Nintendo licenses handwriting recognition software for DS News

Calling all Nintendo DS owners: your handheld will soon be able to recogniseyour very own handwriting thanks to a new deal with a company called Zi Corporation.

Nintendo has licensed Zi's Decuma handwriting recognition software, which is already used in various PDAs and smartphones. This means that DS developers can now create software which incorporates the technology.

Decuma is said to allow for "fast and natural handwriting input, enabling users to focus on the content rather than the writing.

"Users can closely mimic writing with pen and paper, with letters and words being written and interpreted in a natural flow, allowing for easy editing and correction." There are three different types of Decuma software to suit European, Chinese and Japanese languages.

So just what will developers do with Decuma? The most obvious use would be to create some organiser-type software so you can use your DS as a diary, address book and so on. And with the Wi-Fi Connection service due to launch in less than a month, here's hoping we'll see some email software, too.

As for how Decuma might be used in games - who knows. Not us, because we don't have very much imagination.