Apple seeks patent on handwriting recognition technology for the Apple iPad

If your memory goes beyond the smartphone era, you might recall the Apple Newton. The handheld PDA was the first such device to use handwriting recognition, although its accuracy was not good. Originally designed for the desktop, Jony Ive shrunk Newton down so that it could be a handheld product. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he 86'd the Newton for a few reasons. One was the fact it relied on a stylus ("Yuck, who needs a stylus," he said during the unveiling of the Apple iPhone) and was created under the leadership of John Sculley. Sculley, as you might know, was handpicked to ...