Gear Diary WritePad Expands Its Vocabulary photo

I’ve written about WritePad in the past, noting how useful it was for taking notes on the iPad. I’ve actually used it quite a bit in meetings at work and folks are usually blown away by its ability to capture my handwriting and convert it into text. One of the critical elements of successful handwriting recognition is the dictionary used by the program; no matter how good your handwriting is, if WritePad cannot find a word to match it, you’re out of luck.

PhatWare, the makers of WritePad, recently released an update that enhances the software’s dictionary. The update now allows users to import new words to the dictionary from the user’s contacts, events, and the currently open document. PhatWare also implemented the ability to import new dictionaries, including a medical dictionary that is available as an in-app purchase.

Here’s a quick summary of WritePad’s main features:

  • Create and edit text documents using the advanced handwriting recognition engine or iPad keyboard for text entry in landscape or portrait mode.
  • Improve productivity by using inline gestures, spell checker, context analyzer, and shorthand features.
  • Improve overall handwriting recognition quality using WritePad’s Statistical Analyzer, which addresses common recognition errors. When enabled, this WritePad feature learns and adapts to the user’s own handwriting style.
  • Email, Tweet, print, or post Facebook updates directly from WritePad.
  • Synchronize WritePad documents with Dropbox, Evernote, and iTunes, or upload documents to Google Docs.
  • Translate documents to 13 supported languages using Bing Translator.
  • Change WritePad’s appearance by manipulating text, page, and ink colors using the customizable Styles feature.

WritePad is available here in the iTunes Store for $9.99.  The new medical dictionary can be purchased for $4.99 from within the app by selecting it as the default dictionary in the Options panel and tapping “Buy.”

Tags: ,



Jeff’s interest in computers and technology began by watching too many Star Trek reruns after school. His first computer was a Timex-Sinclair, for which he had the 16K – yes, 16K – add-on pack. His current interest in gadgets was spurred on by the original Palm Pilot; from there it was a slippery slope to Pocket PCs, Archos media players, Sony Cliés, and various Apple products.


Save Big with ZAGG this Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Weekend is underway, but it won’t be until Monday that you can save big on pretty much everything ZAGG [...]

Think Tank Photo Mirrorless Mover 30i Review

Think Tank Photos Mirrorless Mover line of bags is a great way to carry and protect your mirrorless camera. The [...]

RockDoc Bluetooth by Pitbull Small in Size, Big in Sound

A few weeks ago Dr Ruth came to speak at my synagogue. She was awesome- funny, interesting, quick on her [...]

Win a Sony Xperia T from Gear Diary

Carly’s about to get a Nokia 928 running Windows Phone 8. Judie, after serving up her detailed review of the [...]

The Secret Society from G5 Tweaks Your Dopamine Reward System to the Max!

Secret Society Game Tweaks Your Dopamine Reward System

The most ‘addictive’ games are the ones that activate your ‘dopamine reward system’, which is your brains way of dealing [...]

Cozi Family Organizer for iPhone and iPad – a Blueplate Special

iPhone and iPad apps for anyone on a budget. Nothing over $.99! My kids have finally reached the age that [...]