Finding an Affordable Digital Pen for Writing on Tablets/Surfaces

[lax1113]

Hey guys,
I was wondering if you guys could provide me with a name of a decent, but not too pricey, digital pen. I am not sure if this is the exact name I am loking for, so what I want is a pen that I can write on a given tablet/surface with and for it to show up on my PC. For example, I could write out an equatino for it to show up on my Pc's monitor. It can be directly connected to the PC, don't need anything fancy, I just honestly am sick of some of the paper I am wasting (I am not a hardcore environmentalist or anything, just kinda annoying to use 5 sheets of paper for a problem, find out what i need, but the paper is now useless... you know?)..

thanks,

 

[CaptainQuasar]

Something like http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190262588179&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RCRX_Pr12_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=310084439819&itemcount=12&refwidgetloc=active_view_item&usedrule1=CrossSell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget&_trksid=p284.m184&_trkparms=algo%3DCRX%26its%3DS%252BI%252BSS%26itu%3DISS%252BUCI%252BSI%26otn%3D12? I actually have one but I've never used it.

The new http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid980795693/bctid1778578839 looks pretty cool too. But it's basically a PDA-like computer in its own right, so undoubtedly more expensive than you were thinking.

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[Danger]

I assume, Lax, that you mean one of these...
http://www.nokia.ca/A4488269
If you just Google 'digital pen', you'll get all sorts of hits. I didn't bother checking eBay, but it might be the cheapest place for one.

 

[robphy]

http://www.wacom.com/bambootablet/
but it's not quite the same as the TabletPC experience where the pen effectively writes on the screen (e.g. http://www.motioncomputing.com/products/tablet_pc_le17.asp , http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=T2020, http://www.gottabemobile.com/2008/10/17/intel-classmate-tablet-slated-for-january-2009/ ).

For something really low-cost, check out
Johnny Chung Lee's "Low-Cost Multi-touch Whiteboard using the Wiimote"

 

[CaptainQuasar]

Danger, those don't take care of the wasting-paper problem; in fact, they require special paper to function: see the note at the bottom of this article.

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[lax1113]

Hey Captain Quasar,
I actually was reading up on them and it appeared that some now use normal paper, but its still the idea that paper is used. Although I think it is really cool that you can transfer stuff like that right onto the computer, I'm not so sure that it is what i really want. That WII remote thing was INSANE, I wish i knew how to do that, I know he talks about it in his video, but i don't know if i'd be able to get it to work like that... or buy the right stuff in the first place.

 

[Moonbear]

How about dry erase markers and a window? I have a small Wacom pen tablet, but I wouldn't recommend it for writing...it takes some effort to get it aligned to the window and I don't like that you can't really recenter it...the edges are uncomfortable for drawing/writing. The larger ones are prohibitively expensive though. My primary use of it is actually for tracing pen drawings, though I've also been using it with Photoshop recently to do finer touch-ups of other drawings more easily than with a mouse, but when I try to do things like create signatures with it, it doesn't look right at all, so I think standard handwriting would be tedious with it.

 

[Danger]

Danger, those don't take care of the wasting-paper problem; in fact, they require special paper to function

This must not be the brand that I saw before, then. I'm pretty sure that it didn't require any paper at all. I think that it was geared toward students, and might even have come from a toy company. It might have been "Gizmag" where I ran across it, or "I Want One of Those", but I can't remember now.