Apple's 'Communicating Stylus' for Capturing Digital Versions of Handwritten Notes Wins Patent

[chrisbru]

This would be really nice for note taking. I could jot down notes on a pad of paper while in a meeting, and those would be available on my iPhone/iPad when I'm done instead of keeping track of the paper.

When I was in school, I preferred typing my notes, but it would have been nice to be able to digitally draw for pictures/diagrams/etc.

 

[xARx2]

iPad Pro!

iPad Pro!

iPad Pro!

 

[topmounter]

They patented a digital version of tracing paper.

 

[KPOM]

Who's to say this would be limited to the iPad? It could work with a Mac, as well.

 

[MasterRyu2011]

I can't see this hitting iPhone for many many iterations... but the 12-13" rumored tablet? I could see it! =)

And hopefully it isn't just for in-app usage. I want to be able to interact with the whole tablet -- like being able to just draw a circle on the screen and and saving the selected content as an image.

 

[samcraig]

This already exists. http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/smartpen/ls3/

Handwriting will never be "dead." And the ability to capture notes, diagrams, etc as you write them/draw them can be invaluable. Especially to students. Further - Livescribe's method also incorporates audio recording so that as you're taking notes, it records audio so you can go back and click on any part of your notes and hear what was being said. Again - invaluable for students and/or meetings where there's a lot of information and you're shorthanding your notes.

The "limitation" of livescribe, however, it that it requires their encoded notebooks. Not a huge deal, but what Apple is proposing here is the logical next step.

But..... Handwriting is dead and stuff..... with??

Theres gotta be some hidden functionality in here right? Like the non mechanical click, pressure sensitive trackpad patent that became the Watch screen?

So, in one scenario, this special pen would let me write on paper – with ink – resulting in both a paper and a digital copy of the note? Correct?

If the price wasn't too steep, I'd really, really like that.

That's exactly what they mean. Not only paper, but brainstorming on a whiteboard, or Smartboard or even in the air. The naysayers so far haven't really read the article. The ability to change tips for various purposes, the ability to share your written material in real time with numerous iPads at the same meeting on any surface, etc. Lots of possibilities.

Does this mean, I write/draw on an actual paper (with ink maybe) and its 1:1 copied to a computer? If yes this is kinda awesome. Havent seen it this way implemented and somehow really cool.

This would be really nice for note taking. I could jot down notes on a pad of paper while in a meeting, and those would be available on my iPhone/iPad when I'm done instead of keeping track of the paper.

When I was in school, I preferred typing my notes, but it would have been nice to be able to digitally draw for pictures/diagrams/etc.

 

[mrex]

by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

eh heh...

 

[MasterRyu2011]

This already exists. http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/smartpen/ls3/

Handwriting will never be "dead." And the ability to capture notes, diagrams, etc as you write them/draw them can be invaluable. Especially to students. Further - Livescribe's method also incorporates audio recording so that as you're taking notes, it records audio so you can go back and click on any part of your notes and hear what was being said. Again - invaluable for students and/or meetings where there's a lot of information and you're shorthanding your notes.

The "limitation" of livescribe, however, it that it requires their encoded notebooks. Not a huge deal, but what Apple is proposing here is the logical next step.

This seems like an awesome tech gift...for myself! Thanks!

If it weren't for this Apple rumor i wouldn't have known about a similar pen that already exists. The only thing it doesn't seem to have Android support.

 

[apolloa]

Seriously?? Anyone care to explain how this patent is different to all the others out there? Or did Apple just give the patent office people lots of money?

 

[samcraig]

This seems like an awesome tech gift...for myself! Thanks!

If it weren't for this Apple rumor i wouldn't have known about a similar pen that already exists. The only thing it doesn't seem to have Android support.

You can get one of their other pens (echo which is great) or Sky which uses wifi (can sometimes be spotty). None with Android tablets though. So if you do want that functionality - right now, they only cater to iOS in that regard.

But the other two pens are good for PC/Macs and can create shareable/animated (with voice) PDFs which can be shared and read by anyone with Acrobat Reader.

 

[b0nd18t]

People still want to hand write stuff? Give me a keyboard any day.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Quickly sketch me a diagram with that keyboard

 

[Traverse]

Please....PLEASE incorporate proper stylus support!

 

[WildCowboy]

One does not "win" a patent. It is not a competition.
One does "earn" a patent through much hard work.

Apple earned their patent. Apple did not win it.

"Win" does not necessarily have to mean a competition...although in some sense it is a competition against the patent examiner.

 

[H2SO4]

This patent must have some very specific apparatus claims since text recognition is very old tech.

Also there is a company that is part of the Kohler group that manufacture Uninterruptible Power Supplies. I was on site with them once;
They have what looks like a normal pen that writes on normal paper. It doesn’t/isn’t. I’m sure that the pen tracks where it writes and sends the info by bluetooth to a cell device which then communicates the data to their head office who obviously now have an electronic job report. Add OCR and this is what Apple are doing?

I’ll double check but I’m sure that’s what happens.

 

[Arran]

They patented a digital version of tracing paper.

Or carbon?

 

[teslo]

That would be a 'no'

If you won't read the article at least look at the pretty pictures.

i get what you're saying regarding this specific article, but the wind is blowing this direction. surface pro is begging to be bested and many of us are pining for it

 

[call-151]

I want one

That's exactly what they mean. Not only paper, but brainstorming on a whiteboard, or Smartboard or even in the air. The naysayers so far haven't really read the article. The ability to change tips for various purposes, the ability to share your written material in real time with numerous iPads at the same meeting on any surface, etc. Lots of possibilities.

Ditto,

This isn't a stylus. It's a hybrid analog/digital pen. Doing this the "Apple way" without the need for special paper and/or flaws in available third party solutions would be a very welcome addition, particularly for enterprise users. I'm in.

 

[goobot]

A stylus? Over Steve Jobs's dead body!

This patent was filled in 2010.

 

[SusanK]

MessagePad

I have to find that caddy for AA batteries

 

[Swampthing]

<drum roll please...>

Tim Cook: Just one more thing... let me introduce the i-Sty...

(come to think of it, that's a really bad name)

 

[Rogifan]

Correct. Because it can't do things that would benefit from one.

The point is I can operate my phone without having to use a stylus. That was Steve Jobs point as well.

----------

<drum roll please...>

Tim Cook: Just one more thing... let me introduce the i-Sty...

(come to think of it, that's a really bad name)

Based on their new naming conventions it would probably be called Pen.

 

[b52hbuff]

And this is better than a Surface Pro 3 running OneNote in what way?

You can already take digital notes and have in synced to all of your OneNote-connected devices.

 

[Aluminum213]

Love the Livescribe products and have never been truly bothered by the need to use their paper, however this is the direction the technology should be taking.

Livescribe has maybe the worst software I've ever used, which is why I promptly returned it


Shame because the hardware is great but crippled by pathetic software

 

[samcraig]

And this is better than a Surface Pro 3 running OneNote in what way?

You can already take digital notes and have in synced to all of your OneNote-connected devices.

Well the Livescribe advantage is that you don't need your computer or tablet with you. It's recorded on the pen and can be uploaded to a device or the cloud at a later date.