Amazon patents intelligent pen for adding annotations to digital and printed media (updated)

We wouldn't call it a comeback, but the stylus is definitely enjoying a mini-renaissance of sorts in the world of phablets. So it should come as no surprise to see Amazon patenting an intelligent input device (most likely a Kindle Pen), as well as a "computer-implemented method" for that associated accessory which can read, write, search, print and email annotations and highlights made on digital (ebooks and video) and physically printed works. The theoretical service also has a social aspect to it, allowing a primary account holder to grant outside users access to notes, in addition to the ability to edit and create their own. With some well-sourced gossip already indicating the Bezos-backed company has a larger, more advanced tablet waiting in the wings, it's a strong possibility this handheld tech could be making its grand debut very soon.

Update: The lingo in these patents can sometimes be misleading, and it seems we may have misrepresented things a bit. While the drawings within the patent show an embodiment of the technology in stylus form, to be clear, Amazon's first patent is for an "electronic input device" that can record and analyze notations made by a user in multiple types of content. Should said annotations include electronically executable instructions, the device can also process and execute those instructions. The second patent also pertains to annotation technology, but is for a method of authorizing and allowing multiple authors to annotate a single, digital work using multiple devices. Will either of these new inventions ever make it into an Amazonian tablet? Only a man named Bezos can say for sure, so the rest of us will have to wait and see.

Amazon patents intelligent pen for adding annotations to digital and printed media (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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