SPRING//SUMMER 2018 67 66 SPRING//SUMMER 2018 Will journalist CHRIS PARTRIDGE be seduced by the new wave of tablets and styluses promising to offer a digital version of paper with benefits? TABLETS VS PAPER APPLE founder Steve Jobs, the man credited with making the touchscreen the dominant interface with the digital world, wanted everyone to use their fingers to type, swipe, select and all the other actions we have learned to do as naturally as we write or draw on paper. “Who wants a stylus?” Jobs famously ranted at the launch of the first iPhone. “You have to get ‘em, put ‘em away, you lose ‘em. Yuck! Nobody wants a stylus. So let’s not use a stylus.” But back in the real world many people really did want to use their touchscreens in the same way they use paper: with a stylus replicating the function and feel of a pen, pencil or brush. Styluses came on the market that could work with apps to imitate various writing implements. These basic styluses are limited by the fact that they work by imitating a human finger, with a bulgy rubber tip to ensure enough contact for the screen to detect. They don’t feel much like a pen. Some styluses even had conductive bristles that claimed to reproduce a brush, but they never really delivered the desired effect. Touchscreens are also unable to distinguish between a stylus and you, so it is easy to make unwanted strokes by brushing the screen with your palm. For artists and calligraphers, the worst drawback of conventional styluses is the slipperiness of the tip on the smooth screen. You simply don’t get the physical feedback that you do with a real pen or brush. It was to provide this physical feedback that the new reMarkable tablet was developed. The reMarkable tablet does not feature the colour touchscreens used by conventional tablets, but a black and white e-ink screen like the ones used in e-readers such as the Kindle. It comes with a special stylus with a plastic tip designed to rub over the screen with the same sort of action as pen on paper. The stylus has a pressure sensor so it can control the width of the stroke – pressing harder makes the stroke on the page stronger, depending on the effect you select in the software. Tilting it creates shading. To provide power for the electronics, the stylus has a small induction loop in the tip that draws power from a loop STATIONERY BIZ under the screen, in a similar way to wireless charging systems for mobile phones. The power is tiny but enough to activate the microchip without the need for a battery and its attendant charging hassles. The big problem with e-ink screens is the time they take to change from black to white or vice-versa, creating an annoying lag that has so far made the technology unsuitable even for word processing. The Norwegian company behind reMarkable has gone to great lengths to reduce the latency, and have succeeded. As you move the stylus across the screen, the line is drawn without a noticeable delay. reMarkable reMarkable % 00 44 (0)20 8799 6333 sales@gostationery.net 1 Wadsworth Close London UB6 7JF Great Britain Go Stationery BeSPoKe DeSiGn & oWn BranD ProDUCtion Proud to be designed and made in London PreMiUM QUaLity noteBooKS WitH BeaUtiFUL GoLD FoiLinG Perfect Gifting STAND M401