PalmSource is licensing Communication Intelligence Corporation's (CIC) Jot handwriting recognition software for version 2 of its Graffiti handwriting recognition software. In other words, future versions of Graffiti won't contain Graffiti.

Under this agreement, "Graffiti 2 powered by Jot," will be embedded in future versions of the Palm OS, including versions 4.1.2 and 5.2, as well as the Palm Developers Kit. We at PDAStreet view this as a good move on PalmSource's part. As longtime users of Jot, we find it easier and more natural to use than Graffiti, as the strokes needed to render different characters more closely resemble the way those letters and numbers are written by hand. The technology recognizes both English and Roman-based European characters in English, French, Italian, German Spanish and Japanese languages.

"So now you will be able to write a 'T' as a 'T' and not an upside-down 'L'," said PalmSorce Director of product development Michael Higashi.

Of course, the demise of Graffiti isn't just a result of good intentions on Palm's part. Back in 1997, Xerox sued Palm, saying that Graffiti resulted from its own patented technology. In June of 2000, a judge dismissed the case, only to have that decision reversed the next year. The move to Jot should take care of Palm's legal troubles regarding Graffiti.

"The suit caused us to take a fresh look at all the technologies," said Palm Corporate Spokesperson Marlene Somsak. "We came to a conclusion that the litigation could take a long time and we liked what CIC had to offer. So much so that if we were to start a company from scratch, we would base it on Jot instead of Graffiti."

Inklings of the end of Graffiti as we know it came last year when the companies announced that Palm was licensing Jot for the upcoming Tungsten W smartphone and Handspring dropped Graffiti all together for its Treo Communicators.

According to David Nagel, president and chief executive officer of PalmSource, "Graffiti 2 is a superior handwriting recognition system that will enhance the ease of use that the Palm OS is known for. We expect this technology to appeal to a wide range of users who will be able to easily take notes and write memos on their Palm Powered devices."