Google adds handwriting to Gmail, Docs

The jury is out on stylus input on mobile devices, though many people likely are happy if the option is there, even if it goes unused. Drawing or writing on a screen may not be for everyone, but it has its place in the market, and today Google adds support for your handwriting to both Gmail and Google Docs.

"Whether you’re a student trying to include a foreign phrase in your paper or an international consultant hoping to begin your message with a friendly local greeting, now you’ll be able to use your own handwriting to input words directly into Gmail and Google Docs with your mouse or trackpad", states Google Product Manage Xiangye Xiao.

You will need to enable the option in both cases and Google provides instruction for this simple step -- "to try it out, enable input tools in Gmail or Docs and select the handwriting input (represented by a pencil icon) of the language you want to use".

Currently Gmail supports more than 50 languages, while Docs weighs in at just over 20 for handwriting recognition. The new service utilizes Google Translate, which is available for Android, iOS, the Chrome browser and the web. Just be careful what words your writing gets translated to.