Pen computing

Pen computing refers to a computer user-interface using a pen (or stylus) and tablet, rather than devices such as a keyboard, joysticks or a mouse.

Pen computing is also used to refer to the usage of mobile devices such as wireless tablet PCs, PDAs and GPS receivers. The term has been used to refer to the usage of any product allowing for mobile communication. An indication of such a device is a stylus or digital pen, generally used to press upon a graphics tablet or touchscreen, as opposed to using a more traditional interface such as a keyboard, keypad, mouse or touchpad.

Historically, pen computing (defined as a computer system employing a user-interface using a pointing device plus handwriting recognition as the primary means for interactive user input) predates the use of a mouse and graphical display by at least two decades, starting with the Stylator and RAND Tablet systems of the 1950s and early 1960s.

General techniques of pen computing

User interfaces for pen computing can be implemented in several ways. Actual systems generally employ a combination of these techniques.