If you would like to learn more about the Anoto Digital Pen then you've come to right place. Digital Pens in general, and the Anoto brand in particular has literally revolutionized the process of note taking. It is on this subject that the following paragraphs are focused. After reading this article, the reader should have a better understanding of the value of Anoto Digital Pens.
The Underlying Technology
For those readers who have experienced the Livescribe pen, the Anoto is very similar in appearance. In addition, the underlying technology is also very similar as both devices read dot patterns on the page. There is a tiny camera within the Anoto that will recognize the pattern. It uses the pattern to record all strokes of the pen and therefore to identify the page that you are working on. Once completed, the sync mechanism is applied and the written information is then combined into the original document.
The Anoto Digital Pen
As mentioned above, the Anoto pen is very similar in appearance to the Livescribe. Of course, the reason for this is that Anoto was the original developer of this technology, and supplied it to the company that manufactured Livescribe. The pen has an elliptical feature that will prevent it from rolling around the table, and it has the ability to turn itself on automatically once the cap is removed. These features are particularly useful in the medical and healthcare industries, which not coincidentally are the two initial target markets for this product.
The Software
In reality, there are two software programs that comprise the overall Anoto software package. One is called penDirector and the other is called penDocuments. The penDirector is constantly running in your system tray. When docked, all information currently residing in the pan is automatically downloaded. This is the default setting, but can be overridden if desired.
Once the information is downloaded, a software product called penDocuments takes over. This is the vehicle by which your documents are stored and managed. These documents can be subsequently printed on virtually any decent printer, with the use of the included Anoto printer driver.
Conclusion
We are confident that this product will be a valuable asset to virtually anyone in the business community. When set up properly, it can serve as a seamless interface to most business applications. In reality, it is virtually a fool-proof system in that the user only needs to know how to write on paper. We think it goes without saying that the Anoto Digital Pen is a verifiable bargain.
