eFun aPen to bring pen digitizer functionality to the iPad in 2012
Pen input on tablets is a bit of a hit and miss these days. Capacitive screens aren’t exactly as accurate to write on as paper, and that can hinder productivity quite a bit. Some Android devices – such as the HTC Flyer – come with special pen digitizer technology built in to add a much more precise pen-based input method alongside the touchscreen, but that hasn’t been enough to make those devices really popular.
The eFun aPen might have better luck in that respect when it hits in 2012. Instead of being a built in feature, it’s an accessory, and one that is designed for the iPad. You plug in a small dongle, open some special software that can communicate with it, and go nuts with the digitizer pen. The technology isn’t new in any way – so called “smart pens” for normal paper notebooks have existed for ages – but this is the first time that I know of that anyone has paired it with an iPad. Since it is such a tried and true technology, it also won’t bee too expensive – $99 for the kit. I would shell out that kind of cash in an instant for something like this, so hopefully it will be a success and not another one of those accessories that 99% of people have no idea exists.
[Engadget]
