Google recently launched a intriguing new feature that lets you write out search queries on touchscreen phones and tablets, including Android handsets and Apple’s iOS devices.

Once you activate the feature, you can start tracing letters and words anywhere the main Google search page. As you do, Google will analyze your scrawls and start plugging words into the search box.

Rather not trace words with your finger? Try a stylus instead.

You can write both upper- and lowercase letters, as well as symbols such as “@,” “&,” “$” and “—”. Cursive isn’t recommended, but Google managed to do a decent job at interpreting my (admittedly shaky) cursive script.

As you’re writing, you’ll see a row of buttons at the bottom of the screen, including a help button, a space bar, a backspace button, and a button marked “G” that toggles the handwriting feature on and off.

You can also call up the keyboard at any time by tapping inside the Google search box.

Here’s how to turn Google’s handwriting feature on:

• Visit the main Google home page, then tap the Settings link near the bottom of the page on your smartphone. Using a tablet? Tap the gear icon in the top-right corner of the page, the tap “Search settings.”
• Scroll down to the “Handwrite” section, then tap “Enable.”
• Tap the blue Save button at the very bottom of the page.

Had your fill of Google handwriting? Just go back to the Google search settings and switch Handwrite back to “Disable.”

Bonus tip

 
Not a fan of tracing letters with your finger? Well, you could always try a touchscreen-friendly stylus, which worked pretty well for me on a smaller smartphone screen.

Looking for more Google tips? Click here!

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Slated to go on sale February 19 through AT&T, the Galaxy Note ($299 with a two-year contract) ups the ante to an almost absurd degree in terms of smartphone screen size.

Measuring 5.3 inches diagonally, the Note’s eye-popping “Super OLED” screen is about an inch larger than many of the biggest Android phones on the market, and it makes the iPhone’s 3.5-inch display look positively puny in comparison.

Indeed, the Galaxy Note’s display is so massive that it comes with its own stylus, which slides into a sheath molded into the Note’s 0.4-inch-thick shell.

And in case you’re wondering, yes: the relatively svelte Note will fit in a jeans pocket, though only just.

Armed with a “dual-core” processor (meaning two processors on a single chip, for speedier multitasking and more efficient power usage), dual cameras (one in front for video chat, another in back capable of HD-quality video recording), and 16GB of memory (expandable to a total of 48GB with an optional microSD memory card), the 6.3-ounce Note ranks right up there with other state-of-the-art Android phones.

The Note also supports AT&T’s just-launched 4G LTE network for ultra-fast cellular data—again, on a par with other leading Android phones. And while the Note’s version of the Android OS—2.3 “Gingerbread”—is a bit behind the times, Samsung is promising an update to the latest version of Android, 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich,” in the near future.

Which brings us back to the Note’s main claim to fame: its massive display, coupled with a stylus (or “S-Pen,” as Samsung calls it) that might spark memories of the old, pre-iPhone Palm Treo.

First, let’s cover the positives, stating with the gorgeous display itself. Thanks to a technology called OLED (which employs light-emitting pixels rather than the backlighting used in a standard LCD), the Note’s display looks startlingly vivid, with colors that pop off the screen. And with a resolution of 1280 by 800, the Note’s razor-sharp display qualifies as true HD quality.

In short, the Note’s screen is a sight to behold—and indeed, I was shocked by how puny my iPhone 4’s “retina” display started to look as I switched back and forth.

Nice, but what does the Note’s huge display mean in practical terms? Well, for one thing, text on web pages is far easier to read, and you’ll certainly one-up your friends when it’s time to swipe through your respective family photos. Videos look amazing (yes, you can watch an entire Netflix movie without having to squint) and typing on the Note’s roomy keypad is a cinch.

Then there’s the S-Pen: a slender stylus that lets you swipe and tap anywhere on the Note’s expansive display. Basically a smaller version of those Wacom pens used by digital designers, the S-Pen is entirely optional; you don’t ever have to touch it if you don’t want to. (A replacement S-Pen goes for $29, incidentally.)

You can, however, use the stylus to swipe through your home pages, tap on apps, draw little doodles using Samsung’s custom S-Note app (the lines you trace will get thicker or thinner depending how hard you press), or scrawl notes in the margins of web pages and send them back to the office. There are even a handful of apps that have been specifically optimized for the S-Pen, including Fruit Ninja (the popular fruit-slashing game) and Polaris Office.

All very impressive—and hey, were “bigger” always “better,” the Galaxy Note would, hands-down, be the best smartphone on the market.

But in stretching the Note’s display to a full 5.3 inches, Samsung may have poked a hole or two in the screen-size envelope.

Consider using the Note palmed in one hand while tapping with a thumb, a maneuver I perform regularly when I’m out and about with a smartphone. On the Note, just trying to tap the Contacts icon on the far side of the screen with my thumb is something of a stretch. But as far as the tabs at the top of the main Contacts screen go, forget it; my thumb simply can’t reach, or not unless I scoot the whole handset down on my palm.

Making phone calls on the Note is also an odd experience, akin to holding a salad plate against my cheek—although it must be said, call quality on the Note was pretty good, especially compared to my unreliable iPhone 4 on AT&T.

Then there’s the S-Pen, which lets you touch, tap, and swipe anywhere on the screen—well, anywhere except for the four main Android buttons (Menu, Home, Back, and Search) below the display.

If you want to go Home Back with the stylus, you’ll need to press a small button on the S-Pen’s shaft while swiping down or across. That’s the theory, anyway. In practice, I found that the S-Pen’s “Home” and “Back” gestures were somewhat hit-and-miss. I finally gave up and stowed the S-Pen in favor of my fingertip for navigating around the Note’s screens and menus. (It’s worth noting that a garden-variety tablet stylus worked just fine on both the Note’s screen and its Android buttons, although you don’t get the benefit of pressure sensitivity while you’re sketching.)

And while the Note’s screen is simply massive for a smartphone, it’s also a little too small (or at least, too small for me) to qualify as a tablet, or even a mini-tablet. Samsung’s superb Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, for example, is just two inches bigger (measured diagonally) than the Note, yet its screen feels much roomier—and yes, more like a real tablet.

In other words, if you were hoping the Note might double as both a smartphone and a tablet, well … not so much.

Now, if you are looking for a phone with a screen that’s bigger than the iPhone’s, I’d consider an Android phone with a four or 4.3-inch display—like, say, Samsung’s own Galaxy Nexus, one of Motorola Droid phones, or any number of other jumbo-screened Android handsets. Personally, I think a four-inch smartphone hits the sweet spot in terms of size and convenience, which is why I’m hoping the next iPhone stretches its screen by a half-inch.

Of course, it’s always possible that the Note’s size and stylus may perfectly suit your specific needs; for example, if you’re a phone-savvy sketch artist who wants a roomy, stylus-packing handset that fits in a pocket. If that’s the case, by all means—give the Note a try.

For the rest of us, though, the novelty of the Note’s massive screen may quickly wear thin, leaving us with an Android phone that’s somehow both too big and (as tablet wanna-be) too small.

Have any questions about the Samsung Galaxy Note? Post ’em in the comments below.

Note: Samsung and AT&T provided me with a loaner Galaxy Note to review, and I’ll be returning it once I’m finished testing.

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Press reps from Kensignton gave me a sample of the company’s Virtuoso stylus ($15) to test, and I have to say, I’m impressed.

Armed with a soft, plastic tip designed to work with capacitive-style touchscreens (which respond to to tiny changes in the electrical charge on the surface of the screen, rather than pressure from your fingertip), the Virtuoso worked perfectly with my iPad.

I was able to tap, swipe, and even draw with a few light flicks of the pen—pretty nice, especially for tablet users who don’t have full use of their fingers, or when you want to tap on your phone while wearing thick winter gloves.

The Virtuoso isn’t the only touchscreen stylus on the market, of course. Different makes and models are available from a variety of manufacturers, including Ten One Design (maker of the first iPhone stylus, the Pogo Stylus) and Wacom (which sells the $29 Bamboo stylus). There’s even a kitchen-safe stylus and iPad stand that you can use while you’re cooking.

And just to be clear, you can use one of these specially designed styluses (styli?) with the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or any number of Android smartphones or tablets.

Note: Kensington gave me its Virtuoso stylus for review purposes, but I’ll be returning it once I’m done testing.

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Enter Belkin and its brilliant new iPad chef stand ($40), which comes with a “non-slip” rubber base and its own, “kitchen-safe” stylus.

The chef stand (which I’ve yet to see in person) props up the iPad at two different angles, according to Belkin, while the stylus lets you tap and swipe without mucking up the iPad’s screen.

Even better, the stylus’ magnetic tip lets you wake the iPad 2’s display from “sleep mode” with a light touch, while owners of the original iPad can go ahead and tap the physical Home button.

One you’re done cooking, you can wash both the stylus and the stand in warm, soapy water, leaving your precious iPad gunk-free.

Great idea—and indeed, I think I want one.

Looking for more iPad tips and how-tos? Click here!

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The seven-inch, Android 2.3 “Gingerbread”-powered Flyer ($499, available now from Best Buy) will work perfectly fine without a stylus, by the way—and I should note that the optional stylus itself is an extra $80, so we’re not exactly talking cheap here.

But if you’re willing to pony up the extra cash, you’ll be in for a treat. Just take the aluminum-clad stylus and tap its pressure-sensitive tip on the little pen icon just below the screen; once you do, a little bubble will appear in the bottom corner of the display. Jutting out the edge of the bubble are a series of pencils, pens, markers and highlighters; just tap the one you want to write with and start scribbling away. You can also choose a different color, hide or trash your doodles, or undo any goofs.

Ready to put your scribbles to work? A notebook app on the Flyer lets you take notes (natch) or sketch pictures, and you can also take a voice memo as you draw. (The notebook will sync with Evernote’s handy desktop and mobile apps, incidentally.) Meanwhile, another app gives you an overlay that lets you mark up whatever’s on the Flyer’s screen at the moment—be it a website, the main home screen, the Android Market, you name it. Last but not least, you can highlight text in the Flyer’s e-book, Office, and PDF readers by holding one of two buttons on the stylus itself. (The second stylus button turns the pen into an eraser.)

Done drawing? Tap the menu button to share your sketches via Bluetooth, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Picasa, or good ol’ fashioned email.

Check out the pictures below to see the Flyer’s stylus in action.

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