The idea behind the digital pen isn't so much to reduce the usage of paper, but to bridge the information gap between paper and digital. For a few years now, handheld computer devices such as the Palm Pilot have been using a Graffiti technology that allows users to write rather accurately on the devices. Now, companies such as Anoto, Logitech, and Mi-Co have been working to perfect pens that gather written information and send them to a computer or cell phone.

Carlo Cassisa scribbled a few drawings on a Post-It note and then tapped the note with his pen. A second later, the drawing appeared on his cell phone screen.

 

"It's simple once you get used to it," said the executive for Swedish telecom giant TeliaSonera. "Of course, it takes some getting used to."

 

Anoto -- the Swedish company that developed the technology for sticking a tiny camera in a pen and transferring the information to a computer or cell phone -- has lined up partners around the world to begin rolling out digital pens.

 

"We're tapping into pen and paper, the largest information infrastructure in the world," said Anoto CEO Christer Fåhraeus. "It's a market that isn't going away."