Palm inks handwriting recognition software deal

InfoWorld - PalmSource Inc., the operating system division of Palm Inc., announced yesterday that it will discontinue its Graffiti handwriting-recognition software in favor of Jot technology from Communication Intelligence Corp. (CIC) in Redwood Shores, Calif.
The Jot software will be renamed Graffiti 2 and will be embedded in current and future versions of the operating system.
According to PalmSource officials, Jot emulates more natural printing input. For example, in Graffiti a user has to write an upside-down L to depict a lowercase T, but in Jot that letter is written using a plain lowercase T. "Users don't have to read a manual," said Michael Higashi, director of operating system marketing at PalmSource in Sunnyvale, Calif.
However, the punctuation is more of an effort. For example, "you have to do an upstroke instead of a dot," said Higashi.
While the new software may make most users happier, the same may not be true for retailers who still have plenty of the older Grafitti-based Palm OS devices on their shelves. If the Jot software is easier to use, why wouldn't a buyer hold off purchasing a device until the new software is incorporated into Palm-based models?
"Manufacturers choose when they want to roll it out," said Palm spokeswoman Marlene Somsak.
Somsak said Palm Solutions Group isn't sure whether the company would roll out Grafitti 2-based devices as new models or do what she called a "soft roll," upgrading the current models with new handwriting software.
As for users who have invested the time in learning Grafitti, Higashi said the transition will be as easy as going from a notebook keyboard to a desktop keyboard.
Palm Solutions Group intends to have Grafitti 2 products out during the calendar year, but Somsak wouldn't give a more precise date. One industry analyst called Jot an "interim solution."
"CIC is not bad and will serve until the migration to all keyboard handhelds is complete," said David Hayden, principal analyst at MobileWeek in Palo Alto, Calif.
According to Hayden, consumers are buying handhelds with keyboards in large numbers. Hayden cited Handspring, which had two handheld models, one with a keyboard, and one with Grafitti. "Over 90% of the buyers chose the model with the keyboard," Hayden said.
Besides the handwriting recognition, the Jot technology will recognize English and European characters that are based on the Roman alphabet. Jot will sell two text-entry utilities, WordComplete and QuickNotes, separately.
Some industry analysts point to a lawsuit filed by Xerox Corp. over copyright infringement for its handwriting-recognition software technology. Somsak said theXerox lawsuit was a consideration, but once the company began studying alternatives, it realized the Jot technology was superior. PalmSource will stay with it, regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, she said.

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