A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a multi-purpose mobile device which functions as a personal information manager. Following a boom in the 1990s and 2000s, PDA's were mostly displaced by the widespread adoption of more highly capable smartphones, in particular those based on iOS and Android in the late 2000's, and thus saw a rapid decline.
A graphics tablet is a computer input device that enables a user to hand draw or paint images, animations and graphics, with a special pen-like stylus, similar to the way a person draws pictures with a pencil and paper by hand.
Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of 4 centimetres (1.6 in) or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used for the bootstrapping of capable wireless connections. Like other proximity card technologies, NFC is based on inductive coupling between two electromagnetic coils present on a NFC-enabled device such as a smartphone. NFC communicating in one or both directions uses a frequency of 13.56 MHz in the globally available unlicensed radio frequency ISM band, compliant with the ISO/IEC 18000-3 air interface standard at data rates ranging from 106 to 848 kbit/s.
OQO was a U.S. computer hardware company that was notable for manufacture of handheld computers. Its systems possessed the functionality of a tablet PC in a size slightly larger than a personal digital assistant (PDA). According to Guinness World Records, the "OQO" was the smallest full-powered, full-featured personal computer in 2005. The company's first version of subnotebook computer was the OQO model 01. It had been compared with the Ultra Mobile PC platform, although it was introduced before the UMPC took flight. The company was founded in 2000.
ArtRage is a bitmap graphics editor for digital painting created by Ambient Design Ltd. It is currently in version 6, and supports Windows, macOS and mobile Apple and Android devices and is available in multiple languages. It caters to all ages and skill levels, from children to professional artists. ArtRage 5 was announced in January 2017 and released in February 2017.
A digital pen is an input device which captures the handwriting or brush strokes of a user and converts handwritten analog information into digital data, enabling the data to be utilized in various applications. This type of pen is used in conjunction with a graphics tablet, tablet computer, smartphone or digital notebook.
A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers, have similar capabilities, but lack some input/output (I/O) abilities that others have. Modern tablets largely resemble modern smartphones, the only differences being that tablets are relatively larger than smartphones, with screens 7 inches (18 cm) or larger, measured diagonally, and may not support access to a cellular network. Unlike laptops, tablets usually run mobile operating systems, alongside smartphones.
An ultra-mobile PC, or ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), is a miniature version of a pen computer, a class of laptop whose specifications were launched by Microsoft and Intel in Spring 2006. Sony had already made a first attempt in this direction in 2004 with its Vaio U series, which was only sold in Asia. UMPCs are generally smaller than subnotebooks, have a TFT display measuring (diagonally) about 12.7 to 17.8 centimetres, are operated like tablet PCs using a touchscreen or a stylus, and can also have a physical keyboard. There is no clear boundary between subnotebooks and ultra-mobile PCs, but UMPCs commonly have major features not found in the common clamshell laptop design, such as small keys on either side of the screen, or a slide-out keyboard.
Pen computing refers to any computer user-interface using a pen or stylus and tablet, over input devices such as a keyboard or a mouse.
In computing, a stylus is a small pen-shaped instrument whose tip position on a computer monitor can be detected. It is used to draw, or make selections by tapping. While devices with touchscreens such as laptops, smartphones, game consoles, and graphics tablets can usually be operated with a fingertip, a stylus can provide more accurate and controllable input.
The history of tablet computers and the associated special operating software is an example of pen computing technology, and thus the development of tablets has deep historical roots. The first patent for a system that recognized handwritten characters by analyzing the handwriting motion was granted in 1914. The first publicly demonstrated system using a tablet and handwriting recognition instead of a keyboard for working with a modern digital computer dates to 1956.
Microsoft Tablet PC is a term coined by Microsoft for tablet computers conforming to hardware specifications, devised by Microsoft, and announced in 2001 for a pen-enabled personal computer and running a licensed copy of the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition operating system or a derivative thereof.
Onyx Boox is a brand of e-book reader produced by Onyx International Inc, based in China. Like most e-book readers, the Boox uses electronic paper technology.
S Pen (Korean: S펜) is a wireless digital pen stylus designed and developed by Samsung Electronics featuring Wacom's digital pen technology. It is made for use with supported Galaxy mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, as well as selected Samsung Notebook, Galaxy Book, and Chromebook notebooks. It was first released with the Galaxy Note in 2011, becoming a core feature of the Note line of products. The S Pen supports features such as translating text by hovering the pen, and creating animated messages.
An active pen is an input device that includes electronic components and allows users to write directly onto the display of a computing device such as a smartphone, tablet computer or ultrabook. The active pen marketplace has long been dominated by N-trig and Wacom, but newer firms Atmel and Synaptics also offer active pen designs.
USB-C, or USB Type-C, is a 24-pin connector that supersedes previous USB connectors and can carry audio, video, and other data, to connect to monitors or external drives. It can also provide and receive power, to power, e.g., a laptop or a mobile phone. It is used not only by USB technology, but also by other protocols, including Thunderbolt, PCIe, HDMI, DisplayPort, and others. It is extensible to support future protocols.
Apple Pencil is a line of wireless stylus pen accessories designed and developed by Apple Inc. for use with supported iPad tablets.
The Surface Pen is an active stylus and digital pen developed by Microsoft for its series of Surface computing devices. It is designed to showcase the pen computing capabilities of Microsoft's Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems.
The Pixelbook is a portable laptop/tablet hybrid computer developed by Google which runs ChromeOS. It was announced on October 4, 2017, and was released on October 30. In September 2022, Google canceled future generations of the product and dissolved the team working on it.
The Pixel Tablet is an Android tablet designed, developed, and marketed by Google as part of the Google Pixel product line. It was previewed at the Google I/O keynote in May 2022 and announced in May 2023. It was released in June 2023. At launch, a charging speaker dock was sold with each device. However, a standalone version without the dock was released on May 14, 2024.
