The article below is about Handwrite, a new way to enter search terms in Google.

This is significant in at least two respects: 1) It helps solve the touchscreen typing fiasco that has proliferated on iPhones and Android devices, and 2) it makes it even easier to search in Google relative to our own search.

Why they (or some third party) can't add arrow keys in the onscreen keyboard is beyond me...

Handwrite works fairly well, in my limited experience.

Also worth noting is AskWiki, an app that was originally released in Germany. It features voice recognition and the following logic:

The focus is to find short and smart answers for direct questions, e.g. "Wann wurde Einstein geboren?" (When was Einstein born?) or "Wer ist der Leiter von BMW?" (Who's the head of BMW?).
This is done by analyzing the tables and subchapter headlines that appear in Wikipedia articles.

This App uses Google Speech Recognizer for recognition of voice and the database of Wikipedia. AskWiki runs on the mobile phone without using an additional server.

The Handwriting is on The Wall for Google Mobile Search

Posted: 27 Jul 2012 01:37 PM PDT

Internet search giant Google is pushing its mobile search capabilities to new heights this week.

As announced by the company on the Official Google Blog, there’s a new way for you to interact with Google: Handwrite for web search on mobile phones and tablets.

Say you’re standing on a busy street corner, in a bumpy taxi ride, talking with a friend, or sitting on the couch with your tablet. Handwrite enables you to search by just writing letters with your finger most anywhere on your device’s screen—there’s no keyboard that covers half of the screen and no need for hunt-and-peck typing.

To get started, Google says, simply go to Google.com in your mobile browser, tap on “Settings” at the bottom of the screen and enable “Handwrite.” Refresh the homepage and then the feature is all yours to enjoy.

Handwrite has, for the time being, been enabled for iOS5+ devices, Android 2.3+ phones and Android 4.0+ tablets, with support offered in 27 languages.

For more tips and tricks on how to use Handwrite, check out Google’s Help Center guide here.