Thanks to iPhone developer, forum regular, and troll-slayer extraordinaire cmaier for passing along this gem from McRumors:

Apple has quietly included handwriting recognition for Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) into the latest iPhone Firmware 2.0 beta. When you select Chinese input, you are given the option to use handwriting recognition allowing you to draw characters on the screen with your finger. As you write the character, four possibilities appear on the right side of the screen.

Simplified characters, the official version in Mainland China, is the key to one massive market. Traditional characters, used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, regaining popularity in the South of China, and adapted to form parts of the Japanese and some South East Asian regional/cultural groups, is key to a second.

(Not to mention what implications, if any, this has for on-again/off-again China Mobile discussions…)

Having studied Chinese for a few years, and not having found any handset character recognition I’ve been particularly fond of yet, I’m likewise eager to see what Apple can bring to the table.

What do you think?