were faster to enter, and it allowed more differentiation between characters by the device, and higher accuracy.

              Actually, Palm originally didn't require you to learn a modified alphabet in the form of Graffiti, on the Zoomer. That was what was so inexplicable about Graffiti. Making it the only input method was a bit odd.

              In any case, I visited Palm before the Pilot even hit the streets, I had a friend who knew those guys. And I had a Zoomer and I still have a GRiDPad 2390, although it doesn't quite work properly.

          • And now we have the tablet market.

            I've been using the Google handwriting recognition installable "keyboard" for 2-3 days now.

            Unlike the Newton, which was famous for its inability to accurately recognize what you input, the Google handwriting actually works pretty well. Although it's occasionally slow. I think it's doing a lot of its magic by talking back to a Google server.

            Unfortunately, I've gotten into the habit of writing Grafitti-style, so using "real" letters and writing them across the input area inst

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by tepples ( 727027 )

            the PDA market went away

            Then how did Apple continue to sell iPod touch?

            and was replaced by the smartphone market

            So where does that leave people who aren't willing to pay hundreds of dollars per year for a cellular data plan?

            • Then how did Apple continue to sell iPod touch?

              There's still room for one PDA. That, as it turns out, is the iPod touch.

              So where does that leave people who aren't willing to pay hundreds of dollars per year for a cellular data plan?

              In the minority.

              • Re: (Score:1)

                by tepples ( 727027 )

                So where does that leave people who aren't willing to pay hundreds of dollars per year for a cellular data plan?

                In the minority.

                Women are a minority, yet there are plenty of women's health care products. I'm not sure what you meant. Are you claiming that people who don't want yet another phone bill deserve to do without hardware too?

                • In the U.S., women are 50.8% of the population. I'd hardly call that a minority.

                • Are you claiming that people who don't want yet another phone bill deserve to do without hardware too?

                  What does "deserve" have to do with business decisions? Someone who isn't willing to pay for a product+service that's available doesn't necessarily deserve to have an alternative that fits there need better. If there's no workable business case for it, it won't happen.

                  And what does paying for a cellular plan have to do with buying a smartphone, anyhow? There's plenty of capable hardware available off-contract. My last two smartphones see some limited use as PDA-like devices, and my current phone. Sometimes

                  • Re: (Score:2)

                    by tepples ( 727027 )

                    If there's no workable business case for it, it won't happen.

                    Why is there a "workable business case for" a PDA running locked-down iOS but not a PDA running open-userland Android?

                    There's plenty of capable hardware available off-contract.

                    By "off-contract", which of the following did you mean?

                    1. New with warranty at a price comparable to that of an iPod touch.
                    2. New with warranty at a much higher price intended for financing alongside a new voice and data plan.
                    3. Used, sold as is, if it blows up the day after you buy it used, tough shit.

                    • Why is there a "workable business case for" a PDA running locked-down iOS but not a PDA running open-userland Android?

                      Because most people really don't give a flip about whether a system is open or not. A small percentage of a small percentage is worth ignoring for large companies.

                      By "off-contract", which of the following did you mean?

                      Any phone that matches the iPod Touch's specs will be in a similar (or lower) price range at this point. Its lower screen resolution and size, non-expandable memory, single camera, and aging CPU point to a budget phone. Something like a 2nd-generation Motorola Moto G kills it in every spec besides on-device storage, and it has a MicroSD slot to he

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by tepples ( 727027 )

                      Something like a 2nd-generation Motorola Moto G

                      Thank you.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Dog-Cow ( 21281 )

              So where does that leave people who aren't willing to pay hundreds of dollars per year for a cellular data plan?

              Buying an unlocked smartphone?

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Trogre ( 513942 )

              buying Galaxy Note tablets for the most part...

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by DarkOx ( 621550 )

            Although, put out by HandSpring (with palm OS) and than later required by Palm, the Treo phones were some of the earliest of what we might consider to be modern 'smart' phones and they really were the best of their generation. Yes Blackberry might have had some more feature richness but needed a lot of propriety costly infrastructure behind it to deliver that functionality. A Treo could do IMAP etc so was actually useful to 'regular' people and businesses that were to small to justify a BES server.

            I don't

          • And here's where you go straight off the rails. See, space curved there. In specifics, the PDA market went away, and was replaced by the smartphone market.

            Nonsense. Palm had the Tungsten. It was a perfectly good color handheld, with color touchscreen as big as a modern smartphone. I used to play Bejeweled on my Tungsten and IMO it was just about as good as Bejeweled 3 is on the desktop now.

            Then came the Treo... their smartphone. They reduced the size of the screen to 1/2 or even less of what it had been before, added chicklet-style keyboard ala Blackberry, and dropped the Graffiti written input.

            In other words, they were trying to copy Blackberry. They d

            • Then came the Treo... their smartphone. They reduced the size of the screen to 1/2 or even less of what it had been before, added chicklet-style keyboard ala Blackberry, and dropped the Graffiti written input.

              Oh, you mean like the Tungsten C [wikipedia.org]?

              Now, finally, we have smartphones that match or best the Tungsten's color screen in size and resolution.

              So I looked it up, and the highest-resolution Tungsten device was at 320 x 480 and now median phones are 720p, the display was only TFT and now phones are starting to be OLED, and the screen was 3.7" while modern phones are 4-5". The specs of the best Tungsten phone were beaten by feature phones some years ago.

              We could have had that many years ago,

              We did, and no, Palm's 3.7 inch display with almost no dots and also very few colors by modern standards was not comparable to a modern smartphone display. Not even a

              • Oh, you mean like the Tungsten C?

                No, I mean like the Treo [wikipedia.org], exactly as I wrote before. The screen was 320x320, it had a chiclet keyboard, and did not come with Graffiti.

                So I looked it up, and the highest-resolution Tungsten device was at 320 x 480 and now median phones are 720p, the display was only TFT and now phones are starting to be OLED, and the screen was 3.7" while modern phones are 4-5". The specs of the best Tungsten phone were beaten by feature phones some years ago.

                Yes. I didn't say it was high-resolution did I? But it has only been a relative few years that smartphones have had screens bigger than about 3.5". THAT'S MY POINT. Where's the argument?

                We did, and no, Palm's 3.7 inch display with almost no dots and also very few colors by modern standards was not comparable to a modern smartphone display. Not even a cheap one.

                No, we didn't. Not until a few years ago. Nothing you are saying (except that) has contradicted my point in any way. Size of the screen does matter, even if the resolution was not stellar.

                • But it has only been a relative few years that smartphones have had screens bigger than about 3.5"

                  Yeah, you know why? Because they didn't have the horsepower to drive the resolution that users expected from a display at larger sizes. It's only recently that the hardware has become efficient enough to actually provide a larger display with the features users expect.

                  They could have simply added a phone and left everything else alone.

                  What makes you so sure that they could have done that in the same package and still got it out of the door for a price that anyone would pay?

                  • Yeah, you know why? Because they didn't have the horsepower to drive the resolution that users expected from a display at larger sizes. It's only recently that the hardware has become efficient enough to actually provide a larger display with the features users expect.

                    I repeat: my Tungsten at 320x480 was very nice, pretty fast, and the graphics were pretty impressive for their day. As I mentioned before, Bejeweled (for one example) played and looked great.

                    My point -- which you still seem to be not getting -- is that if they'd simply stuck a phone in it, we'd have CLOSE TO what we have today, years before it actually happened. No, the screen was not AS big. No, it did not have AS HIGH a pixel size. But neither did anything else. It would have been a phone that decently

        • we're back to before we had any sort of screen writing. We'll be posting letters again soon

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Herve5 ( 879674 )

      Maybe it will work from within the android wrapper in Jolla Sailfish OS?
      I'll try it as soon as I receive the tablet (not having their phone)...

    • It is a new "keyboard app". Don't expect to add features like this in the coming "core OS" versions of Android... Google is busy getting things out of the core so they can update them independently.

      • Then google should at least open-source those apps. They can still update them, just like the chrome browser.

    • They've had it for several years in the Google store in the form of Chinese pinyin input, which recognizes both handwritten Chinese words and Latin letters.

  • My faithful companion for 20 years has finally met its match. And just as it was starting to understand my writing style I have to consider a competitor.

    But really, why has it taken this long to be able to write on a screen?

    • Perhaps because all the modern devices are meant to work with your fingers and not with a stylus? Scribbling with a fingertip isn't all that effective, and even when you get a stylus, they don't work all that well because they have to simulate a fat, soft finger.

      • Not all devices have the same capacitive touch sensors. Devices like the Galaxy Note series of tablets and phablets, or the Surface series, and some of the ASUS VivoTab models have a proper digitizer for styluses.

        Hopefully this resolves a chicken and egg issue and we can start to see more of these now.

        • Even without proper digitizers you can fake it by getting a particular kind of stylus. Your Google search terms are "capacitive stylus".

          • That creates 2 problems, one the GP was alluding to is that the stylus is simulating a "fat soft finger". Maybe there's newer styluses but the ones I looked at a few years ago didn't seem all that hot.

            But the bigger problem is identifying the difference between the stylus and your hand. It's not a problem for mobile phone sized devices, but for tablet sized devices it is very reasonable to be resting your palm on the screen while taking notes.

      • Perhaps because all the modern devices are meant to work with your fingers and not with a stylus?

        You've got the cause and effect backwards: devices are designed not to use a stylus because their makers had no desire to support handwriting recognition, not the other way around.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Jartan ( 219704 )

      Patents on digitizer technology. It wasn't until tablets took off enough that other companies were willing to challenge the market leader.

      Thus the cost of the handwriting tech was prohibitively expensive.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tepples ( 727027 )

        Is there a patent on putting a layer of resistive touch screen over a layer of capacitive touch screen? Resistive is what the Newton and Nintendo DS used; it just doesn't support multitouch.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Herve5 ( 879674 )

      I have a Samsung Galaxy Note that definitely accepts handwriting reasonably (and that, not being capable to gain root control, I'll abandon as soon as I find a reasonably open alternative).
      On android you don't need Samsung techno anyway, you already have apps like Myscript Smartnotes (closed source but no Gapps) working as well...

    • Because Steve Jobs fucked everything up by refusing to support it on the original iPhone, and Google followed suit.

      If Palm -- or Microsoft, for that matter -- had been the breakthrough smartphone innovator, we'd have had handwriting recognition all along.

  • Yawn (Score:3)

    by sexconker ( 1179573 ) on Saturday April 18, 2015 @02:17AM (#49498919)

    Not added to Android, but Google's fleg of "services" and "apps".
    Besides, the Samsung Note line has had handwriting recognition (in the note taking app and in the keyboard) for ages, and it works really fucking well.

  • I'm pretty sure I remember how to do graffiti, and it's still better than any handwriting input I've ever used.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by emag ( 4640 )

      I'm pretty sure at some point in the past, I've installed a Graffiti input method for one or more of the Android devices I've owned, after seeing someone I knew using it. Ah, yeah, found it [google.com] and it's listed as "Installed", though it's not on any device I'm *currently* using...

      • Little known fact, Graffiti was originally a software upgrade for the Zoomer [wikipedia.org]. It also works on other GEOS pen devices, like the GRiDPad 1910 running Geoworks. 640x400 stylus-based PC...

      • It's virtually abadonware, lasy updated January 24, 2011, lots of complaints about it not working on various devices. A shame.
  • The only relevant questions I can think of in regards to handwriting input are "Who the hell owns the corpse of Palm?" and "Why the hell hasn't Graffiti been brought back yet?"

  • Seems like a whole bunch of hand-waving to me.

  • QWERTY (Score:1)

    by short ( 66530 )

    "is needed because touchscreen keyboards remain modestly effective and while 'Voice input is an option"

    So what about ... a keyboard?

  • I guess this is needed for people who don't already have a Samsung Note.

  • I'm kinda hoping that having a handwriting engine allows them to do something useful, like OneNote-style integration with Google Docs.

  • Google has added handwriting support to Android? And people complain about every single minor feature upgrade to iOS being big news.... for Pete's sake there was handwriting support in Windows Mobile and on Symbian a decade ago and it worked pretty well. Plus those guys weren't the firs to include this feature in a mobile device by any stretch...

  • Every day I'm on the MTR or the bus I see numerous people around me writing away on their phones. Handwriting input is the norm, not the exception. It seems to work pretty well, considering the very few corrections they have to make.

    Or is recognising and distinguishing between those thousands if not tens of thousands of different Chinese characters really that much easier than the 26 letters (well, make that 52 to account for capitals) in our alphabet? I always thought they'd use handwriting input because i

    • Or is recognising and distinguishing between those thousands if not tens of thousands of different Chinese characters really that much easier than the 26 letters (well, make that 52 to account for capitals) in our alphabet?

      Joined-up cursive writing in the Latin alphabet is very different from drawing each stroke of a Chinese character. I used to have a Newton MessagePad 2000 and it worked mostly because I stuck to manuscript (separate letters).

  • but it's up to you to decide what the implications of that may be.

  • I've used 8pen on all my android phones for years. Much faster than handwriting or typing for that matter, and it can be used one-handed without even looking. Best $0.99 I ever spent.

  • Hello. I am interested in knowing about OCR of handwriting. As far as I know, it is not possible, at least of scripts such as Indic scripts. With Google Handwriting Input supporting 82 languages, including several Indic languages, does it enable OCR of handwriting? If so, how can this new technology developed by Google be used to facilitate large-scale OCR?
  • They even do Chinese. But it may be easier than Latin language, after all, as characters are not linked (melted?) with each others.

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