Ericsson launches chat pen

SINGAPORE (JP): Swedish mobile phone manufacturer Ericsson unveiled the Chatpen CHA-30 at the CommunicAsia 2001 exhibition here last week.

The pen can transfer text handwritten on a special Anoto paper to mobile phones, computers, and the Internet.

"You can use it to send SMS messages, or fill out hospital forms which can be immediately sent to the handset or the computer," Ericsson's vice president marketing for Asia Pacific Philippe Kubbinga said.

The pen, which is equipped with a miniscule camera, an image processing unit, and Bluetooth transceiver, is scheduled to be commercially launched in the first quarter of 2002, after being tested in Europe in the fourth quarter of this year, he said.

The special paper invented by Anoto Ltd. comes with a special pattern which will enable the pen to recognize the shape of the letter or picture the pen makes.

Anoto's vice president marketing Melanie McFarland Neckmar said that about 70 percent of the world's paper manufacturers have agreed to produce the special paper, including MontBlanc, Pilot, Chee Wah, 3M, and Indonesia's Tjiwi Kimia. (tnt)