Stylus in vogue for smart devices

By Yoon Ja-young

“Who wants a stylus? You have to get em and put em away and you lose em ― yuck! Nobody wants a stylus,” said the late former Apple CEO Steve Jobs while unveiling the iPhone, on the belief that fingertips will suffice to operate smart devices. The genius of the IT industry said fingers are the ultimate pointing device that people were born with.

Though the i-devices have brought about revolutionary changes in daily life, many people seem to find it hard to break from the old habit of relying on pens and pencils with which they were taught to write since they started learning their ABCs.

After the success of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note, manufacturers are planning to include digital pens in their newly-launched smart devices.

The Android smartphone and tablet computer by Samsung Electronics drew huge attention for the built-in stylus called the “S Pen” that is used write or draw on the 5.3 inch screen.

It recently surpassed 1 million global sales despite its high price. “The Galaxy Note successfully opened up a new category of smart devices, reaching 1 million sales. We plan to continue innovation to strengthen our leadership as a market creator and open up a new market,” a Samsung spokesman said.

Industry analysts point out that the stylus pen contributed most to its success. The company is considering applying the S Pen to its next Galaxy Tab, and LG Electronics is also scheduled to adopt a digital pen for a smart device it plans to launch in the first quarter. As Google supports a stylus pen in the latest version of its Android operating system, the manufacturers of phones using it are likely to introduce pens as well.

The S Pen, based on technology of Japanese company Wacom, boasts of much better accuracy and sensitiveness compared with the stylus pens used in personal digital assistants (PDA) in the 1990s. While the old styluses were inconvenient due to blunt tips and friction, the S Pen senses 128 pressure levels, boasting elaborateness and smooth writing, on top of a quick response and accurate recognition of the writing.

Though the virtual keyboard of smart devices has improved, it still takes more time and effort to input information through the keyboard than using pens, not to mention hurdles in drawing.

Hence, there have been devices enabling users to write on touch screens, and Samsung Electronics noted the demand in the market. It also satisfied the emotional desire of users, who are nostalgic for the time they used pens and pencils. S Pen users can choose from a pen, brush, pencil or highlighter to scribble on photos or write emails or text messages.