The stylus has been around for a very long time, but it’s remained relatively unchanged since the days of PDA. (Remember when those ridiculous things were regarded as a sign of importance?) And really, when you think about it, just how much innovation can you even do to something that effectively does exactly what it is meant to do? Nvidia announced today a way discovered to do just that. The company unveiled new stylus technology, DirectStylus, that will work on Tegra 4-based tablets, which will make writing and drawing a whole lot easier.
The company says that its new technology will help users utilize a stylus much the same way they would use an everyday pencil. Rather than having to jump back and forth between settings to adjust the thickness of the lines that are drawn, or to switch between drawing and erasing, they’ll be able to use a new, more passive approach. Want a thin line? Press the tip of the stylus lightly against the screen. The thicker you want the line, the harder you should press. (Within reason, of course.) Make a mistake and need to undo it? Flip the stylus over, just as you would with a pencil, and the unique touch of that end will be registered with the tablet, telling it you are looking to erase. The same pressure feature applies for this side as well.
Nvidia is quick to acknowledge that yes, others have created passive styluses in the past, but they tend to have 5mm thick tips, and still utilize the aforementioned method of switching line thickness. To boot, the tablet technology will also be able to differentiate between the stylus, and a person’s finger or palm, avoiding unintended writing.
Are you a fan of the stylus? What do you think about this new technology? Would it be something you seek out? Let us know in the comments.
