There are writers who still like to type on a mechanical typewriter or write by hand. We also like to sketch new ideas with a pen, but pretty soon those words and drawings must be retyped and redrawn on a computer. The idea of a pen that is connected to a computer is nothing new, but so far only few products have worked well. Stabilo, a German company renowned for its pens, has introduced the Digipen that tries to provides writers what they need.

The Stabilo Digipen is used like an ordinary pen. You can write and draw on paper (you can see what you do and you get a paper document) or any other surface. The pen tracks the movement of its tip, the pressure you apply on it and the angle you hold it. The data is transmitted to a smartphone, tablet, or PC that is connected to the pen via wireless Bluetooth. If the transmitted data contains words, they are converted into text that can be further processed as any text on a digital device.

There is a battery in the pen that must be kept charged. If the Bluetooth connection doesn’t work, the pen can be connected to another device via USB cable.

In principle, if words suddenly start flowing from your head and you quickly want to write them down, but you happen to be queuing for customer service at a bank, you can pull out your Digipen, use any solid surface as your writing pad and write. The words are automatically stored on your smartphone (if you have connected it with the Digipen).

A video by Liliputing shows how the pen works (the pen was connected to a tablet via USB cable because wireless connections on a busy show floor didn’t work):

The Stabilo Digipen was announced at the CES Show in early January 2016, but the company didn’t tell the product price or availability.