A PC in your pocket

A computer that utilizes an electronic pen (called a stylus) rather than a keyboard for input. Pen computers generally require special operating systems that support handwriting recognition so thatusers can write on the screen or on a tablet instead of typing on a keyboard. Most pen computers are hand-held devices, which are too small for a full-size keyboard. The pen has other cool tools. The special paper has a calculator printed on it, and if you tap its "buttons," the pen will perform math problems. Draw a piano keyboard, and the pen will play notes as you tap the keys. A translation tool, which will allow users to write a word in English and get a translation in Spanish, should be available in mid-2009. It's called the Livescribe Pulse Smartpen, and it contains an audio recorder and a tiny infrared camera that records everything the pen writes.