Is Pen Computing Dead?

Engadget certainly thinks so. The Apple Newton was the first major computer of this time... and it failed. And more and more it appears that other pen computers are falling by the wayside.

History has simply taken the style out of the stylus. In its early days, pen input held promise as an alternative for those who couldn’t type. Typing, though, with all of its significant inefficiencies, is rapidly becoming a skill as basic as reading and arithmetic. Apart from the social faux pas of typing in a meeting (a taboo that seems to be fading quickly in corporate conference rooms and universities), keyboards are simply better for taking notes. Furthermore, much like the head of the absent-minded, the keyboard is infrequently lost because it is attached. Contrast that with styli that disappear faster than the CEO at an emergency HP board meeting.

What confirmed this for me? The sudden dominance of thumboards after the Tungsten C was the first Palm to include it. From none to virtually every PDA in less than a year.