iSMS: Handwriting review [iPhone]

Before the iPhone and iPod touch, and before the smartphone or tablet, there was the Palm PDA. It's probably not unfair to say that without the pocket computing groundwork laid down by the likes of Palm, there'd be no iPhone. It was sad to see how Palm ended up, but it had a body of touchscreen devices it can remain ever proud of.

One of the best features of the Palm range of PDA devices was the graffiti handwriting system. Simplified versions of letters and numbers were written out in the handwriting area at the bottom of the screen using a stylus to enter text into apps, games or whatever else you were running.

ISMS: Handwriting is an app that returns that notion to our contemporary touchscreens, and then punts the text into an SMS. Admittedly, the iPhone's on-screen keyboard is considerably more useable and accurate than the Palm's was, thanks mostly to predictive typing and multi-touch gestures, but there's still space for finger painting - if it's accurate enough.

You're more likely to be using your finger than a stylus nowadays, but iSMS: Handwriting makes use of almost the entire touchscreen for its 'graffiti pad', which makes up for the lack of a fine-tip on your writing implement.

The app begins by allowing you to create a kind of internal address book by selecting specific numbers from specific contacts and adding them to the front page. This makes it much easier and faster next time you want to send a text to a regular contact, by selecting them from iSMS: Handwriting's favourites list with a single tap.

Then you're straight into handwriting, which is very similar indeed to the old Palm system. A letter 'a' for example, is written by drawing an inverted 'V' shape, while mimicking the shift button is achieved by drawing a vertical line beginning from the bottom. A backward swipe deletes the last character, and a button is provided to switch between entering letters and numbers.

Should all else fail, the on-screen keyboard is still accessible as if this were the native text messaging app.

ISMS: Handwriting is slow to use at first, due to the requirement of learning its alphabet. Not all letters are exactly as you'd expect, with some requiring two line strokes to complete them, such as the letter 'h'. You'd be forgiven for thinking that would be easy enough for the app to recognise when drawn as it looks, but the developer has presumably tested each symbol and worked out the best method of ensuring a clear difference between as many letters, numbers and punctuation marks as possible.

So despite the initial learning period, when typing would probably be quicker, taking the time to get to know the exact symbols iSMS: Handwriting is looking for provides the rewards. It's not an app that everyone is going to need, and isn't nearly as essential as the graffiti system was on the Palm, but it works just as well if you hanker for handwriting.