Inkwell (handwriting recognition) and iOS - It is time for Apple to embrace the stylus?
When the iPhone and iPad were originally introduced, Apple shook up the mobile industry by eschewing stylus input for touch. If a pen had been included with the iPhone, developers might have stuck with the then status quo and avoided multitouch development (and a key Apple differentiator). Now that multi-touch is widely accepted, is it time for Apple to take another look at the stylus?
Tim Cook said recently that he does 80% of his work on an iPad. My reaction to this statement was negative and almost physiological, as I imagined typing documents via the on-screen keyboard—I just don't like using it for extended periods of time. Of course there are always BT keyboards for longer documents, which I'd probably end up writing at my desk (Mac) anyhow. However, most of the "content" I create is made up of notes, recorded thoughts, and doodles/diagrams—all in my spiral notebook. It may be old-school, but the pen and paper give me total freedom on the page.
Apple has very good handwriting recognition baked into OSX through its "Inkwell" technology. But Inkwell requires a graphics tablet, which most Macs don't have. The iPad and iOS seems like the natural platform for handwriting recognition. Even if Apple were to provide it as a core service, they could enable app/hw developers to create some great tools. I can think of a few possibilities that I'd love (and pay money) to have.
Has there been any development/rumors about handwriting recognition on the iPad? I, for one, would be able to move much closer to Tim's 80% mark if it were included.