Product category:
Touchscreens and Touch Sensors
News Release from: Wacom Components Europe
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 06 August 2004
ASIC design paves way for novel pen
input system
Wacom Components and Austriamicrosystems have completed the silicon design for the world's first single-chip pen input solution for the mobile OEM market.
Wacom Components and Austriamicrosystems have reached a significant milestone in the evolution of Wacom's mobile interface strategy with the successful completion of the silicon design for the world's first single-chip pen input solution for the mobile OEM market The single-chip ASIC has been jointly developed by the two companies
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 19 Jan 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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The integrated chipset, ideally suited for use in battery-powered mobile devices, is part of Wacom's Penabled inductive pen input system that includes an embedded sensor and firmware drivers.
It will allow the simple integration of Wacom's proven pen interface technology into next-generation mobile electronic devices such as phones, converged smartphone devices and personal digital assistants with minimum development and system costs to device manufacturers.
The system will be sampled to mobile handset manufacturers in the 3rd quarter of 2004.
Further reading
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A new mixed-signal IC allows the easy integration of Wacom's proven inductive pen sensing technology into mobile devices such as smartphones and personal digital assistants.
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The Super Slim Pen is an ultrasmall, cordless and battery-less electronic pen measuring 3.5mm in diameter and weighing only 1g.
Battery-free pen appears in tablet debut
Wacom's Penabled cordless, battery-free pen technology has been selected for the Lenovo ThinkPad X41 tablet - the first convertible tablet PC from the ThinkPad portfolio.
"With the mobile industry looking to bundle more data-centric applications onto mobile devices to achieve higher revenue from users, device usability is starting to top the agenda".
"We have already heard of some of the leading mobile operators voicing their concerns over the current limitations of mobile user interfaces".
"Wacom's significant progress will be welcomed by the industry", said Malcolm Penn, CEO Future Horizons, Europe's leading semiconductor analyst.
The leading mixed signal design expertise of Austriamicrosystems combined with its extensive analogue IP library and state-of-the-art process technologies allowed the migration of Wacom's proven system technology into a single IC design, delivering faster time to market for a complex design solution.
"Austriamicrosystems impressed us with its more than 20 years track record in analogue intensive IC knowhow".
"Utilising this expertise, Wacom has succeeded in developing silicon that will raise the bar in the mobile device market on product differentiation and device functionality".
"Integrating our pen interface technology into a single mobile chip was a complex silicon design challenge", said Justin Staines, Sales and Marketing Director, Wacom Components.
Wacom's Penabled inductive pen input system will address many of the limitations of standard incumbent technologies based on resistive interface systems for mobile device manufactures.
The increased pen accuracy of Penabled devices enables application zooming, the ability to hover without touching the screen and more realistic handwriting recognition, enabling mobile applications such as mapping and mobile commerce.
"We were delighted to work with one of the world leaders in interface technology on a silicon project that will bring such significant improvements to the mobile market".
"The success of Wacom's chipset for Penabled technology proves that we can provide the most competitive analogue intensive mixed signal solutions focused on time to market, value and quality", said Alexander Harrer, Senior Vice President of Austriamicrosystems' communications business.
Wacom Components is already a Symbian Platinum Partner and is working closely with Symbian on the development of small form factor sizes for all Symbian platforms.
Additionally, it is the key supplier of interface technology for the Microsoft Tablet PC, working with manufacturers including Toshiba, Fujitsu and Acer.
Wacom's technology has been proven in over 10 million pen tablets, LCD tablets and pen-computers since its introduction in 1983.
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