Re: Handwriting, please…
 

i can write by hand very fast. but on my blackberry i can type faster than i can write. plus my handwriting is pretty bad and i dont know how the recognition would go with that.
so im not to fussed if it doesnt have it on the n900.
though it will still be something id like to try

Re: Handwriting, please…
 

There simply is no decent HWR engine available for linux. The HWR on previous tablets was most likely a (badly) tweaked version of Decuma Alphabetic (my own guess, as Nokia never specified), but nothing like PenOffice exists for linux, which I'm using to write this BTW.

Re: Handwriting, please…
 

I guess its like has been said before, the N900 is a geeks toy. Its not really at a state ready for the kind of people who are slower at typing than writing.

Anyone who is reasonably good with a keyboard will always be far faster with the keyboard than writing. Its only logical that moving a pen/stylus to make a shape takes significantly longer than tapping a button.

That said, I do think its a shame its missing. The point is that while Nokia clearly are not ready for average-joe to use the N900, it doesn't mean average joe will not look at the N900 and think badly of Nokia for it not being easy for them to use. If its available in the shops people will look at it, and they wont "get" that its currently designed to be a techie toy, they will assume this is the best Nokia can come up with.

Re: Handwriting, please…
 

Given 1) move from stylus to finger although stylus remains for backwards compatibility 2) planned move from resistive to capacitive in N900 succesor & Maemo 6 3) lack of handwriting support in Maemo 5 and 4) quality of handwriting in previous Maemo versions (<= 4.1.2) I wouldn't put my money on assuming Maemo 6 will have good handwriting support. Even though we cannot be sure as of now, the facts we do know are not supporting such statement.

Re: Handwriting, please…
 

not really, with handwriting and note taking, the words flow and you move faster and can explain more and emphasise things better in a few seconds than with a keyboard.
i took extensive notes at the maemo summit and think the information I will extract from them will be much better than anything I couldv written on any keyboard in the same time and ease.
also, note taking is less intrusive than using a keyboard and is done with one hand.
obviously for some people keyboards are preferred.


i agree, a decent hand writing recognition system would be good :)
"the best that Nokia can come up with"
a solid platform that has all the hardware needed to be a concrete reliable usable haven for open source collaboration and app building for years to come.
thats pretty damned good from where I'm standing.

it looks good, it operates well, its getting cleaner and cleaner every day.

Re: Handwriting, please…
 

I think it’s a mistake to assume that you’ll need a stylus to do handwriting. I use my nail (and I don’t have long ones) to write. And I would not take for granted that geeks don’t know how to write with a pen.
I would give up the keyboard and the extra thickness on N900 for handwriting and a virtual keyboard. And please keep it resistive, it’s much better.

Re: Handwriting, please…
 

drm,
bah i stopped finger painting a while ago.
even having a stylus implanted in my finger did not stop me from using a stylus for writing.

my fingernails are short and the precision is low and moving whole hand over to other side of the screen is actually tiresome.
i extend my fingers and stylus to write on the right hand side of the screen (I'm left handed), using my nail I would have to physically move my whole hand.
I currently rest my wrist near the lower left corner and can extend to the whole screen with only finger movements.

stylus writing ftw
finger friendly ui is also stylus friendly :)

Re: Handwriting, please…
 

I'm merging a crap phone, psp, palm t5, and my mp3 player into my n900

handwriting is single greatest thing on the t5!!

Re: Handwriting, please…
 

If the future N910 don’t have physical keyboard (I read somewhere that they will take it out), it should be even more necessary to implement the handwriting, it’s impossible to navigate on the web always changing from keyboard screen to web screen. The handwriting box it’s just a small rectangle and it can even be transparent.

Re: Handwriting, please…
 

I read today on maemo-guru the above opinion (big buttons and no handwriting) that I hope will not be the future.

«One thing I’m known for saying about the Nokia Internet Tablets is that Maemo needs to decide whether it wants you to use the stylus or your finger, and stick with that. Neither choice is really good or bad, they both have their advantages and drawbacks.

If you’re one who, like me, thinks finger-friendly is the way to go, then I want to let you knoow something you can implement right nows that will make your entire tablet experience much more finger friendly. It’s a theme called EchoWB. This theme is visually identical to the Echo system theme save for one important detail – all the scrollbars throughout the whole tablet are wide enough to be finger friendly.

Such a small change, and yet I think you’ll find that it makes the entire user experience just a little bit better, being able to navigate better without trying to use your fingernail or pop the stylus out all the time.»