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How to handwrite your Google searches directly on your smartphone or tablet screen

Posted: , by Daniel P.

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How to handwrite your Google searches directly on your smartphone or tablet screen
File this under the "cool stuff to impress your date with" label, but Google is giving you the chance to do handwritten searches on your iOS or Android smartphone or tablet, instead of using the on-screen keyboard.

We kid, we can actually imagine quite a few scenarios where this will be useful, and they don't only involve bowling accidents and swollen fingers, although Google does try to imply that the guy with the crutches in the promo video thinks this is a godsend for him.

To enable the feature, you have to go to Google.com with your mobile browser, find the "Settings" link at the bottom, then look for the "Handwrite" option, which is third from the top, and checkmark "enable", since by default the option is disabled. Don't forget to scroll all the way down and save, since it doesn't do it automatically when you hit the Back button. 

How to handwrite your Google searches directly on your smartphone or tablet screen


There you have it, you can now scribble the word with your finger directly on the phone or tablet screen, and it will appear in the search box, autocomplete and all. A handy editing bar appears at the bottom when you handwrite, allowing you to insert a space, delete letters, or turn off/on the handwriting functions with the touch of a button. You can do it in 27 different languages, so we can imagine this Handwrite feature being very useful for people in China, Japan or Korea, for example, but Handwrite will only recognize letters in the preferred language you have in your search settings.

Letter recognition is very fast and accurate, pretty close with the best apps we've used, even with our ugly handwriting. It can actually save some time for quick searches, as you only need to scribble two or three letters and autocomplete does the rest, whereas you have to tap on the search box to evoke the on-screen keyboard, and then start writing. 

Now you can type, speak, or handwrite your Google searches, which will also come in handy if you have a device with smaller screen and cramped keyboard. Cool, eh?

 

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1. zaryab_hussain77 posted on 26 Jul 2012, 15:23 7

stupid.....not enough time to do this.....may b u people like...

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4. jaytai0106 posted on 26 Jul 2012, 16:00 2

It's cool but like you said, it does take longer to write than to type.

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8. Wiki_jaan posted on 26 Jul 2012, 17:34 3

dude ppl want every type of new feature ........

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2. PhoneCritic posted on 26 Jul 2012, 15:40 4

Good to have plenty of options. Good Job Google.

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3. Ohrules posted on 26 Jul 2012, 15:57 3

the guy at the end ordered pizza cuz he burnt the meal he was cooking :D

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5. irvinkeith posted on 26 Jul 2012, 16:55 2

stuff like this makes me wonder even more why Apple and Google can't just get along. Both are great companies that bring alot to the table, no reason to waste all this money in court.

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6. Commentator posted on 26 Jul 2012, 16:59 2

I feel like this is wasted on most smartphones: writing with your finger is awkward and slow. Anything with a stylus though could really use this, such as the Galaxy Note, or any tablet really.

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7. amiaq posted on 26 Jul 2012, 17:09 4

Apple has a patent for this too ; )

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9. dudeyoureabarista posted on 26 Jul 2012, 18:59 2

I'm not trying to bash your article or anything, but the Korean language uses an alphabet system. It actually has fewer letters than English. How do I know this? I'm Korean. So Koreans have ease writing with a keyboard just like typing English on a keyboard. However, Chinese you are write there's almost a different character for every word which this will be useful.Not sure about Japanese though..

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10. dudeyoureabarista posted on 26 Jul 2012, 19:01 2

I mean right instead of write.

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11. Penny posted on 26 Jul 2012, 20:46

Hmm, didn't find the option to enable it on my HTC Trophy. Wanted to mess with it a bit, but whatever.

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12. networkdood posted on 26 Jul 2012, 20:49 1

works great on my small 4 inch captivate (2010), that soon apple will call as being innovative on their next iphone (2012)

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13. Samsomesh posted on 26 Jul 2012, 21:23 1

Maybe slow but great.!

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