What the Future Holds: Pen Computers

Posted January 3, 2006 at 12:19 AM by Adam Berger

Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Features, Broadband Cards, WTFH

I have always said that someone should create a palm like devices that includes a processor/aps, monitor of the sort, keyboard and mouse. At the 2003 ITU Telecom World exhibition held in Geneva, the Tokyo-based NEC Corporation displayed a conceptual $30,000 prototype of what they dubbed a “Pen-style Personal Networking Gadget Package,” or P-ISM. As NEC described the P-ISM:

P-ISM is a gadget package including five functions: a pen-style cellular phone with a handwriting data input function, virtual keyboard, a very small projector, camera scanner, and personal ID key with cashless pass function. P-ISMs are connected with one another through short-range wireless technology. The whole set is also connected to the Internet through the cellular phone function. This personal gadget in a minimalistic pen style enables the ultimate ubiquitous computing.

This product allows you to work from anywhere in the world and have everything that you need at your fingertips. We all know that enough processing power and tri-wireless modes (Bluetooth, 802.11B/G, and Cellular) can fit into small devices (PSP, Treo’s). NEC only adds a viewing device (the projector) and an input device (a laser keyboard) to bring us to miniature-mobile computing. We know the input devices already function as seen in the picture below (although this devices causes numbness/pain in your fingers because you are typing on a hard surface) now can’t we just get a smaller projectors.

Oh and of course, for this to be worth anyone’s $$ I believe it will need to have a battery performance time of 6+ hours.

I expect to see a product like this by Jan 2007 CES with a cost of $4999.

Click on to see more pics.

Read [Snopes]