Pen computing may make a resurgence thanks to Android and N-Trig. In an interview with Mobilized, N-Trig Vice President Gary Baum confirmed that N-Trigs"s DuoSense multi-touch digitizer, usually found in tablet PCs, is now compatible with Android. The technology would let Android manufacturers add pressure sensitivity and sub-pixel accuracy to any capacitive touchscreen tablet. The DuoSense digitizer works with any type of LCD display and adds a mere $50 onto the cost of a device. According to Baum, N-Trig is working on several pen-friendly Android tablets that will land in the first half of 2011.
N-Trig is promoting its DuoSense technology as a way Android tablet manufacturers can set themselves apart from the competition. Instead of a 10-inch touchscreen-only device, Motorola could offer a writing tablet that incorporates a pen and a N-Trig digitizer. If they could perfect the hand-writing recognition and make it drop dead easy to use, then this technology could change the way we use tablets.
Forget looking for pen and paper, notes from classes or meetings, grocery lists, reminders and more could be recorded by merely writing on the tablet. Adobe is reportedly interested in the technology for drawing and image editing, but is not ready to jump on board with a full-fledged app. Unfortunately, it is app support that will make or break this technology, not its wow factor, which right now is very high. Let"s hope N-Trig is looking to grab some talented developers and populate the Android Market with a handful of robust note-taking and drawing apps for this new breed of pen-friendly Android tablets.