Switched On: Time to write off pen computing

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a weekly column about the future of technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment:

The last Switched On discussed the shrinking PDA market. Indeed, in the graveyard of failed technology products, the pen computing section is overrun with tombstones - GRiDPad, Zoomer, PenWindows, Momenta, CreuisePAD, Newton, Envoy, Marco, Magic Link, EO, Avigo, Clie, CrossPad, TransNote, Clio, Qbe, Audrey, and Smart Display, to name a few. From innovative startups such as GO Corporation to some of the world's most successful consumer technology companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Motorola and Sony, pens have consistently yielded red ink.

History has simply taken the style out of the stylus. In its early days, pen input held promise as an alternative for those who couldn't type. Typing, though, with all of its significant inefficiencies, is rapidly becoming a skill as basic as reading and arithmetic. Apart from the social faux pas of typing in a meeting (a taboo that seems to be fading quickly in corporate conference rooms and universities), keyboards are simply better for taking notes. Furthermore, much like the head of the absent-minded, the keyboard is infrequently lost because it is attached. Contrast that with styli that disappear faster than the CEO at an emergency HP board meeting.

It�s not just a question of execution. Unlike other �holy grails� of personal computing, such as voice recognition, artificial intelligence, or crash-proof applications, the benefits of pen computing have limited demand in the real world Consumers like the idea of interfacing with a pen, but when it comes time to actually interact, they prefer the rich robust taste of tactile buttons. It really says something about a technology when handheld users would rather use an ergonomic disaster like the Treo 600�s keyboard than the �elegance� of pen-based alternatives.

Advocates have traditionally countered that pen interfaces can be operated using one hand, freeing the other one to cradle the computer or hold the handheld. However, as the millions of active mobile text message users in Asian and European countries have shown us, consumers are willing to input text even with primitive keypads. Such text entry, while slow, trumps the pen in convenience in that it can be accomplished with the same hand that is holding the device.

Surveying the current crop of mainstream pen-based products reveals that they aren�t doing much to move pen computing toward prominence:

• Tablet PCs, which have thus far outlived their doomed consumer cousin, the Smart Display, were originally heralded as featherweight slate computers intended to expand the notebook market. Customer fear of the �keyboardectomy� soon sank in, though. Most Tablet PCs have come to market as convertibles, which are perceived as expensive notebook PCs. Microsoft remains hopeful that, as the cost of these come down, we�ll see broader adoption, but most customers simply don�t care about pen input even at a small premium.

• Handhelds have been the most successful pen-based computers, but as the market has matured, it looks as though their signature input method is on the verge of being erased. On the high end, consumers are opting for miniature keyboards. On the low end, as these products aim for the cell phone market, they are being controlled by keypads.

Nintendo has made such a big deal out of the Nintendo DS�s touch screen that the portable console�s tag line is tied to its input rather than its dual displays. So far, though, the pen is not proving mightier than Link�s sword. While the jury is still out on the DS, the stylus input is another distraction to an interface already fragmented by two screens. If game designers don�t figure out what to do with it soon, it risks becoming feature baggage as they opt for cross-platform titles that accommodate the PlayStation Portable.

Pen computers have two compelling applications � forms and diagrams. Forms remain the heart of what larger pen computers are used for today, and pen computers will always have a home in vertical data-gathering applications. Graphics, particularly intelligent diagrams, were one of the most underrated features of the Newton operating system. While it would be nice to see a better diagramming input solution for the average business graphics user, add-on graphics tablets, such as those from Wacom, make the most sense for professionals. Annotation is also smoother using a pen interface, but doesn�t represent enough of an advantage.

More than a decade after the Newton and 15 years after the DOS-based GRiDPad, handwriting recognition remains slower and less accurate than typing, active digitizers remain expensive, and marketers remain misled about the sketchy demand for pen computers. With the niche exception of vertical data collection applications, the pen has run dry.

---

Ross Rubin is director of industry analysis at NPD Techworld, a division of market research and analysis provider The NPD Group. Views expressed in Switched On, however, are his own. Feedback is welcome at [e-mail].

[n8 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

Pointing to devices that have failed does not an argument make.

Honestly, the analysis here seems way off. I have a treo and I still use pen input for some (if not most) things. Pen input works best in situations where you can't fit a keyboard big enough for thumb use, and don't have need for text-heavy applications. It's an innovation that will be around for a long time -- maybe not for "tablet PCs" or similar applications where a keyboard could easily be used, but for many other applications where there's a need to have the biggest possible screen in the smallest possible space and input is of limited use.

[Rombus @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

I think his major problem is he thinks Pen input = text via pen. As an avid TabletPC user (College student, I take all my notes on it and do almost all work on it) I can tell you that you shouldn�t expect perfect and fast results when converting ink to text. Its slow and will frustrate anyone. The key to the TabletPC is the Digital Ink concept. I keep all my written notes in Ink, it works out fine. Another big fact is: If you dont NEED to write, you won�t like a TabletPC. I do type a lot faster than I write, and I can read it better too! BUT I can�t make quick electronic schematics and other quick note drawings with a mouse.
IMHO: If you don�t use a certain tech because you don�t have to, don�t go spouting off on how it will die when you don�t have your facts straight.

[Andrew @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

I wouldn't argue that the stylus is dead as an input device. I use the one on my convertible laptop quite often, particularly for annotating and for diagrams (Microsoft Journal is the only application where I really use it.)

What I would argue though is that the stylus will never remain the main input device. Keyboards are much faster than handwriting OR speaking, and I think they are here to stay for a very long time, even though they may evolve (check out http://www.exideas.com/ME/index.html). I am particularly excited about "virtual keyboards" that are projected on any surface.

Now if we could only get big screens for handheld computers somehow...

[the Leph @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

Pen interfaces are not on the way out because the keyboard is better, they haven't even arrived yet! just look around at your so called paperless office and count how many real pens you can find.

Technology has quite simply not yet been able to replace the versatility of the bic biro or paper for a resonable price. People are not buying tech versions because they are still not as good as the real thing. Maybe if somebody thought about what pens and paper are really about there would be a break through.

[Anthony Sterns @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

Having done research in this area, I find the older users of PDA have a much easier time with pen input. Utilizing tilt wheels and tiny thumb keyboards are an anathema to older adult users. As they continue to grow in the market and with the financial dollars to afford the most sophisticated of PDA hybrids, I think we will see a resurgence in this technnology. It is not the pen input per say, but the awkward under-refined interface of the handheld devices in general that has limited their popularity.

[christopher wanko @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

1) I can 'sketch' 40wpm using PocketPC's Block Recognizer or TealScript on any Palm. It will always beat trying to tap the tiny virtual keyboard, dunno if it'll beat an actual keyboard but I find great utility in pen input.

2) There isn't a 'slight' premium on TabletPCs: compared on every other feature they are about $200-500 more expensive than traditional laptops. A c-note would decisively prove the issue one way or another, but the current premium stacks the deck against TabletPCs, period.

3) I can't speak for everyone, but as an artist (graphic, fine) as well as technical architect, I can attest to the utility of pen-based drawing, sketching, and editing. Visio work would be so much easier if I could zero in on the screen; fine art is so much easier when working directly on the surface, and I can't believe anyone would prefer to be disconnected from something so process-oriented.

[Jake @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

I think stylus input beats mouse input if you are standing up. However, when seated at a computer, nothing beats a mouse and keyboard. I have a Tablet PC and always use the stylus when I am not at my desk. When seated, I plug a USB mouse in and get to work.

[Andrew @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

I've had a Handspring Visor Deluxe for several years now; and I picked up a Seiko Thumboard for it about six months ago. I've been kicking myself for not doing so sooner ever since. Text entry is much easier with the keyboard than with Graffiti. (I haven't had the cash for a new PalmOS device, so I haven't played with Graffiti2 or Jot yet; I admit that they may be better.)

The same features that made the QWERTY layout good for typewriters (and only okay for computers) make it good for thumb keyboards as well: It's laid out to minimize the probability of typing two letters on the same side of the keyboard in a row. On the other hand, this means that it *NOT* good for one handed use such as a cell phone. For that, a layout like Fitaly would probably be best. However, since it doesn't fit the 3x4 button layout expected on a phone, I don't see too many mobile phone manufacturers adopting it.

There a couple of text entry methods that could be used that haven't been given consideration here: two-button and three-button. Both of them rely on going from the end of your character set back to the beginning. Two-button is forward only (buttons are forward and select) and three-button is forward/backward. I've also thought up a variation on three-button: Instead of forward and backward buttons, use a ring as the character selector and a select button to move on to the next character. I'd like to see something similar to this implemented for a next-gen Fossil PDA watch.

[Carmi @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

The truth of the matter is most regular folks won't ever go near a stylus, let alone pick one up, use it, and then eventually buy the product. Styluses (stylii?) have long been as much the domain of the uber-geek as the plastic pocket protector and horn-rimmed glasses.

Tablet PCs will fail for the same reason that dedicated PDAs are rapidly vanishing from the landscape: regular consumers will never perceive them as regular-use devices. There is no way to overcome that stigma.

Carmi
http://writteninc.blogspot.com

[vitruvius @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

"It really says something about a technology when handheld users would rather use an ergonomic disaster like the Treo 600�s keyboard than the �elegance� of pen-based alternatives."

No. This article is way off base. The problem here is manufacturer's viewed the learning curve for stylus-based input as a sales liablility, so they began to kill it off by offering these ridiculous thumb-keys. My Treo has PalmOS Grafitti running in it, but of course, there is no Grafitti input area so it's un-useable. I'd like to meet the person who made the final design decision there...

Just as I didn't learn to type or to write in a few short moments, I didn't learn to use Grafitti instantly either. Users actually have to invest the time. It took me a few weeks of constant use to really get fast, but I'm faster with it than I am with Qwerty keys, and I type very fast..

[Yoko Nakayama @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

Pens are for defining more information than just a char, giving you much better feel and feedback than mouses. Keys are for speed inputting of a _few_ pre-defined chars. Apples and Oranges! Both Mouses and keys fail if you want to sketch or draw something.

I think an intermediate solution such as the one mentioned earlier (Messagease by www.exideas.com) has a lot of promise, as it is applicable to BOTH keys and pens!

[ryan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

One of the big reasons I see for pen based input not making a dent in the market is size of input area. Either they are too small (PDA) or too big (Tablet). Ever notice how planning pages like FranklinCovey's most popular size is 1/2 a regular sheet of paper in landscape orientation. I call it the Goldilocks theory cause it is just right.

The next logical name for the format would be a "Booklet PC" and it has two screens split in the middle. Take a piece of paper and fold it half. imagine both clam shell usage and "booklet" style usage. Each way could have both a softkeyboard and written input. The screens would be protected when closed. Add into that a stylus that can digitize from regular paper into your booklet pc and you have a killer device that has just the right amount of writing area on the screens.

[Aidan warren @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

I truly think that the use of the stylus/touch screen combination in mobile gaming has not been implemented properly in the past, not at all if you look at dedicated gaming handhelds.

To lump the DS in with the Newton and the Clie seems a bit odd.

Certainly some developers may struggle initially to implement the touch screen in a way that is fully appreciable by the gaming public, but even among the DS launch titles there are examples of touch screen gameplay implemented in a way that is more enjoyable than the largely half-baked shambles that passed for electronic entertainment on PDAs and the like.

A current example would be the mini games on Mario64 DS or Wario Ware Touched!, certainly a more interactive method of control than has been enjoyed by Nintendo's customers in the past.

What failed to excite in the "Pen Computing Market" may well have it's place in the handheld gaming market.

At the end of the day the DS still doesn't really belong here, if you don't like the wee little stylus that comes with the system, just use the little nubbin attached to the wrist-strap or even your thumb.

And if you don't like touching - Just use the
"Rich Robust Tactile Buttons", yes the DS does offer you a usable alternative unlike most PDAs

Nuff said

[met @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

Before windows like (please don't come after this usage of term :) ) GUI, I am sure people wouldn't find the need for a moouse.

I don't think today's GUI is designed for the stylus. There is a better design out there. There are various scenarios out there for which a stylus would be better. After all nobody is always 'writing' something.
Those areas have to be 'tapped'

[ChillyWilly @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

Having owned just about every one of those devices (with the exception of the Audrey), I see Ross' point in his article, but I don't think the pen has run dry, as he concludes.

I think the pen is mismanaged and not marketed properly. It also suffers from not being padded with "profit margin" written all over it.

This was the problem for all of the failed devices he listed. I played a big role (back in the day) of promoting pen-based computing, sitting on panels and discussion groups to help get this technology out there. Palm and Pocket PC have been by far the most successful, and Microsoft has the capital to keep TabletPC going (something that a lot of other companies didn't want to spend for fear of cutting too much into their "profits".)

I also think the lack of confidence in these products seeps out into the public's mindset, which helps to keep people on keyboards and other typing devices.

Granted, I get a bit frustrated when a 't' comes out an 'f' on my PDA, but at the same time, I wouldn't trade my stylus for a keyboard for navigation, writing actual handwritten notes in electronic ink (that can be translated to text later on) and taking notes when a keyboard clicking is not appropriate.

In the long run, I wish more companies (and journalists) would stop calling for the death of the pen and figure out a better way to promote it. While I don't have all the answers of how to accomplish this task, I do know that a technology that works and is a natural extension of the human form of commuicating, doesn't deserve the dirt-on-the-coffin treatment anytime soon.

It's been almost 15 years since pen-based devices have been around and the thing that's ended up blanketing the computing market is a bloated OS that requires 10 patches a month and (at least) 6 apps to kill all sorts of violations. I call that poor marketing and not focusing on a system that obviously helps people work more efficiently.

[Elehu Maganantes @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

Interesting to bring up diagrams with the Newton. I bought a Newton expressly because I thought the diagramming features would be cool. Most of my notebooks are filled not with text, but with text-annotated diagrams. I thought this would be the killer app for the Newton (I don't really care about all that scheduling stuff), but I found that it sucks. Is there some really cool app you have to get that I'm missing?

Also, with regards to the TabletPC user who says "use digital ink", what's the point? If I can't attach readable text to the documents, they aren't searchable, indexable, linkable, all the stuff that makes using a computer even have a shot at being better than a notebook. If you're just using digital ink, essentially, you have a really expensive, heavy notepad with battery life issues that has one nice feature: easy backups.

As it stands, I have a box full of pen devices (Newton 2000, Newton 2100, a whole bunch of Win dows and Palm devices) but I never use any of them.

[Mark H @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

As a avid user of PDA's I love graffiti, when I bought my first palm os device, a M105 I was up and using it in 5 minutes. I don't like thumb keyboards but when I was going to elevator school for the navy I used a Belkin folding keyboard when I was at my desk. When it was time for a lab I unplugged and folded the keyboard and took notes on the screen using Graffiti Anywhere. This strategy contributed heavily to my success; I was so bombarded with notes that I had to write so fast that I could hardly read my own notes. That said most of the time I just use graffiti usually hate the alternatives for input on cell phones and PDA's like T9. Heck when I want to send a text message I usually write it on my Palm and send it using bluetooth. PDA's and stylus based computers may be a niche market but they are here to stay.

[RRF @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

As early as 1997, I proposed IN-BUTT-PUT a devise that promised a better input method. NO it's not what you're thinking... (although at the time I did live in the Chelsea section in Manhattan)

Simply stating, since most inputting is done while sitting down, I proposed a device attached to both gluteus maximus cheeks that would be triggered by flexing them butt muscles. I briefly experimented with such a device and, unlike the stylus method, found it to be very handy (pardon the pun)

In fact, I got really good at it and was able to operate it even while standing up. Of course, the usual caveats apply; no beans the night before, and if you are lactos intolorant disengage the device after eating cheese.

Although, since 1997, I have been using keyboards for most tasks, every once in a while I plug in my IN-BUTT-PUT and have a jolly gay time.

This posting was written with the IN-BUTT-PUT. Butt now I'm so tired I need to sleep a bit.

[James @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

There's a very simple problem with pen computing - Your input device and associated appendages obscure what you're trying to accomplish.

When you compare that with the extreme usability of paper there's really no comparison. I've owned 4 pen-based handhelds in my life and I still get vastly greater use out of pen & paper.

For design applications like flowcharts or other vectory stuff you just don't have the precision you do with a mouse, especially if your hand is blocking another important part of the display area.

Pen input is one of those things that seems like it should be natural. But just trying to port over mouse & keyboard interfaces into something without the dedicated phsysical control components is a losing battle.

[Sierra @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

For those who haven't used Tablet PCs, digital ink is indeed searchable in native ink format. The Tablet OS can do just about everything with ink that it can do with typed text.

I've used most pen input devices since the original Palm Pilot. Each has had benefits and drawbacks, but the press seems always to be heralding the death of the pen. I've never understood the eagerness to kill this great input method. I have a keyboard, but I write just about everything. I haven't used my keyboard in days and I spend my days "writing" emails.

Post written by pen!

[Mark @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

To number 17...if you want to get rid of that Newton stuff, I'd be interested.

[e-mail] if you want to talk about it. Thanks!

[Steve @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

Yeah, I don't get why "journalists" keep saying pen computing is dead when new models keep arriving, new software being developed, etc. They are right that the tablet PC is only a tiny part of the computer market, but innovation in our economy seems to get assimilated without completely displacing previous technologies (some people still mail letters). I currently use a PDA and a tablet PC, and I regularly dictate, type, and ink, depending on the job needed. As was pointed out, in comment 20 by Sierra, tablet PC ink is searchable, and all the rest, and some kinds of notetaking, writing, diagraming are better done with ink.

It took fifteen or twenty years for laptop sales to exceed desktop sales; I recall reading about the price differential, the inability to put as much into a laptop, the inability to "upgrade" like you could with a desktop, the compromised keyboards, the bad screens, etc., etc. I was asked, the same way people looked at me weird for driving a VW microbus, why would you ever want that? Then the explosion of minivans, and also laptop computers.

You could make a much longer list of dead keyboard input computers than dead pen input devices.

Pen input devices aren't going away, and I don't understand the eager glee to say they are. Neither are they for everybody, but neither is the mouse (hence the trackball and touchpad). If you can't use it, don't get one. But there are more, not fewer, pen input devices now than ever before. Weird article, but I've been reading one like it about every month since I got my first Palm six years ago. I'm just so out of step.

[Mark @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

I use a tablet PC for notetaking in school, and I do admit it makes much more sense to type out notes than write them by hand and convert them... if those are the kinds of notes you're taking.

For us physics majors, we have to write about 5-6 words of text maximum, and the rest is equations and drawings. For this, my tabletPC has been a godsend. I can move these equations around, draw perfect circles and graphs, and even use it as a lab notebook into which I can paste graphs and charts form excell, figures from lab manuals, and have internet access to look up any significant constants or theories.

I for one hope tablet computing not only sticks around, but gets better and more supported.

[Sterling @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

Hey Ross - I agree with you about keyboards vs. handwriting analysis, but you're leaving out the touchscreen vs. mouse part of the equation. While standing, sitting without a flat surface, driving or walking, a stylus/touchscreen combo is the best way to navigate. Maybe finger styli will eventually come into style?
http://www.stingerstylus.com/

[dant @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

"Pen computers have two compelling applications � forms and diagrams."

You forgot web browsing. The pen on an integrated display is by far the best way to navigate. I say yuck to the track pad and horrid little mouse stick. The pen is literally just point and click.

Here is some free advice. Buy a Tablet PC from a store with an easy return policy in case you don't like it. Then spend a week going sans keyboard as much as you can. You'll get hooked and keep it.

[Rob Bushway @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

The only problem with the Tablet PC is a marketing one. As a software developer, I've been using a Tablet PC for over 2 years and I've never enjoyed using a computer as much as I have my Tablet PC. The flexability to communicate or notate how I WANT TO notate is huge. Time to write of pen computing? Absolutely not.

Can Microsoft do a better job of marketing? Absolutely, and they have a lot of work to do.

BTW: Thought everyone might like the comments over at TabletPCBuzz.com:
http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22288

[Nikoooo @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

Well...

to take notes, I would guess a TabletPC is a good device. But unfortunately for us, people in Europe, it is just too expensive (especially for students). So I stick to my Newton... Incredible tool :)

[L2GX @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

Two criticisms, firstly:
When writing clerics were replaced with typists this meant speedier and cheaper transcription. One should't be surprised the inverse wasn't commercially viable.

But the tool is not it's marketing.

Disregarding this and declaring 'the pen' dead pisses people off not because they are entrenched pen-users, but because it's flawed reasoning. It's also insulting as it seems to be aimed at future investors instead of future computer users.


Secondly, and the point has been made before:
Although text input may be the main interface in computing, it is far from the only one, as proven by the other comments.
Pen input is a better mouse replacement than anything now available on laptops.
It gives mobility to artists, draftsmen, and anybody who likes to use a schema instead of a list.

Ask Wacom how dead the pen is. Look at your own desk- enay analog pens there?. And ask yourself how narrowminded you are if you can't come up with more 'niche exceptions' than 'vertical data collection applications'

[CWC @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

The author applies a general view to what is a very diverse market.

I work for a major insurance company. The appeal of tablet PCs, and the use of styli, to our field claims organization is overwhelming. We can process claims, collecting more relevant information in a more efficient manner than we could using a simple handheld PDA.

I have to believe that our experience is not unique.

[Eric Pobirs @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

The primary problem for pen input systems is that the technology isn't up to the task of making it attractive to the mainstream as of yet. Strong niches exist but in terms of cost and effectiveness it's still asking a lot of average users to make an investment.

Nothing new here. Imagination has always moved faster than technology could embody it. It took over twenty years before mice and other pointing devices became standard issue on virtually all personal computers. A lot of factors had to come together before the concept became a must have item. Tablet PCs still need a lot of improvement in price, weight, battery life, and integration into mainstream software.

The problem is you have to keep ideas alive and in development before the market has truly reached fruition.

[Henry Leinhos @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

The biggest problem *I* think pen-based computing has the LCD display interface, rather than the pen input. Writing on a piece of glass simply does not provide the tactile feedback we associate with handwriting with pens. If something like E-ink (http://www.eink.com) can be perfected to behave like real paper, pen-based input would be considerably more popular.

[skoobz @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

i like the way the hp is marketing thier pdas. most comsumers do not use it as a pda, but a media device. i come to that conclusion because that is what my friends, my wife, and i and thousands of forums members use it for. it's nice to go the bar and instead of flagging down the waitress to change the channel, i can do it from my ipaq 3115. i can watch ripped dvd movies, listen to podcasts, surf the net, all that. i hardly use it for keeping track of contacts. that is what they should do, market it as media devices for the average consumer, and pda's for the business users.

[JK @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

The innovation the Tablet PC brings to note taking is the searchable ink. You do not need to convert all your notes to text just as you don't enter all your meeting notes on paper into your computer. The ones you do enter are the ones you want to be able to search and as another poster pointed out digital ink is fully searchable.

I find working in digital ink to be very conducive to the creative process for projects I am working on. Keyboards often interrupt or interfere with that process but inking and sketching diagrams to iterate a point in notes is invaluable.

[Bryan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

In my view, TabletPC's are being kneecapped mainly by the current generation of the hardware. It just ain't ready yet.

First, it's expensive. The buyer playing with a TabletPC in the store has a tape loop going somewhere in the back of his/her mind: "This is cool! But a notepad and pen cost $4; why am I paying all that money again?"

Then you add the weight, power requirements, heat, and fragility of the device (not to mention inability to use in sunlight) - and the deal's off, for most people. It's just too clunky. I've tried several generations of pen PC devices, and I always return to a legal pad - I just take the pages home and run them through the scanner for later use at the PC. Best of both worlds!

I do think there's a light at the end of the tunnel, though. The NanonChromic display mentioned yesterday (http://www.ntera.com/products/future_app.asp) could make the difference. If it's cheap, thin, and durable, suddenly you have a viable new class of PenPC. Versions without keyboard could be made, shaped like a legal pad and just a little thicker. Weighs less than two pounds but power lasts two days of heavy use before a recharge is needed. It's durable; just toss it in your pack and go. Dropped? Spilled coffee on it? No problem! Doesn't need to run a gazillion games/utilities/vanity apps; just a browser (via wireless net) and a small number of input/storage apps. Because the CPU and display have been right-sized, it's cheap, coming in under $300 (hopefully way under!).

For those who need a keyboard too, imagine having a T40-series Thinkpad with one of these NanoChromics displays is glued to the outside of the lid. Viola! Choose typing or choose text entry, no screwing around with delicate and complex swivel-and-hinge assemblies. Also makes a great presentation devce for small groups, and personalizes your laptop as a bonus.

In a nutshell, I think the Pen PC idea is a good one; only current display technology is keeping it from getting the traction it needs.

[Rob @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

One issue I have with tech journo's is the arrogance (or is it ignorance) they demonstrate in the assumptions they make about the rest of the public. Not all of us have had the luxury to learn how to type and not all of us have the inclination either. Worse yet, Mr Rubin wishes to close off one of the most promising technologies for people with disabilities.

I had a minor accident a year or so ago that left a finger permanently bent. Its still partly functional and its not immediately noticable to any casual observer, but its bloody hard to type with any speed or accuracy. Pen input to a Tablet PC has made my life a lot easier. There's a surprising lot us with varying levels of impairment for whom this technology provides a benefit. I wonder how Mr Rubins will go when his years of typing have left his hands arthritic?

Last point - marketing of pen input, and particularly tablet PC's is woeful. People just don't understand the benefis of note taking with ink until they see it working. Since I've been using mine at work there's been an a clamour from others hassling the IT manager to get them one. People from corporate governance, environment, safety, QA and maintenance to name a few.

Time to kill it off -- Not Bloody Likely!

[Matthew Frederick Davis Hemming @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

I am a veteran computer user (workstation, not handheld), and my input device of choice is a tablet/stylus. You can't tell me I'm alone. The tablet companies would go tits up if it were just me out there.

We have thousands of generations of evolution poured into fingertip motor control and hand-eye coordination for manipulating the pointy tools in our grubby little mitts -- using tools like pens is faster and neater than multi-buttoned push-mice, with which we've only been grappling for a single generation.

Why reinvent the wheel?

All this article demonstrates is that we've yet to see a product that really *gets it* (however the workstation tablet sector is totally ignored).

[Christopher Coulter @ Dec 19th 2005 12:10AM]

The PDA ride given way to SmartPhones and Blackberries and old time Palm'ers and Pocket PC'ers dying off more and more these days. Hybrid PDA/Phone more the take. No one much uses the Pen with DS, mere gimmick. And Tablet hardly breaking much ground. Pen Computing is not dead, but it's not very alive either. And while this article is a tad over-the-top sensationalist (lost stylii and etc.), it does have a point, a mountian-heap of failed projects (and red ink) that all dealt with Pen Computing, and only the subsidized outlay of Microsoft and 11+ years of R&D, making this round happen, while yet every Tablet OEM seriously complaining. And now when the tech is there, they can't seem to get a deep marketing hook in, market success it it not. To me, yes, Pen Computing is near death. But the army at Valley Forge was the same one at Yorktown.

The only way Pen Computing or Tablets will �become� mainstream is when they ARE mainstream. When the OS is one and the same, and digitizer tech is a commodity, when laptops are tablets, and tablets are laptops. They won�t ever BECOME mainstream, so you will have to MAKE them mainstream. The masses won�t come to the Tablets, so the Tablets must replace what is mainstream, to get to the masses. Simple really.