A Pen You Can't Afford to Lose: Digital Pens On The Move

[Jon Westfall]

http://www.thestandard.com/internetnews/000913.php

"Hewlett-Packard Co.'s (HP's) "digital pen" technology is going on the road with a little help from Nokia Corp. The digital pen is a real ink pen that takes 100 pictures per second to digitally record what the user is writing. A new model from Nokia can send that information via Bluetooth to a Nokia phone and from there to a server over a standard mobile data network..."

While we uber-techies may sometimes forget, some people actually still use slices of trees and pigment-filled cylinders! Now with the help of Nokia, HP is hoping their existing digital pens can become a new option for some users on the go. Targeting such niche markets as healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and the government, this Nokia / HP combo allows users to fill out a paper form and send the digital pen's recorded scrawling to a server via GPRS. The article even spells out the rather interesting and complex method the software uses to identify each form and understand the information the pen sends it.

And when will this be available? Now - if you have the $$$ (Or euros, or legal currency of your choosing). The pen runs around $199, with starter packages (pens, server, etc...) running around $150K. A bit on the pricey side as an initial investment, but according to HP, It can save $0.75 per page processed.

[Jon Westfall]

http://www.thestandard.com/internetnews/000913.php

"Hewlett-Packard Co.'s (HP's) "digital pen" technology is going on the road with a little help from Nokia Corp. The digital pen is a real ink pen that takes 100 pictures per second to digitally record what the user is writing. A new model from Nokia can send that information via Bluetooth to a Nokia phone and from there to a server over a standard mobile data network..."

While we uber-techies may sometimes forget, some people actually still use slices of trees and pigment-filled cylinders! Now with the help of Nokia, HP is hoping their existing digital pens can become a new option for some users on the go. Targeting such niche markets as healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and the government, this Nokia / HP combo allows users to fill out a paper form and send the digital pen's recorded scrawling to a server via GPRS. The article even spells out the rather interesting and complex method the software uses to identify each form and understand the information the pen sends it.

And when will this be available? Now - if you have the $$$ (Or euros, or legal currency of your choosing). The pen runs around $199, with starter packages (pens, server, etc...) running around $150K. A bit on the pricey side as an initial investment, but according to HP, It can save $0.75 per page processed.