Entelligence: Why the pen isn't mightier than the keyboard
By Michael Gartenberg 
posted Jul 13th 2009 1:03PM
posted Jul 13th 2009 1:03PM
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.
When it comes to futuristic concepts, few ideas have captured the imagination like pen-based computing. The idea of doing away with a cumbersome keyboard for navigating and entering information has been a Holy Grail ever since Captain Kirk signed his first digital clipboard in space, but here in our century the concept has met with little success. Most recently, Microsoft's Tablet PC operating system has failed to take the world by storm, and lots of platforms, from the Momenta PC and Pen Windows, to the Newton and the PalmPilot, have come and gone while failing to shift the masses from their keyboards. Even smart phones, led by the iPhone, have shifted from being poster children for pen-based platforms to adopting finger touch and virtual keyboards for text entry.
Several factors have slowed or doomed pen-based platforms, but perhaps they can be overcome. First, handwriting recognition has never lived up to its hype, nor can it. From the outset, the notion of pen-based systems has been linked with the concept of handwriting recognition, which hasn't served the market well. It's really not the fault of the technology, though. As I've said before, if you can't read your own handwriting, then it isn't reasonable to expect a computer to be able to. The pinnacle of the handwriting-recognition disaster came shortly after the introduction of Apple's Newton, when the device and its handwriting software were ridiculed in the comic strip Doonesbury. The concept never really recovered, although the Palm OS's Graffiti recognition software cleverly shifted the burden of error from the device to the user, a brilliant move that reset expectations.
The key to overcoming the shortcomings of handwriting recognition is to emphasize the other aspects of a pen based user interface, such as electronic ink for note taking, and to use the pen for things like consuming and basic editing of information.
Second, most hardware has been inadequate, even when the software was mostly good enough. Pen computing loses much of its powerful allure when too many trade-offs are needed in order to gain the pen-based functions. This is precisely the problem that has plagued the generations of tablet PCs.
Too often, users are forced to deal with shortcomings when it comes to weight (tablets should be light enough to use comfortably in tablet mode), battery life and keyboards. A good tablet PC would have to be portable enough to deliver a good pen experience while not compromising on screen, keyboard or battery so that it can deliver a good notebook experience as well.
Pen computing isn't totally dead, but it is becoming stagnant. Even Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform looks more and more like it's being optimized for touch and not for pen, which is a little ironic -- for small devices where browsing is more important than content creation, the pen is an ideal navigation tool. The PC is a different riff on the same story. Despite Microsoft's best efforts, tablet PCs haven't really caught on. Still, with vendors like Lenovo still creating some pretty interesting pen based hardware, perhaps we'll see a resurgence of the pen with Windows 7. There are a lot of places where the pen is mightier than the keyboard, but it seems the market is less enamored with pens than fingers.
I personally stopped using a tablet as a daily machine a while ago and switched to a lightweight laptop that gets me close to nine hours of battery life. I tried switching back to a tablet while working on a report about the technology but ultimately gave up again. Here's what I would do if I were Microsoft and trying to jump start the pen once more:
Several factors have slowed or doomed pen-based platforms, but perhaps they can be overcome. First, handwriting recognition has never lived up to its hype, nor can it. From the outset, the notion of pen-based systems has been linked with the concept of handwriting recognition, which hasn't served the market well. It's really not the fault of the technology, though. As I've said before, if you can't read your own handwriting, then it isn't reasonable to expect a computer to be able to. The pinnacle of the handwriting-recognition disaster came shortly after the introduction of Apple's Newton, when the device and its handwriting software were ridiculed in the comic strip Doonesbury. The concept never really recovered, although the Palm OS's Graffiti recognition software cleverly shifted the burden of error from the device to the user, a brilliant move that reset expectations.
"The key to overcoming the shortcomings of handwriting recognition is to emphasize the other aspects of a pen based user interface." |
Second, most hardware has been inadequate, even when the software was mostly good enough. Pen computing loses much of its powerful allure when too many trade-offs are needed in order to gain the pen-based functions. This is precisely the problem that has plagued the generations of tablet PCs.
Too often, users are forced to deal with shortcomings when it comes to weight (tablets should be light enough to use comfortably in tablet mode), battery life and keyboards. A good tablet PC would have to be portable enough to deliver a good pen experience while not compromising on screen, keyboard or battery so that it can deliver a good notebook experience as well.
Pen computing isn't totally dead, but it is becoming stagnant. Even Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform looks more and more like it's being optimized for touch and not for pen, which is a little ironic -- for small devices where browsing is more important than content creation, the pen is an ideal navigation tool. The PC is a different riff on the same story. Despite Microsoft's best efforts, tablet PCs haven't really caught on. Still, with vendors like Lenovo still creating some pretty interesting pen based hardware, perhaps we'll see a resurgence of the pen with Windows 7. There are a lot of places where the pen is mightier than the keyboard, but it seems the market is less enamored with pens than fingers.
I personally stopped using a tablet as a daily machine a while ago and switched to a lightweight laptop that gets me close to nine hours of battery life. I tried switching back to a tablet while working on a report about the technology but ultimately gave up again. Here's what I would do if I were Microsoft and trying to jump start the pen once more:
- Raise awareness. Most consumers/end-users simply do not know this thing exists, especially when Apple's message is that pens aren't relevant.. You can't build excitement without awareness. And where there is some excitement around touch screens, it's all related to finger use and not pens. Apple has done a great job changing the conversation from pen to finger. As I've said, even Microsoft's pen-based phones are being re-tooled to optimize for fingers over stylii.
- Evangelize the easiest markets. For me that's not business but education. Students are a great market. They notes in class with pens, can record lectures with software like OneNote, and do research. In short, it's the ideal instrument for a student at a time when more students need a laptop and NEED the features of a tablet. Where's the courseware for educators? How about evangelizing the teachers and principals and getting these devices in their hands?
- Get in the channel. I used to have a few really cool pen devices here here. If you're in the area, come over and I'll show them to you, since you aren't going to see them in a store near you anytime soon. Even the few models that are actually in the retail channel are locked down with the pen removed. This might be a little hard for some folks to believe, but if you can't pick up the computer and use the pen, you might have a hard time convincing people to purchase one.
2 words: Slideout. Keyboard.
make it happen.
That makes a lot a sense...
Check out www.oqo.com.
They are tiny little dream machines.
Two word: HP TC1100
I been using this tablet for over 4 years and its the best form factor. The keyboard is removable if I want to just do drawing and I can leave it on if I do heavy writing. As old as it is, this design has a mass following. I don't know why HP abandon this design and followed the masses with tablets with welded keyboards, but if HP ever updates the spec, I'm buying!
I don't know what the author is talking about, "if you can't read the writing, the computer can't read your writing". Window Tablet OS is constantly learning the way you write. I am simple amaze at its capabilities, even my own writing I can't read, tablet OS is able to read. Ever since XP (Vista) to Window 7, Tablet PC improved massively. Things you see on the iPhone, Tablet OS has already owned most of its feature.
The problem with Tablet PC is not MS, but the hardware manufacturer and seller. They build them under power with lousy form factor and with exuberant pricing. And on top of that, most tablet PC are only available through special orders and the one that are displayed are displayed like normal looking laptops (screen up) with hefty pricing...distinguishable from other laptops
I have to agree, something new in the tc1100 form factor would be great.
I think my dream tablet would be the following:
a 9-10" slate with a detachable keyboard like the tc1100, an active digitizer/ capacitive touch like the Dell XT (if Wacom gets their version of this out ever, even better), a fingerprint scanner for logging in, and here's the controversial part- I'd love if it had an Atom CPU, a relatively low-cost SSD (more for durability than anything else), and maybe the Ion, but I'd be happy with the standard chipset as well honestly, and 6-cell battery for 7-8 hour battery life. I'd buy that in a heartbeat for $800-1000, even if that's the same price I paid for my larger XT.
I currently have a tc1100, a Dell XT, and a Dell Mini 9. Something like this probably wouldn't replace the XT as my main workhorse computer, but I see what I described as being a more portable computer specifically for notetaking and being on the go. Basically, I want a smaller secondary tablet, and I see this as something that would be a combination of the tc1100 and the Mini 9 and perfect for that purpose.
For now though, I use my tc1100 for that... as long as I can be near an outlet within an hour.
@roach:
what are you saying? The TC1000 is a terrible tablet. i used one for work for about six months. It's big, heavy, and slow. for its original time frame, it was a slick (but by no means innovative) machine. are you running windows 7? i recently bought my wife a (cheapo) Lenovo Thinkpad X61T with the RAM maxed out. Like eight hundred bucks shipped. For our second anniversary I set it up to triple-boot Ubuntu 9.04, Mac OS X 10.5.4 and Windows 7.64 RC. She flipped when she saw the Mac OS X choice in GRUB and then the little Apple logo (she likes iPods and uses Macs at work *shudder*). Though I cannot get the tablet functions working in Mac OS X, it is remarkable: the machine is amply powerful for all the tasks she performs including fondling a little video (our daughter is nine months old; any new parent understands we produce superfluous gigabytes of insensibly-and-uselessly-high-resolution photo and video). The X61T is a great machine for the job. It's just a little heavy, like the TC1000, with a non-removable (non-cheap-feeling) keyboard but it would wallop the TC1000 in any test on Earth (especially the near-to-currency test, because TC1000s are obsolete as hell).
Also, I have to wonder when the last time the original author used a tablet is. Since XP Tablet Edition, great strides have been made in the recognition. I have probably the worst chickenscratch out there, and Vista (and now Windows 7 is even better) recognizes it perfectly 99% of the time.
I've had a great experience with Windows 7 on my POS Fujitsu tablet. I don't write on it much, but it was miles ahead of XP's recognition. That said, I find a keyboard far easier to use for extended periods of time, though that of course is only really viable with both hands.
@dan
I carry my TC1100 almost everyday (without keyboard and external CD) like a sketch book almost everyday. Dude, this machine had 10inch monitor. Its the first netbook before there was such thing as a netbook...you some kind of a weakling man-boy?
Here's a trick with TC1100: upgrade 512 to 1 GB (mine is 2 GB) and put a 7200 rpm HD and it runs Vista and Window 7 like butta. I had mine for over 4 years and its still very useful. With Window 7, if the hardware holds out, it can last me for another 3 or more years. I know 2 other people who does CG with TC1100...one has two TC! I even done very light Maya 3D on it. And like I said if HP ever put a decent GPU, I would buy one right away.
@JayVee Didn't OQO go out of business? Besides, they had VIA C7 chips while their competitors, like the Vaio UX, had Intel Core Solo chips.
+1 for the tc1100.
I used an m405 for most of last year (until the north bridge overheated, that is.) As a student, I use the pen features about half the time - their great for math and science work, where I almost always avoid the keyboard (it takes to long to type equations). the opposite is true of of English classes, where typing is much more efficient.
But there are also times when I don't need the weight of the keyboard, such as when walking and using the tablet as an e-book reader or simple web browser.
I've currently been eying the tx2z as a replacement, but I would love to see a 10 inch, low power c2d (enough to run photo shop - not atom, but not super powerful either) tablet with mobile removable keyboard and optical drive, that would be much lighter weight.
another +1 for tc1100...the form factor is brilliant!
the only disadvantage, or drawback, of the tc1100 in this day of age is the battery life. hell, even with win7 build7100 it's speed is acceptable (no, not fast by any means, but acceptable). i definitely won't mind a, say, tc1200, with z540/z550, and a superb battery life. the weight can be lighter, but it isn't heavy by any (of my) standards...
If they can make a netbook-sized (and priced) tablet with Windows 7, I'd buy it.
Look at the Archos 9. As a student myself, I purchased a notebook believing I'd be able to use it to take notes in class. Instead, I soon discovered how cumbersome it was and soon went back to a notebook and pen. Next semester, however, I fully plan on taking a tablet-pc to class whether it be that Archos or a Lenovo X200t. To me, being able to digitize my notes would be invaluable considering the number of notebooks I went through last semester, 6. Searching trhough those 6 notebooks for a line of information is unwiedly, and the convergence of the pen and digital data would certainly bring forth a new way to digest and share data.
@Huy
I was in the same situation as you. I ditched my notebook for the Latitude XT and have never enjoyed taking notes more. Also, onenote indexes your handwriting without converting it to text, so all your handwriting is searchable. You'll also be able to search across all classes. I can't tell you how many times this has come in handy, especially when the professor says "Remember from last semester..."
I agree, onenote is an amazing program, especially for students. In my last year of college, I lived in a house with a couple of other guys who were in the same program of study. We each took notes via onenote and combined them in a shared folder. If you had to miss a day of class, it didn't matter since you had everything said and written of the class. You can write down notes, simultaneously record the audio from the lecture (which is time synced to when you write a note) and take & insert digital pictures taken of the teachers notes on the whiteboard. Have you even taken a math class and attempted to make notes via a laptop? It is impossible. A tablet makes that much easier.
It's a good idea to first tell the instructor why you're taking pictures every 15 minutes, but once they see how the whole thing makes for amazing notes, they won't mind. You can be very discreet too in taking the pictures, by setting the camera on the desk and making sure the sound is off.
Also, tablets are invaluable in my workplace, as they allow for us to make site-inspections of buildings much easier. Before we had to take a load of paper notes, photos, and then fly back to the office to go over the details with an engineer/architect. Now we shoot the images digitally, make notations/measurements on the photos with onenote, email those to the engineer, and have an answer to the client in 15 minutes vs. 2-3 days.
It's all in how you find ways to leverage the tool. Pen based tablets have unmatched utility in certain situations, but it's all dependent on the application and software.
Agreed, and kudos to Microsoft for the creation of Tablet PC's and OneNote.
The combination has proven itself to be entirely invaluable to me as well.
Just picked up a Dell XT from the outlet store for under a grand. With onenote, it's amazing!
I prefer typing out my notes because i already write extremely sloppy
I would like a tablet for drawing though... more so coloring. I have a lot of pictures that are inked that need a good splash of roy g biv
Yeah, I get that TabletPCs are great for students. But I think they'd be handier in netbooks that full-sized notebooks, and if they're going to make tablet netbooks, they need to bring the prices down. It's hard to get excited about TabletPCs "under a grand" when I just bought my mom a 15" notebook with an Athlon X2, 3GB of RAM, and middling Radeon graphics for $450.
Mike,
With that $450 laptop in mind, then I guess it's altogether IMPOSSIBLE to get excited about any Apple product.
Then pen is dead.. long live capacitive touch
Go Wacom or Go Home. Pens are for a niche market
But my tablet PC came with both a Wacom screen AND a pen! Whatever should I do?
what? so far as I remember, Wacom is the market's primary digizer-screen manufacturer. digitizer = pen input. therefore your comment makes no sense.
I bought a X60 tablet a while ago and sold it after about 6 months. A pen and notepad worked easier.
Why not combine voice with touch. Dragon Naturally Speaking or software like, while it requires a learning curve, appears to be much better than the handwriting learning curve. Then you create notes, emails, posts, tweets, etc. via voice.
I combine voice with pen and touch using the built in windows speech recognition engine in windows 7. It's really only practical when I'm alone though, both for technical reasons and reasons of personal dignity.
Good in theory, but could you imagine being in a crowded lecture hall with 200 students parroting every word the instructor says into their pc. Also, many students, myself included, learn simply by writing their notes. I rarely look back on my notes after I take them and when I do, its just to double check an equation. While there are certainly instances where voice recognition would be fantastic, I just dont see it having the wide-spread attraction that tablets need to get back in the game.
I think the biggest issue with pens is not to do with handwriting recognition, but rather the pain of having to keep track of specialized pens and stylii. Lets face it, no one takes notes with a touch sensitive screen, it would be aggravating and most just ditch the technology for a good old fashion keyboard. I think in the end, pens can never get a good market share simply because typing will always be faster. People are just too used to typing at 60+ WPM to deal with handwriting recognition. Its the same reason that improved keyboard layouts like dvorak have never taken off, people dont want to change. Pens will always have their place with graphic designers and anyone else who needs something more than just plain text, but for most applications, I think the keyboard will always be king, even if its not the most efficient means.
"pens can never get a good market share simply because typing will always be faster. People are just too used to typing at 60+ WPM to deal with handwriting recognition."
So tell me, how fast can you type a diagram, or a chart, or an equation with various symbols and greek letters? The keyboad has its place with very structured, straight forward input. However, I've found the class notes are almost never straight forward and structured unless your prof is teaching from a power point (in which case I annotated the power point with pen).
@kazbaeden : Most of those problems can be negated if you type notes in LaTeX (assuming you are good enough with TeX)
Nice article and I agree with most of it. Still, have to be editing Nazi:
"I stopped personally stopped using a tablet as a daily machine a while ago and switched to a lightweight laptop that gets me close to nine hours of battery life."
an* editing Nazi.
No, it’s implied the he is THE editing Nazi.
No, he's saying he's editing a Nazi. Implanting a brain, maybe.
I started out with a Fujitsu tablet when they first became available, and for a Mac user to switch over, that says something. Sadly, while I have returned to the Mac, nothing is available from Apple. I would say, that combined pen and touch is critical. I would also say that the interaction model needs to be tight. Windows Tablet was good, but there is a reason the iPhone is successful.
I suspect that at the rumored $800, that the upcoming Apple tablet will be a MacBook replacement. Minus various components, this is feasible. I cannot wait!
Needs more friction.
That's what sh...never mind.
agreed. needs more friction, to simulate the feel of pen and paper.
In my opinion the biggest problem with tablet PCs is that they just cannot convey the same texture feelign as pencil/pen on paper. It always feels too slippery making my bad handwriting even worse.
You can buy felt tips for the pen. It'll decrease the slipperiness and its very close to the feel of pencil against paper. They sell them on Wacom's site, pretty inexpensive.
As someone who uses handwriting recognition in Windows 7 daily, I don't find any shortcomings. After training the engine and allowing it to adapt to my handwriting style, I can count on one hand the amount of recognition errors I come across.
However, I find more and more I'm using the pen without resorting to the TIP, which falls in line with your notion of emphasizing the pen without recognition. Instead, for text input I find myself using the multitouch keyboard included with Windows 7.
I use my computer mostly for school, so I take notes in onenote, which never get converted to text. These notes cover courses from physics to engineering to philosophy to business; where the pen is versitile enough to handle these subjects, the keyboard can only cover business, and maybe philosophy as long as we're not talking about logic. With the pen I can draw equations, charts, graphs, diagrams, and special characters. With the keyboard I fumble as the class moves along.
I also do all of my homework on my tablet. I find it useful to have a saved copy, forever with me, rather than a piece of paper in a drawer at my apartment.
So I think education is the greatest market for tablet computers, and not suprisingly that's where I see them the most. I'd say about 20% of the computers out during lectures are tablet PCs, although sadly not everyone is using them as one.
Can you take notes as fast on screen as you could on paper? The biggest problems with pen computers in the 90's were:
1) Typing is way faster than writing on paper. Writing on paper is faster than writing on screen. Thus, pen computing is too much of a slowdown to be useful, unless you're drawing (sketches, equations etc. as you mention).
2) People lose the pen, and resent having to pay for extras. If you don't carry multiple pens along with the computer, you're bound to find the device useless sooner or later.
3) Pen computers tend to have much lower screen resolution and much higher price than a plain notebook with comparable specs such as CPU, RAM, hard drive. You're not just adding pen-screen capability that you don't have to use, you're taking away a lot of other functionality, and paying hundreds of dollars extra for the privilege.
So, it seems like it'd be better to use an electronic pen peripheral as an adjunct to an ordinary notebook. Such as: http://www.iogear.com/product/GPEN200N/ Anybody got experience with an "electronic pen" that writes on paper and uploads images to the computer?
Ultraportable, pen-based computing is great for note-taking. Note-taking only really works if you have all-day battery life and instant-on capability. Not 20 second bootup time. Not even 5 second bootup time. Instant as in, "Oh, the professor just said something I need to write down right now before he moves onto another topic." Or, "I'm at the airport and I need my record locator to check in."
That's why Windows Mobile is still my platform of choice. If I were to purchase a tablet, I'd want an OS that's as lightweight and quick-to-power.
As far as I'm concerned, my tablet is always in sleep mode, so it is instant on. I can go from sleep, to on, scribble a note, to sleep again in 10 seconds.
As a tablet user, I have to say pens are awesome.
They hold one clear advantage over the keyboard for note-taking in my experience...
..and that is, that all thoughts and ideas are not conveyed with words.
As I look through a lot of my notes I see a lot of pictures, tables, small graphs,etc...
I also see a near limitless possiblity of emphasis.
I am not locked into bold or caps alone....
Or some hackneyed star or marker system which causes me to break typing stride to implement.
Instead my notes are filled with circled words or dates or underlines or oversized words or triple underlined oversized words with big stars next to them or whatever.
I have read so many of these articles about why the tablet/pen failed or didn't work or whatever.
But I will make this observation...
The early clio the author references was a long time ago in tech years.
My own tablet is a few years old now.
I see plans for tablets to be released later this year - new models as it were.
They are getting better all the time... and while windows tablet edition isn't around any more - the new version of windows (7) has all that stuff built right into it.
I expect when I go to buy my next tablet in a year or two I will be able to fire it up, quickly find some articles on why it is dead as a type, do some quick editing and draw some laughs on those articles and then mail them to some friends in similar boats.
- mike
I've always have been a fan of pen based input since as a math student its made taking my note so much easier. Then also being able to go back through my notes with things like search are just wonderful. Though lately my tablet pc has become much of a clunker and I plan on getting something like a studio xps and a small wacom tablet. I cant give up onenote.
It needs to have a combo of touch/pen so that you aren't dead in the water if you don't have the pen handy.
The pen for more detailed functions (drawing), but for navigating and moving things around, it's just more convenient to use your fingers instead of having to hold an object.
Besides, for two-finger typists like me, it's not a big deal and actually quite 'handy' to use fingers on a touchscreen that can offer suggested words and help move me along faster.
The main thing that has held me back is the cost, with specs a close second followed by bulkiness.
I've had an Acer Travelmate Tablet PC for nearly 5 years now, and I love it. When its on my desk, I use mostly the keyboard and touchpad, but when its time for a meeting or presentation (which happens practically every day when you are a software engineer), out comes the pen. I can get fairly easily about 4 to 5 hours of battery time out of it, bumped up the ram to 2gb, hard drive to 250 gb, and even put in a slightly faster cpu, and put on Windows Vista. My old Acer still beats the new laptops my company is buying in the way of features. And the Acer has held up to much abuse, which is more than I can say for any other laptop around here.
I agree. The probelem with pen computing is that it will never match the text entry speed of a keyboard. With a keyboard, I can type as fast as I can think. Where it falls short is that it is limited to text only. Your formatting options consist of the Shift, Enter, and tab keys. If you want to make a quick graphic (vital to note taking) your pretty much SOL. I'd love to be able to take a tablet PC spreadsheet to my boss for him to mark-up rather than printing one out for him to mark-up and then having to walk it downstairs and have it sit on my desk until I get around to making the edits.
I'd actually like to see tablet PC's as powerful as a lap-top that work effectively with blue-tooth keyboards. I leave the keyboard at my desk with a full size mouse. I take the tablet with me when I need it on the go. When I'm mobile, pen \ touch based input is fine. When I'm creating comment, I'd like to choose between Keyboard \ Mouse \ Pen \ Finger
That's just me though.
Part of the problem is that some OEMs push low quality machines which give the platform a bad name. HP had at least two models in recent years, both were extremely poor hardware quality. They had one decent model which they charged a hefty extra for, 2710p and its refresh the 2730. The price came down but now it's last generation hardware.
Dell had one model plagued by problems when they decided to depart from the Wacom digitizers in the reference design. The drivers crashed all the time rendering ink completely useless until you rebooted 3 for 4 times. Then they sat there and charged $2500 for a base model, anything approaching something worth a damn was pushing $4k. This priced it right out of the hands for any student without a trust fund.
The other problem is Best Buy and its ilk which sell the half assed models for hundreds of dollars markup over what HP, Gateway, et. al. were selling them for. The consumer sees $$$$$ and says f-that, without realizing the store is charging extorionary prices.
Microsoft isn't off the hook either. They never mention Onenote in any promotional materials, it's one of their best kept secrets. For the most part the platform in general is left to the OEMs to sort out.
"Dell had one model plagued by problems when they decided to depart from the Wacom digitizers in the reference design. The drivers crashed all the time rendering ink completely useless until you rebooted 3 for 4 times. Then they sat there and charged $2500 for a base model"
You're talking about the Latitude XT. The driver problems were largely overblown, and the n-trig digitizer is one of the best I've used. Further, it's the only multitouch digitizer/capacitive touch screen on the market at this point, and has been for over a year; Wacom has nothing similar to offer.
Also I got mine from the Dell outlet, fully loaded, for $900, and it works good as new.
Some points were missed around PDAs - the stylus is losing favor because it requires 2 hand to use a small device - the virtual keys and buttons are to small to hit without a stylus, so the user has to pull out a stylus to get anything done.... a major pain when all you want to do is click a few virtual buttons.
Sorry, but the pen is not an ideal navigation tool. I requires to much work... we have 10 fingers so why use a pen to navigate?
Tablets and pen based input will work when full size, full function devices get lighter. A macbook air, with no keyboard and MB and drive tucked behind the screen, weighing in at around 2lbs.... that would work well. As others have mentioned handwriting recognition in Windows 7 works. It will just take the right hardware and software combo to have a winner.
I used a laptop for my last two years of college, and I must admit that taking notes is very different with a keyboard than with a pen.
That is not to say one is better than the other. I personally found the keyboard much easier when all of the information is spoken. I've previously found it very difficult to write as fast as they talk, and the keyboard really helps you get all of the info.
Then, of course, you have those lecturers who do nothing but write and draw on the board. I've managed to keep up with the simple draw functions and a mouse, but it is a pain in the ass. Here, I think, the pen excels.
Other than the nature of the course, the subject matter really makes a huge difference too. I'm sorry, but there's just no feasible way of doing complex calculations on a computer; keyboard or pen. I've managed to do some note-taking in an intermediate formal logic course (with clever substitutions for symbols), but you're never going to completely get away from the pen in courses like this.
Hand writing recognition is almost flawless. To say hand writing recognition hasn't lived up to hype is incorrect. Even with the default settings without configuring the device it manages to recognize all characters. After configuration it's extremely accurate.
Now that I've switched to a captive screen on the Pre I miss the stylus input and being able to scribe out notes. Having a full tablet though with the ability to search notes makes the pen and paper quite inferior.
I will probably switch to a tablet when Windows 7 is out and more come to the market.
The article kind of sums up why I'll never understand the constant expectation that Apple will release a tablet. Sure, there is clearly a hardcore of users who'd snap one up in a heartbeat - I'm not denying that it'd sell like hotcakes to these people who have legitimate need for one - but as a mass market proposition, pfft, waste of time and effort.
Otoh, I suppose such a device has never been more likely given it'd essentially just be a larger iphone/touch with a full OS but, again, outside of that hardcore, would no keyboard *really* be an improvement for the majority?
Please note: I'm not saying there is no market for tablets.
I think if anyone can pull off transitioning tablets to the masses it would be Apple. They have a strong educational presence where much of the actual tablet need resides. You can boot to Windows so you can run the fabulous OneNote software.
And then there's Apple's panache for marketing old ideas as shiny brand new inventions. Heck, I might even buy such a device and I tend to intensely dislike everything that comes out of Cupertino.
My only concern would be that Apple would decide that you don't need a keyboard at all in their typical but-we-made-it-perfect fashion. And I think that would kill it. Not many students can afford multiple computers to do homework on, especially when chances are they need a beefy machine to run specialized software. (And video games.)
I had a Fujistu TabletPC, slate style. When I needed to type on it, I had a small easel that I set the slate, and there was an infrared keyboard that I kept in the same briefcase. It worked flawlessly.
@ Michael Gartenberg: I can't take anything you say seriously after you pronounced ASUS "ass-us" in the podcast @_@
Agreed. That and the continual reference to New York style bagels, when Montreal style bagels are clearly far superior.
I love my gateway tablet. It works great with office onenote and writting on it is soo easy. I just want it to be lighter to carry. Pen computeing can work with the right combination. A 9 or 10 inch screen with a good pen priced around the price of current netbooks I would buy in a second. In addition to my gateway I also have an Asus and a Sony all with pen capabilities.
Sure pens are great for taking notes or drawing pictures in paint...but who wants to mess around with a pen when they can just use their finger to flick through pictures or browse the web? Pens might have their uses, but they are just another annoying peripheral to lose or avoid. Touch screen all the way.
Dumb article. It suprises me that most people still don't know what to do with a pen/touchscreen. You shouldn't use it to replace the keyboard on a device that requires a lot of typing. You use it to replace the MOUSE. It's faster, more precize and takes less space. I use the touchscreen of my 7" netbook all the time. The touchpad is too small and a mouse is inconvenient.
The only time a pen only input is preferred is when you don't expect to use the keyboard that often. But then again: it's practically the same as using a virtual keyboard with your mouse. Don't even start about handwriting.
Absolutely. I write for a living. Using a pen instead of a keyboard all day long would drive me up the wall.
Great post! Also excellent stuff on the podcast as well. Good to hear another voice in the Engadget chorus.
I thought pen computing was interesting. Even more so once it stopped being expensive tablet PCs and moved more into the UMPC way of doing things. However once the iPhone came out and I fell for touch interfaces I simply lost interest in the idea of interacting with a pen. In my case, let's face it, I rarely write so why limit myself to an interface that asks me to write more? I'd rather have what was suggested on the podcast, that is, an elegant slate surface with a great on a screen keyboard (preferably running some type of OSX).
I have a hard time picturing someone taking notes with his finger on a touch screen. A pen with it's WACOM pressure sensitivities directly on the screen is great for note taking as long as you aren't writing out complete sentences.
You wouldn't want OSX for Tablet computing. It's horrible! It's not even in the same league as XP and Vista and Window 7 is light years ahead of XP. Watch the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCHqMENtKkA
I was just thinking about this subject, I'd be happy if there was a digital pen that didn't require special paper, nor would it require a clip to put on my notebook, that I can just hook up to some sort of docking device when I am ready to transfer the information and it would have to be wireless of course, just like a real pen but a much more simpler way to digitize and edit.
I would definitely buy it, for under 50 bucks of course.
bring clicky keyboards back ;_;
As I understand there are two or three companies that still offer mechanical-switch keyboards. Though they're more expensive than their dome-switch cousins.
First, I enjoyed the article. Thank you.
Now for the (quasi) rebuttal. While I do agree that there is a place left for the pen as an input device, I think the spot is sort of small and cramped. On a smartphone, you don't want to have to use two hands to get most small things done (looking up a contact, changing a ringtone, etc.) When it comes to a bigger task, like Internet, email, or document editing; you need the versatility of a keyboard. Most (if not all) people who use a computer on a daily basis cantype faster than they write. This further narrows down the usefulness of pen input. The only real area that I see left would be specialized applications of a tablet (true tablet without a keyboard.) This would be a situation where a worker (cable tech, doctor, PC tech, plumber, whatever) is in the field and needs to make a note on a ticket. Not a complete rundown of a job, just a note. The big advantage that a pen has over a keyboard is size and complexity. You can put your pen and wallet in the same pocket, plus, there is only one button on a pen. Unfortunately, I don't see how people becoming aware of pen computing is going to make it more useful. I am aware that land in Michigan (especially Detroit) is ridiculously cheap right now. But I'm broke, have no intrest in digging my way to the mailbox in winter, and no one in Michigan is doing any hiring. So yeah, I could buy a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house on 30 acres of land with a barn and lake for 100 grand. But moving up there, getting foreclosed on because I couldn't get a job to pay my bills, and moving out again a year later wouldn't be very useful or productive would it? I think what is truly needed is a way to make the pen input more versatile. I had an x61 tablet. I liked that there was a button for right clicks when you were using the pen as a mouse. The handwriting recognition was barely acceptable. In essence all I used the pen for was a mouse replacement. I did take some notes (which I had to retype,) and I did try to use the onscreen keyboard (took for freakin' ever.) If handwriting recognition is not in the cards, then we will have to treat the pen as just another mouse replacement.
I have a Lenovo X200 Tablet w/ touch running Windows 7 RC
This replaced my Lenovo X41 Tablet w/o touch running XP Tablet Edition.
I have to say I can't even imagine using a regular notebook anymore. It just doesn't make sense. One Note plus a Pen is an amazing combination for taking notes. Keyboards are great until you need to draw out a sketch or diagram. Pen and paper are great until you need to "email" your concept to someone.
Windows 7 has come a LONG way to making the touch/pen experience actually intuitive and usable. If there was one complaint with this, where I agree with the article, is there are trade offs. The X200 with 8cell battery is too heavy. With the 4 cell doesn't run long enough. And the resistive touch interface isn't that great on the X200 (worse on the X61).
Yes, OneNote is an extremely useful app if you've got a Tablet PC. I loved using it when I had my slate. I miss it when I'm reading a book, and I want to make a note about what I just read.
One of the major problems that's not covered in this article is that the pen requires extra work to use. If I want to click on a button with a pen I have to first pick it up or take it out then bring it to the screen and use it. No other input device works in this manor. The mouse and keyboard are already where they need to be and are accessible. Using my finger to press on the screen is also a much easier input method. Having used both tablet PCs and pen based PDAs I think this was the biggest barrier for me. The pen just didn't add enough to make it worth the extra effort.
That's absolutely the only grip I have. If I want to read a PDF in tablet mode, I have to constantly hold the pen to change pages. I'm hoping the new tablets with touch ability would solve this problem.
Not sure which tablets you've used to read PDFs in, but uh, almost every tablet these days has some sort of rocker switch/ navigator so that you just press a button to move down a page, and therefore don't need the pen to do it.
Well why not have a keyboard/trackpad connectable to the tablet via a RF technology so that you could use it as a traditional laptop when needed?
Wow, the ignorance in these posts is amazing.
Most TabletPC's now are convertible. That means they all have keyboards, but you can flip the screen around and use it with a pen.
I have a Motion Computing M1400, still running Windows XP. It has built in Bluetooth, and I have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. But, on plane trips, the keyboard goes in my checked bag. I can still use my tablet, and at 3 lbs, is way lighter than most laptops sold today.
I also use a KVM at my desk. I have a dual monitor setup, with one of the monitors able to switch to my tablet. I do get to use both technologies.
I would NEVER write a paper on my tablet. But, I can IM, email, browse the web (a pen is no worse than a mouse for browsing), draw art, do the crossword puzzle, play sudoku, listen to music, etc. on my tablet. Then, I take it to work and have notes from every meeting that I've been in for the last 3 years.
The war is over. People who use notepads and type up their notes into documents for presentation (reports, essays, articles, etc) will prefer tablets. Those who like drafting will prefer a word processor and keyboard. Its as simple as that. I've tried word processors for note taking and its not the same. Equally, Onenote sucks for drafting. They are two different tools for two different problems. The real issue is whether any OEM can convince the avg note-taker that they need two devices or a convertible.
Pen computing didn't die because of a lack of PR. It died because it's inferior to the alternatives.
Handwriting is SLOW. I can type many times faster than you can write anything. Pen computing requires an external instrument.
This of course, is just part 2 of your piece declaring netbooks dead, with you now searching for alternatives.
Michael, clearly you're one of those types who forms his opinion first then searches everywhere for justification. It kind of neat that you've invented the exact opposite of the scientific method, and use it in your daily life.
No offense but maybe you just suck at writing?
I can write as quick as I type and I like having the ability to switch between the two for more capabilities; like many people have said you can't type a diagram, and a stylus provides much more accuracy than fingers.
And I can also write without looking which is near impossible with software keyboards with no physical feedback.
...I assume you're talking about soft-keyboards since you mention a writing drawback as needing extra equipment like a stylus. Using a physical keyboard also requires additional equipment whether it's slideout, clamshell, or USB attached. In fact adding a hard keyboard to a tablet is far more bulky than adding a stylus.
@admmerrill
I was talking about the netbook arena, where Apple is apparently about to reinvent the $800 tablet.
But all that aside ... here's a pencil, wanna race?
Why has no one mentioned the Livescribe Smartpen? The tech in this is great, and a 2.0 version could be amazing.
It already can interpret your messy handwriting into searchable notes and link it to an audio recording of what was happening at the moment the note was written.
I want to see this product take the next step and integrate iPhone/iPod Touch communication via Bluetooth (to transfer and share notes).
Alternatively, it would be great for someone to adapt this technology to a tablet computer so your tablet-written notes become searchable and linked to audio recordings.
LiveScribe is a great pen however then are limited and are not currently able to use Bluetooth for their pen, due to their agreement with Anoto. Their pen is manufactired by Anoto. Anoto currently has two other pens with bluetooth and they are cool. Their pens can interactive with Cellphones, PDA, and computers already. But they tend to be a little more cost. I am working on an app for an Anoto pen right now for the medical industry. Check out www.anoto.com for info about pen computing.
Oh my clients would be so pleased!
Bah. A Newton 2100 is a bloody brilliant machine to work on. Character based recognition works like a breeze if your cursive hand is beyond the software's ablilities. Connect a keyboard if you need it. The OS is a charm as is was from the ground up designed to work with pen-input, and therefore emulates several paper-based systems instead of trying to cram a desktop computer into a slate. The hardware is incredibly well-designed and durable, as is the whole system. I used mine all the way through my studies, never lost a byte of data and rarely ever missed a notebook on the go. It's really not up to the web, let alone web 2.0 era but I want to see a computer from 1998 that still is. The systems "failure" is all due to bad timing and bad marketing decisions; the Newton by itself is a stroke of genius. OS X and the iPhone are full of Newton-inspired tech. These days, Apple could take it out of the drawer, blow off some dust and spiff it up with modern specs and it would be big.
Wow! So good to hear from a Newton admirer. Gartenberg obviously either never tried nor mastered one (at least not latest OS version). There is a learning curve, but nothing compared to keyboard.
I write a lot and always prefer using Newt -- cursive HWR great, especially after one tweaks the settings for how one writes characters. And not lugging around a keyboard is incomparable.
Speed and writing are often a bad combination. I'm a fast typer (a pianist) but still prefer Newt, especially for composing my thoughts, quick notes, outlines, poetry, etc.
And, yes, stylus (or fingernail) is no contest with mouse/trackpad.
No SW/HW I know matches ease and oh-so-straightfoward simplicity of editing text with Newt.
Apple computing fell years behind never to catch up in lots ways when Newt discontinued 1998.
I suspect another issue is a tendency for keyboard to be addictive/captivating.
I've been scouring the internet for a decent tablet PC (or Mac tablet) for about a week now. I'm an animator in the entertainment biz, so I guess I'm in the niche market. I would like to use Maya (3d anim), Mudbox (3d sculpting) and Photoshop (texturing) all on the same computer. The perfect combo would be something that has a fast video card (nVidia) and pen input or as Wacom calls it "penabled". Currently there is only ONE product out there that has these specs and it's serious $$$$$. I don't feel right about dropping $5000 for a Mac laptop that has been converted to a tablet (Axiotron Modbook http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbookpro) but at least i know the technology is there and it can be done!
As someone who worked at a tablet PC company for two years I can tell you the largest problem with tablets has nothing to do with hand writing recognition. It has to do with horrible battery life. If they could get the battery life up to 3 hours+ without having to drop Windows 7/Vista to the lowest settings possible then they would be great. Oh, and if you get one try and get an SSD drive. These systems are constantly being moved around while in use. Laptops do not compare. You have a better chance of killing your drive on a slate tablet like the one pictured than on a normal laptop that only really moves between locations.
That said... I got to keep mine when they had layoffs and I use it constantly. If I have to write papers or test plans I still jump on my desktop/laptop but for meetings, classes (one note is just amazing for students) or art you just can't beat them. But if I had to use them without plugging them in I would just throw them in the trash. Mine literally lasts 45 minutes before it dies unless I make it almost unusable because every power setting is set to the lowest setting possible.
I'm well out of college, and for what I need a pen just sucks. I use my G1 for on the go emails, web browsing, and even an occasional phone call. I have a macbook that handles everything I need it to. I have no need to draw out a fancy graph, I can't draw worth a crap anyway. Honestly, i hate navigating via a pen, i find web browsing much easier via touch screen.
Why is keyboard the standard? We teach it as part of general education at all levels. If the industry could agree on a standard set of symbols and/or short hand that could be taught classroom style and included as general education (especially at a young age), we would have a viable alternative.
For all new devices, it's best to go back to first principles - the human body. This is what Apple did with the iPhone - you already have a finger and evolution has designed you to be very proficient with it. I think that something like a sign language might be interesting.
I'll take the penis mightier for $200, Trebek.
You are sitting on a Gold mine.
Not going to happen, because people can generally type faster than they can write. I type at around 90-100 wpm; I write by hand at maybe 20-30. When I wrote a ton of stuff by hand years and years ago, maybe that was at 40 wpm, but it's nowhere close to how fast I can write while typing. The keyboard is really a rather brilliant input device, and I don't see us moving away from it for anything outside of more specialized uses.
I had an original iPaq 3600 series - loved it. It had a Stylus. As a tech consumer I'm indiffernt.
Before it died I was able to make notes almost as fast as if I were typing or writing with pen and paper.
It still had it's faults though.
I bought an iPhone a few months ago. I love it too. Sans Stylus and all. Same thing as the iPaq - it has it's good and bad points.
Personally I think touch-based computing with or without a Stylus is in it's infancy at best. Either tech has a long way to go. There are definitely advantages to both routes. My issue (and this is more of a broad general complaint) is that the tech industry too many times rushes technologies to market when they haven't stablized them just to grab some cash from early adopters to fund their product advancement. Then we - the consumers - consistantly end up with shotty products that need patches and updates and tweaking and coddling. It gets old after a while.
@M. Gartenberg - Great post by the way.
I'll bet you $5 that you couldn't handwrite as fast as you can type. It might have felt that way as you frantically scribbled on the screen, but your speeds would have come nowhere close to regular typing.
I love my WinMo handwriting recognition, provided the screen is big enough,which it isn't on my Touch Pro. Can't wait for the 2. I like One Note also. Full keyboards are faster, but for illustrations the tablet is invaluable.
I am a long time user of a Fujitsu Stylistic, and it works perfectly for me. I think a tablet like it is perfect for any student, and would be even better if more of their textbooks were offered as PDFs. Then they could read the texts on a large enough screen, and take notes at will.
I believe a tablet is ideal for locations where propping up a computer (even a notebook) to type is problematic, such as rough job sites, and even when going through a retail store and taking notes on inventory or operations. I think this article does a good job of pointing out the merits and problems attached to pen based computing.
I really hope with the advent of Windows 7, there will be more and better use of pen computing in the future.
I think Thatrotierkid is on the right track. First, keeping up with the dang pen is annoying. Many of the tablets that I saw require a specialized pen in the first place so that's even worse. Second, I can type faster and better than I can write.
What needs to happen is that we need a major paradyme shift. We need to be able to capture ideas and concepts with less input than a letter based alphabet. Take Chinese for example, they capture information in the form of an ideogram. We need a radically different input method than mouse, keyboad or pen. Once we have that then we can create small mobile platforms to take advantage of that.