Logitech, Anoto to introduce pen and paper to PC Platform

BANGALORE: Logitech has signed a formal agreement with Sweden-based Anoto for

introducing digital pen and paper solutions to the PC platform. As part of its

entry into this new market, Logitech has entered into a strategic relationship

with existing Anoto partners in the paper industry.

Key participants in the alliance include 3M’s Post-it Notes Division,

MeadWestvaco, Groupe Hamelin, FranklinCovey and Time/system International.

Building upon Anoto functionality, the companies are developing a complete

"ecosystem," whereby consumers will be able to capture, store and

retrieve handwritten information, using the medium of paper and a dedicated pen

with the PC.

Based on technologies from Anoto that convert ordinary handwriting into

digital information, the Logitech solution is designed to provide the user with

the ability to use pen and paper in exactly the same way that people have used

them for centuries while still making use of the powerful productivity provided

by a PC.

"We have seen intense interest and a great opportunity in the ability to

align the computing experience with natural human behavior," said Logitech’s

Control Devices Business Unit, senior vice president and general manager, David

Henry. "This alliance is a definite fit with Logitech’s vision of

extending the power of the PC beyond the desktop."

"The agreement with Logitech takes us from vision to actual

implementation and implies that digital pens and paper which incorporate Anoto

functionality will reach an even wider field of applications and a larger number

of users. By partnering with Logitech and thereby entering the PC market,

we are on our way to achieving total coverage and establishing a de facto

standard for paper-based digital communication," said Anoto AB, CEO,

Christer FÃ¥hraeus. "We are already pursuing Anoto functionality in the

mobile telephony environment and are convinced that PC usage is a very important

expansion and complement."

Logitech expects to launch the digital pen enabling Anoto functionality for

the PC platform later this year. Digital paper enabling Anoto functionality will

also be launched at the same time.