Hanwha USB Air Pen Turns Laptops into Tablet PCs

The very useful smartpen technology has found a new use at the hands of creators Hanwha. Not to be confused with smartpens that are dot readers like the the LiveScribe Pulse, this other breed employs sonar. The device consists of 2 small microphones and an ultrasound emitting pen along with an infrared range finder to gauge exist relative location from the sensor. The sensor records all the pen's locations and software converts the data into images of exactly what you wrote. It also has the extra capability of acting as a drawing tablet, without the tablet. Hanwha, decided the tablet could be the monitor and a brilliant idea was borne.

It's small, has low power needs and doesn't require special paper. It's only a matter of time before it get incorporated into devices like PDA's and Laptops and this is the first step. This model can both be used as a touchscreen/tablet as well as a digital note-taker/smartpen. With any luck we'll see a more viable and inexpensive version of the portable virtual keyboard using this technique. This one retails for around $100 but is currently only available in Japan and does not currently have Apple support.