Gadgetory

the stylist it's not something we're actually crazy about I mean it conjures up images of the old Palm Pilot the Apple Newton a credit card terminal you last used Steve Jobs famously railed against styli a few years ago as really bad human machine interface we use a stylus No who wants a stylus in recent years smartphones and tablets have totally captivated us and largely because they're touched no training no accessory no gadget it's intuitive if you're 2 years old you know how to use a touch device now some mobile devices that do use a stylus have soldiered along and largely a supporting role but there's evidence now that perhaps the stylus may move up to a full co-star if you will alongside the touchscreen based on three emerging and refining criteria first there's greater precision your finger necessarily is kind of a blunt instrument it ends in a broad blunt tip and it can't help but do much more than have these sort of vague specific actions on a screen the problem is we would like to do more fine inputs especially for drawing and writing for example now there are some apps out there that have stylus input that lets you select a thin line but it's a menu selection it's a conscious action that's clunky interface with a stylus today the precision is so good for example the current Microsoft Surface pro claims to be accurate within 1/2 millimeter of where you intend to tap 98% of the time that you do tap that's almost imperceptibly off then there's position and pressure if a stylus was nothing more than another way to poke and stab at things like your finger does you might not take the trouble to buy one keep from losing it charging it and that sort of thing but in fact the modern styli are developing a lot of nuance based on the pressure with which you use them creating thick or thin lines as well as the angle at which you hold it look at the new Apple pencil on iPad pro its actual inclination angle makes it create a different input on the screen not just how hard you press it finally there's lower latency Microsoft's been doing a lot of interesting research around this as they develop surface pro showing clearly this dramatic lag between the tip of your stylus and how long it takes for that to show up on the screen if there is not an immediate reaction to the stylus your brain your eye and your hand muscles notice it now we're seeing on devices like iPad Pro and surface pro that there is almost no latency between the movement of the stylus and the indication of that mark on the screen it feels more like a real pen and pencil which have zero latency over recent years of course mobile devices have stolen a ton of share away from desktops and laptops with their keyboards mice and track pads the next shift in our behavior of input to machines may very much come from styli and touch sensitive mobiles it may also mean you need to brush up on your handwriting and drawing skills know what's next at CNET comms laughing i'm brian coulis