In an interview with LAPTOP Magazine, Samsung product marketing manager Ryan Bidan says that having a pen interface similar to what we see with the Galaxy Note “continues to make a lot of sense across a number of screen sizes,” but won’t go so far as to say that the next 10.1-inch Tab will have a stylus. Still, the possibility has many all a-buzz with the possibility. I wouldn’t be sad to see a small stylus like the Note’s come with the next Tab as I’m a fan of stylii in general.
Dell took the semi-transparent lid off their new Windows 7 slate, the Latitude ST, today and it’s already been reviewed.
Among the many new features sneaking into Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is built-in support for stylus input, specifically the kind needed for tablets with active pen digitizers.
Wacom’s line of Bamboo pen + touch input tablets has new names, new color schemes, and a new wireless connectivity option to cut the tether between tablet to PC.
Last month, I had the good fortune to have tested two slates, the HTC Flyer and Fujitsu Stylistic Q550, with pen + touch digitizers from the same vendor: N-Trig. Due to software and design choices, the experiences of both were quite different, but I tried to look past that to get a feel for the [...]
A candy shell with sweet filling and a bitter core, that’s how I’d sum up the Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 slate Tablet PC if it was a confectionery treat. Nearly everything about this tablet is first-rate, except the slow processor. There are understandable reasons for that, but ultimately, while the Q550 can do the work, it [...]
My time with the HTC Flyer has come to an end, and my extended live and un-live review goes with it. It’s not a perfect device by any means, but overall I found it quite good, and I see many ways it could be truly great.
Sharing video taken from the HTC Flyer is all well and good, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t share video of the device as well. In this InkShow, I run through the special pen features of the Flyer. Yes, it’s an InkShow that shows ink! Plus: bonus commentary.
I have, as I hope my ongoing review has conveyed, enjoyed my time with the HTC Flyer immensely. But of course, no device is perfect, and the Flyer has not been without its flaws. Part of that is due to an unrefined, “raw” feel about the device, a roughness around the edges that can be [...]
During my live, as in ongoing and on-the-job, review of the HTC Flyer, mobility and portability were vital to getting my job done. I was in the air and on the move for hours at time. Would the Flyer be up for it? Could I carry and use it comfortably? Would Wi-Fi be enough? I [...]
With front- and rear-mounted cameras, the HTC Flyer begs to be used for capturing and sharing video. As luck would have it, that’s exactly what I was tasked to do for work this past week. I was glad to have the Flyer in hand to do it, and I’ve got the YouTube videos to prove [...]
As an ink blogger, the feature I’ve been most enthusiastic about testing on the HTC Flyer is ink. The Flyer is designed for pen input in a way unlike other pen tablets before it. What I’ve found is the experience breaks out into quantity vs. quality. It’s easy to spill a lot of ink, but [...]
As you may have already seen, I am now evaluating the HTC Flyer, a 7″ Android tablet with a twist – active pen input. That makes it of special interest to me, Sumocat, The Father of Ink Blogging, and I’ve wasted no time spilling ink on this thing with realtime reporting. Let me tell you [...]
Turns out Microsoft Research published a video demo of their grip-sensing pen that we mentioned yesterday. The demo shows how the pen cursor changes in response to different ways of holding the pen, as well as recognizing it as a different type of instrument when held like a saxophone.
As always, Microsoft Research has some exciting work in development. Their belle of the ball for TechFest 2011 will be natural user interfaces, and they’ve taken the wraps off several projects at their blog, including 3-D rendering of medical images and objects, computer-assisted freehand drawing, and pens that can recognize different grips.
Patently Apple has dug up a new Apple patent (*shocker*) for a capacitive stylus that uses a ball and disc system to establish a contact point with adequate surface area for a capacitive touchscreen to detect that will remain flush with the screen when used at an angle. Smart design, but still just another capacitive [...]
At first glance, the sight of Meinolf Althaus holding a hammer over a slate brings me back to Fujitsu’s earlier claim of “slate-beating”, but it’s all part of a presentation explaining the philosophy that guides their slate-making decisions with the upcoming Stylistic Q550 being the target. Of the lesson, not the beating.
Time to brush up on your penmanship: Yesterday’s report that N-Trig will support Android devices has been confirmed. The company posted a release backing the story from Ina Fried. But will Android tablets ship with pens or will pens be optional? And is this big news for tablets or bigger news for eReaders?
Normally I’m pretty ambivalent on PC case badges, those little decals that let you know what’s inside your machine. But after all the confusion over the digitizer in the HP Slate 500, I’m picking a side and it’s pro-badge. Strongly pro-badge.
So we’ve heard from Chris about how he’s no longer using his iPad, and from Warner about how he’s using his iPad more and more. Seems like a straight point-counterpoint, right? Well, don’t count the third parties out yet. I don’t have an iPad. Am I alone?
Perhaps best known for flooring us with their giant dual-14.1″-screen tablet (twice), the folks at Kno have announced they’ll be complementing that titan with a half-sized model. And by “half-sized”, I mean that in the most literal way possible.
A survey of iPhone 4 owners conducted by ChangeWave has turned up some interesting findings that I’m sure fanatics of all stripes will spin to their advantage. The one I’m going to spin is the finding that 8% of users claim to dislike the lack of handwriting recognition.
TechCrunch’s MG Siegler stepped into a bit of a bear trap (or should that be mouse trap?) when he proclaimed the “Apple’s Magic Trackpad Signals The End of The Mouse Era“. To put it mildly, the general reaction is that his judgment was hasty, and he’s followed it up with an even stronger statement “The [...]
Hardcore fans and beta testers already know, but now it’s official: ritePen 4.0 is released, and it’s packing a bevy of multi-touch enhancements that complement its powerful pen features. You can now enter and edit text, launch apps, open websites, annotate screen captures, and do so much more using pen, finger, or mouse. Any way [...]
During my recent evaluation of the Fujitsu Lifebook T900 Tablet PC, I decided to record a little demonstration of the complementary pen and multi-touch input on its dual digitizer screen. Pretty basic stuff, but while we’ve seen plenty of pen or touch demos, I don’t think enough attention has been paid to using them together. [...]
Scifi blog i09 put together a list of must-haves for your digital art toolbox according to professional artists of the scifi persuasion. Despite their other disagreements, they seem unanimous on their top tip: get a Wacom tablet.
IREX Technologies, maker of various e-ink-based eReaders, including the Iliad with Wacom digitizer for pen input, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the Netherlands due in part to delays leading to a missed holiday sales season.
In case you needed more incentive or time to submit an entry for the 2010 Workshop on the Impact of Pen-Based Technology on Education (WIPTE), the organization has announced that winning entrants will receive accommodations for two nights at the conference. Better yet, the best full paper submission will earn a Fujitsu Tablet PC. Model [...]
Not quite a year ago, N-Trig showed off their DuoSense touch digitizer with option to add pen input later via battery-powered pen. Well, the pen is finally coming to market and to clearly differentiate it from the battery-less pen that comes with pen+touch systems, they’re calling it their Digital Pencil.
MSI is showing off a new concept device called the “SketchBook” at an event in Amsterdam. It’s not quite a tablet. Instead, it has a swiveling base that can flip between the keyboard and a pen tablet. No details yet, but the idea is interesting and certainly I can’t fault them for wanting to pursue [...]
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and more recently Square, lays out three keys to success at The 99 Percent. Top of his list? “1) Draw: get your idea out of your head and share it”. Great advice, and it ties into something we’ve said again and again and can’t say enough: tablets are ideal tools [...]
We got an email from Fujitsu today with the subject line: “Introducing the New Fujitsu LifeBook T730 Tablet PC.” And just like that, with no added fanfare, their new 12″ convertible with optional multi-touch was unleashed upon the world – It’s on sale now at the Fujitsu site.
Without fanfare, Wacom has posted two new pen displays for sale on their website. The DTU-2231 and DTU-1631 are part of their “specialty industries” line. Not focused on graphic design like the Cintiq line, but more than adequate for most on-screen pen input needs, such as signing, editing and annotating documents.
Got a reminder today that this year’s Workshop on the Impact of Pen-Based Technology on Education a.k.a. WIPTE is quickly approaching. Submissions are due in little more than a month. Hope to see yours there.
Good news: next time you buy a car, you might hash out the deal over a docuPAD, a pen-input screen designed to digitize the financial form-filling process. Bad news: you’ll probably get talked into buying LoJack and a service contract.
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