Surface Pen

Surface Pen

The Surface Pen for the Surface 3 and Surface Pro 3 devices.
Developer Microsoft Corporation
Type Digital stylus
Release date July 18, 2012
Introductory price US$49.99[1][2]
Website www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/accessories/pen

The Surface Pen is an active digital pen developed by Microsoft for its series of Surface PCs. It is designed to showcase the pen computing capabilities of Microsoft's Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 operating systems.[3]

The first Surface Pen was introduced in 2012 alongside the Surface Pro, which uses Penabled technology designed by Wacom. It features one physical button on the side to simulate a right-click when the pen comes into contact with the display, as well as an eraser tip at the top of the Pen that removes ink strokes when it comes into contact with the display. It was bundled with the Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2. It is not compatible with other Surface PCs, but the Pen is still available for purchase as an accessory for the Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2 as well as other Penabled-compatible devices such as those from Lenovo's ThinkPad lineup.[4]

A new version of the Surface Pen was launched in 2014 and is bundled with the Surface Pro 3.[5] Based on technology developed by N-trig[6] (which was a separate company until it was subsequently acquired by Microsoft),[7] this version lacks the eraser tip present in the previous generation. In its place, it has a physical button. When pressed, the Pen sends a Bluetooth signal to the paired Surface PC which instantly opens OneNote. The button also functions when the device is locked, although a more limited version of OneNote will appear. A separate button on the side of the pen is used for erasing, located above the one right-click button.[8] The Pen is compatible with and available as an optional accessory for the Surface 3. It is also compatible with the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book. Unlike the Wacom-powered Surface Pen, it requires two batteries: one AAAA battery for stylus operation, and two size 319 coin cell batteries for the top button.[9]

With the release of the Surface Pro 4,[10] Microsoft introduced an updated version of the Surface Pen. It brings back the top-mounted eraser (retaining the button functionality) and also allows customizing the button (called the "magic button") to perform different actions.[11] The default options are: single-click opens OneNote, double-click takes a screenshot, press-and-hold launches Cortana. The Pen is bundled with the Surface Pro 4, and is available as a separate accessory for the Surface Book.[12] It is also compatible with the Surface Pro 3 and Surface 3.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kriel, Collen (11 September 2015). "Apple Pencil vs. Microsoft Surface Pen: Do more than just circle stuff.". SiliconANGLE.
  2. ↑ Bamburic, Mihăiță (31 March 2015). "Microsoft Surface 3 vs Surface Pro 3: Which is best for you?". Beta News.
  3. ↑ Hardawar, Devindra (18 June 2012). "Microsoft announces Surface: a sleek Windows 8 tablet with killer accessories.". VentureBeat.
  4. ↑ None, Ron (20 May 2014). "Surface Pro 3 ditches Wacom for a better N-trig pen.". WinBeta.
  5. ↑ Gokey, Malarie (26 May 2014). "Okay, we admit it: Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 Pen is a note-taker's dream stylus.". Digital Trends.
  6. ↑ Shamah, David (12 August 2014). "Making pen cool again: How N-trig won over Microsoft for the Surface Pro 3.". ZDNet (Tel Aviv Tech).
  7. ↑ Statt, Nick (1 May 2015). "Microsoft buys N-trig's digital pen technology for Surface". CNet.
  8. ↑ Martin, James A. (29 May 2015). "Microsoft Surface 3, OneNote and Surface pen are killer combo.". CIO (IDG Enterprise).
  9. ↑ "Surface Pro 3 pen woes: you just might have your battery installed backwards". WinBeta. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  10. ↑ Singh, Manish (6 October 2015). "Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book With Windows 10 Launched.". Gadgets 360 (NDTV).
  11. ↑ Rubino, Daniel (December 16, 2015). "Microsoft now lets you customize the buttons on Surface Pen with any apps you want". Windows Central. Mobile Nations. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  12. ↑ Jones, Brad (22 January 2016). "Microsoft Offers Premium Surface Book and Surface Pro 4.". Yahoo! Tech (Digital Trends).
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