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Smart pens

If you prefer writing messages freehand instead of typing on a keyboard, watch out for a new electronic pen being developed by a company called Anoto in Sweden.

The pen enables you, for example, to write e-mails on a personal organiser and then send it across the Internet.

It has a standard ballpoint nib and an infra-red camera inside that follows the pen's movements, recognising words and images. These are transmitted to your computer, mobile phone or palmtop.

The pen can store a notepad's worth of information in its memory and sends it via a 2.4Ghz microwave signal.

The pen is due to be launched in 2001 and expected to retail at around £60.

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