http://akiba.sorobangeeks.com/revue_2.html I

[Varun Shoor]

http://akiba.sorobangeeks.com/revue_2.html

I saw this over at pocketpcthoughts.com and I think this could be perfect for tablet pc too, provided that one can use normal paper. Someone in the same thread for that news claims that there is an Asian company working on something like that but for normal paper.

I think this could be quite good, it surely wont enhance the tablet pc in any way but it sure can increase its mobility, imagine taking notes on a normal paper and then hotsyncing all of them to journal via bluetooth. There are countless situations where this would be perfect, like someone calls me and tells me something and I need to jot it down quickly, instead of writing it on a paper using normal pen, I take out this pen write the stuff down and later whenever I start the tablet the notes are hotsynced to the tablet pc.. damn that would be cool.

What do you think? I really like this idea, I am sure this will be on display on CeBit.. not sure though, we will see.

[Big Lar]

One of my co-workers has the Logitech version of this pen (Logitech Digital IO Pen). It really is pretty cool. The only annoying part of it is that it doesn't generate Microsoft Ink. It is its own ink format. Although, it is XML, so I'm sure someone could write an XSLT that would transform it to the XML version of MS Ink format. That way, these pens could make use of Microsoft's reco engine and do all the cool store and recognize later stuff.

The way their software works now, it is pretty much ink as ink. In order for this to work, you must ink on specialized paper, and to use reco, you must ink into "block zoned" sections of the paper where you enter one character per block.

If they would just integrate with the Tablet by storing their results in MS Ink, they would get all the benefits of Tablet authored Ink. Maybe in version 2. If they did this, the pens could become an important bridge technology for applications that still require paper (Legal requirements will drive this for some time).

--Lar

[splintercell]

quote:Originally posted by Varun Shoor

There are countless situations where this would be perfect, like someone calls me and tells me something and I need to jot it down quickly, instead of writing it on a paper using normal pen, I take out this pen write the stuff down and later whenever I start the tablet the notes are hotsynced to the tablet pc.. damn that would be cool.

I agree that the concept is neat (albeit the current technology is still lacking and the special paper requirement, IMO, kills the whole idea), but isn't the situation you described supposed to be solved by a Tablet/Pocket PC anyway? I mean, someone calls you, and you need to take notes, but where's your Tablet, where's your PDA? :D

[Varun Shoor]

quote:Originally posted by splintercell


quote:Originally posted by Varun Shoor

There are countless situations where this would be perfect, like someone calls me and tells me something and I need to jot it down quickly, instead of writing it on a paper using normal pen, I take out this pen write the stuff down and later whenever I start the tablet the notes are hotsynced to the tablet pc.. damn that would be cool.

I agree that the concept is neat (albeit the current technology is still lacking and the special paper requirement, IMO, kills the whole idea), but isn't the situation you described supposed to be solved by a Tablet/Pocket PC anyway? I mean, someone calls you, and you need to take notes, but where's your Tablet, where's your PDA? :D


hehe good question, there are countless situations where you cant carry your tablet.. and if I am in a hurry to jot something down I really dont want to boot up windows and tell the guy on the other end to hold on. Then there are situations where tablet cant be taken, say in my exams!.. Imagine taking the exam with the pen and hotsyncing later and tallying the results..

The cons right now are the pens are bulky and dont support MS ink format. If they can be brought down and still include bluetooth support it would just rock.

[Big Lar]

I think there is room for both technologies, but they need to converge. If the pens produced Ink, this would go a long way toward making them compatible with each other.

--Lar

[Dennis Rice]

I for one would be happy right now for someone to concentrate on making better pens for the tablets. This to me is one of the major cons for my TC1k, is the lack of pen options. I have a 3 way pen for my Ipaq that I really love. Pen, pencil, and stylus combo gives me what I need in most all situations. I can't believe that this would be that tough to do for a tablet pen also. I actually contacted finepoint about this, they did not seem at all interested, and I haven't seen anyone else doing it for the finepoint digitizer either. What a shame, I would think looking at the TC1k sales numbers it would be a great product to get into.

[Dennis Rice]

Oh, and as far as these other IO pens go, I just don't see the point! Having to have special paper, and still do a transfer to your computer seems like too cumbersome a procedure.... We will always still have a need for paper, but I just don't see myself trying to transfer paper to digital ink .....

p.s. They also seem too bulky! Kinda like those first grade pencils ......

[splintercell]

See, that's what I think too. Who will have this special paper on hand all the time? If I really need to jot down something, and don't/can't have a Tablet or PDA, I'll usually grab a scrap piece of something. And if I have to carry around a binder full of special paper, I can just carry a Tablet, which is more versatile and has better handwriting recognition anyway. The IO pens may have made an impact 2-3 years ago, but now, with cheap PDAs and available Tablet PCs, they'll get squeezed out of the market. And paper will always be paper, with a napkin and a cheap BIC pen being able to do the job just as well. :D

[Varun Shoor]

hehe you didnt read my post completely, I said some Asian company was working on a version that didnt require a special paper.

My point here is that if a pen like this is produced which doesnt require special paper, produces normal ink and yet stores everything and has ability to sync using bluetooth, converges with MS ink format, we have the next killer feature here.

Like you can keep track of what checks you signed, receipts, calculations etc and still "converge" with Journal and then work out from there.

tabpcman, hehe I cant imagine accidently choosing the "pen" mode and trying to write on my PDA.. boy would it be annoying to see my screen scratched hehehe. But then again, I guess no one is as stupid as me (I have made such countless mistakes that really ruined a lot of "toys" i have).

[splintercell]

quote:Originally posted by Varun Shoor

hehe you didnt read my post completely, I said some Asian company was working on a version that didnt require a special paper.


I did see that, but then again, they were working on the IO pens years ago as well. By the time this normal-paper technology is viable and accurate enough (which will likely take years), TPCs will be in their second or third iteration, thinner, faster, lighter, and even more accurate. Again, I don't want the pen, personally. ;)


quote:
Like you can keep track of what checks you signed, receipts, calculations etc and still "converge" with Journal and then work out from there.

Sure, but who would write the "conduit" for each type of form? How would it know you're writing a check, signing a document, or just doodling, without special preformatted paper? Seems like you'd need software to be able to handle very many different scenarios. Otherwise it would be like writing the check information into Journal - and then what, how do I get it into, say Money? I'd rather have a nice TPC with an ink-enabled version Money.

[Dennis Rice]

VS,
I get your point! I have definitely done just that -- started writing on my PDA screen with the pen tip of the stylus pen -- but it's no big deal. I think you'll see when you get your TC1k, the screen is VERY resistant to scratched of that type. It CAN be scratched, but it ain't easy! Also, the stylus tip of the pen is bright red, which gives a good visual clue....! I think there definitely will be some folks who will buy this IO pen, but not if they own a tablet -- that would be a step backward IMHO!