Digital Stationery

While at a Starbucks coffeehouse recently, it immediately caught our attention when a father and his two well-behaved children appeared to be quietly enjoying a drink together. When we looked a little closer, we realized that the children were incredibly busy playing with a very unusual pen, labeled Fly. Returning to the office, we needed to learn more.

As it turns out, Fly is one of the earlier uses of a digital pen, a phenomenon we have read about for years but had yet to actually see in use. When used in conjunction with Fly Paper (a type of uniquely patterned digital paper), Fly allows children to automatically set reminders for homework assignments and after school appointments, just by printing them out by hand (Fly sounds out a reminder alarm to ensure the homework / appointment isn’t later forgotten). Fly Fusion, a more advanced program for teens, also allows users to print their classroom notes by hand, then effortlessly convert the information to digital type in a MS Word document.

While Fly and Fly Fusion are designed for younger people, they have obvious implications for those of us who are a bit older. As this technology takes root in the workplace, it should mean that less time is wasted transcribing information to digital form (this is particularly significant for fields like health care, where transcription has long been a fact of life). Digital paper also represents a potentially valuable time saver for writers, lawyers and any professional who simply prefers the written word to typing at a computer.

While digital paper is still in its infancy, there are a few manufactures (including Maxell and Logitech) that have developed the technology for business use. If you decide to give one a try, please let us know how you like it!

Links:
www.flypentop.com/view/page.home/home
www.flyworld.com/
www.maxell.co.jp/e/products/industrial/digitalpen/
www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mice_pointers/digital_pen/devices/408&cl=ca,en