The Write Stuff

No longer content with a PC on every desk, the electronic giants are ushering in a new generation of technology aimed at getting all of us to use computers--no matter who or where we are. Interestingly, the industry's secret weapon is older than medieval manuscripts or Egyptian scribbles: It is the pen. Instead of a keyboard, this breed of handheld computers uses a stylus (or pen) as an input device. Some of these computers serve as simple pocket appointment books, while others are sophisticated machines that will let you (continued on page 164)Write Stuff(continued from page 98) download information to your computer and receive and send faxes in the middle of nowhere through built-in wireless communications technology. All are extremely user-friendly.

Of course, the pen will never totally replace the keyboard, because it's impossible to write as quickly as you type. Still, the new devices are smart--they can learn the idiosyncrasies of your printing style, turn your words into type and even check your spelling. They also feature electronic erasers for easy editing, and many allow you to cross-reference correspondence with names and addresses programmed into the unit.

Industry insiders predict that the initial users of pen-based information processors will be businesspeople on the go--mobile professionals who want access to clients at all times yet don't want to lug around a lot of electronics gear. Here's what we can look forward to.

PC for the Nineties

EO (a new company that works with AT&T, Marubeni and Matsushita) has introduced the Personal Communicator 440, the notepad look-alike shown opposite our opening page. Designed for executives who travel, the 440 enables users to remain in touch--even while in a car. The 2.2-pound 440 can receive electronic mail and faxes by means of a bundled AT&T Easy Link service. You can review messages on its 6"x4" screen, then, using the pen, mark up the fax, pull down a "fax to " menu, tap the screen and send the message back through the attached cellular phone. The 440 also lets you receive files from your home computer, annotate them with the pen and ship them back. About the only place EO can't be reached is on a plane--the FAA thinks there's too much electronic noise in the air.

Also packed into die EO is an AT&T microprocessor called Hobbit and Go's Penpoint operating system. Tapping or drawing preprogrammed gestures on the screen with the pen lets you move from file to file and make new entries. While EO cannot translate script into type, it's a whiz with printed words. It can also record a ten-second voice message and send that along with the fax, retrieve files from computers anywhere in the country and store "to do" lists, phone and address lists and spread-sheets (you write in the numbers).

The EO 440 starts at about $2000 and moves up to $2799 for the loaded edition with a cellular phone. The top-of-the-line 880 (heavier, with a bigger screen) ranges from about $3000 to $3300. An EO cellular phone is also available for an additional $799, and connections are being designed for the 10 million cellular phones already in use. Like most pen-based computers, EO has personal-computer memory-card interface association slots, which hold credit-card-like pieces of plastic containing either programs or additional memory. Since you're not stuck with a computer hard drive that is difficult to upgrade or change, this opens a world of adaptability and future use.

Down the road, planners expect EO to include color LCD screens, CD-ROM disk drives and speech recognition capabilities. Until then, check out these models or one from AT&T, which is similarly priced.

Apple of our Eye

Last year, Apple's chief, John Sculley, unveiled a product called Newton, which will be part of a family of products Apple likes to think of as "brain amplifiers." While not as sophisticated as the EO communicator, the Newton (which will be priced under $1000) performs similar tricks. It uses a pen for scheduling, note taking, drawing and annotating documents (such as faxes). It turns scribbles into straight lines or recognizable shapes such as triangles, circles and rectangles. Dubbed a personal digital assistant, Newton automatically updates appointments and data bases as you write in information. Want to send a fax? The Newton will pull the address from the list at the prompt of the pen, then prepare a cover sheet. Tap the screen again and it will dial the number in memory. Unlike the EO, which uses cellular-phone technology, Newton has to be connected to a phone jack in order to send and receive faxes. But Apple officials say they're working on that. Meanwhile, Newton can also be hooked up to PCs or Macs and has personal-computer memory-card interface association slots for upgrade cards and special applications. (One of the first add-on cards will receive messages like a pager.)

A final Newton touch: Individual units can "talk" to each other through infrared signals. For example, if you're in a meeting, you can beam a note to another Newton user sitting across the table. Just make sure the Newton is aimed in the right direction. (General Magic, a new start-up company that's backed by Apple, AT&T, Motorola, Sony, Panasonic and Philips, recently introduced Telescript, a program that will enable all PDAs and personal communicators to talk to one another. It will be built into many of the new products.)

Sharp Electronics, Apple's partner in the Newton venture, will be offering its version of the personal digital assistant.

Take the top down

Bill Gates, head of Microsoft, calls pen-based computing "neat" (only a billionaire could get away with that) but feels that the $3500 GRiD Convertible offers diehards the "best of both worlds. " Not exactly a personal digital assistant or personal communicator, the 5.5-pound GRiD Convertible is actually a bridge product that combines most of the features found in notebook computers (keyboard, screen, hard drive) with an ingenious pen-computer cover. Snap two buttons on the sides of the closed Convertible, open it up and it looks just like a notebook computer with a backlit screen. Close the Convertible and it becomes an electronic tablet that uses Microsoft's Windows for Pen as an operating system. In the folded position, use the special pen and screen to input your schedule or run the many pen software programs being developed.

According to Gates, close to 200 companies are currently working on applications for Windows for Pen. A good program already available is Pen Essentials from Slate ($349). This bundle comes with a Day-Timer scheduler, a note taker, a fax program and an extra pen.

Pocket pens

Just as the pen controls advanced devices such as the EO and the Newton, it is useful with simple electronic organizers. To that end, Sharp introduced a pen-based Wizard, the OZ-9600 ($650), earlier this year, and Casio and Tandy have joined forces to launch the Zoomer personal information processor (about $600). Weighing less than a pound, both are meant to be carried in a suit pocket or briefcase and serve as appointment diaries, notebooks and drawing pads.

An enhanced version of the original Wizards of the Eighties, Pen Wizard has a keyboard designed for adults rather than for ten-year-olds. The easy-to-use pen (or you can use your fingers) lets you move from file to file and enter brief notes and drawings into memory. It works well as an organizer and features a calculator with an "electronic paper" function that lets you easily check the numbers entered while you work. Like the Newton, the Pen Wizard can send messages by infrared to another unit several feet away. And under development is an infrared link with a PC, so you can easily download files.

Casio's Zoomer could also be categorized as an advanced electronic organizer. It performs many of the same functions as the Wizard, is about the same size and, at $600, is priced similarly. So what's the difference? Zoomers look more like EOs and Newtons in that they have notepad-type construction, operate primarily with a pen and recognize handprinting. Higher-priced, penless alternatives include Hewlett-Packard's 95LX Palmtop computer ($595), or pocket computers from Poqet ($995), Psion 3 ($549) or Zeos ($595). And for a less sophisticated option, there is Texas Instrument's Time Runner, a combination Day Runner paper organizer and calculator priced at about $200. If you lose the pen that comes with this one, you can use a pencil--which leads us to the obvious question: What happens if you lose the special computer pen? Unfortunately, you must buy a replacement. It costs about $100 from the manufacturer, but third-party suppliers offer pens priced at $40.

Notes for the future

Pen-based technology will move into more industries in the years ahead. Companies such as IBM (the Think Pad), GRiD, NEC, NCR and Toshiba (the Dynapad) are leading the way with special tablets made for pen computing. New systems are being announced almost daily. (As we went to press, we learned of another new pen computer, the Dauphin DTR-1, which has many of the same features as the EO and will hit the stores this month.) The beauty is that no typing or technical skills are required to use these computers. In fact, as you read this, pen-based software is being developed for police officers, doctors, meter readers, salespeople--practically everyone who fills out a lot of forms. Pen-based computing, in all its permutations, is now a reality. It's one of the most user-friendly breakthroughs to hit computers in years. Voice recognition will be next in computer electronics. But until that happens, the pen is a big step forward. Just be sure to keep a couple of spares around.

"Down the road, planners expect EO to include color LCD screens and speech recognition capabilities."