Press Releases

Wacom® PenabledT Battery-free Pen Technology Featured In New OQO Full-power, Pocketable Personal Computer

Pen Enables Pressure Input for Navigation, Drawing and Note Taking With Unique Ultra Personal Computer That Measures 4.1 x 3.4 x 0.9 Inches

VANCOUVER, JAN. 08 - Wacom Technology, the leading pen tablet maker, said today that its Penabled battery-free pen technology has been selected for the new OQO full-featured, ultra personal computer (uPC) that fits into a pocket yet runs off-the-shelf Windows XP and supports all existing Windows applications. The OQO computer features a Wacom digitizer mounted behind an ultrabright, near print quality 200 dpi color display optimized for hand viewing at a typical distance of 8" to 20" from the eye. Its relative size is comparable to a 12-14" LCD screen viewed at a distance of 1-2 feet. The Wacom Penabled technology used in the OQO allows use of an electronic pen that is wireless and needs no batteries to operate. The Wacom digitizer is mounted behind the display, allowing the benefit of the display's full brightness and visual quality.

OQO users can use the electronic pen directly on the computer's high-resolution screen for menu navigation and selection as well as to create handwritten comments and notes using third party software. The high resolution of the Penabled pen assures that handwriting and drawings are accurate and precise. In addition, a side switch allows the pen to be set for rightclicks, double-clicks or keystroke shortcuts.

"The OQO ultra personal computer is a ground-breaking product that creates a new category in the personal computer industry -- that of pocket-sized, full function computers," said Joseph W. Deal, president and CEO of Wacom Technology Corp. "We are very pleased to be associated with OQO in its development."

"OQO relies on Wacom pen technology to bring the benefits of a battery-free digital pen to the new generation of highly mobile PC users," said Jory Bell, CEO of OQO. "Shrinking an entire pen-enabled notebook computer into the pocketable OQO computer required using the best available components. Only Wacom's exceptional digitizer technology met our designers' criteria for performance, reliability, and miniaturization."

Pressure-sensitive Pens

Pressure sensitive pens give the user a more natural and intuitive feeling by creating lines that are wider or darker according to how hard the pen is pressed. This dynamic dimensionality is an important feature because it provides higher quality and more realistic line strokes.

How Penabled Pens Work

A Wacom Penabled pen operates without batteries or connecting cord by taking advantage of patented technology developed by Wacom Co. Ltd. in which an electromagnetic signal is sent from a sensor board to a pen and returned for position analysis. A grid of wires in the sensor board alternates between transmit and receive modes about every 20 microseconds. In transmit mode, the sensor board's signal stimulates oscillation in a coil-and-capacitor resonant circuit in the pen. In receive mode, the energy of the resonant circuit oscillations in the pen is detected by the sensor board's antenna grid and analyzed for position, pressure, tilt and other information. The Penabled pen therefore needs no batteries. It also has the ability to "hover," allowing the pen to move the cursor without actually touching the LCD screen.

About the OQO uPC

The OQO ultra personal computer includes a 1GHz Transmeta processor for high performance and low power consumption, 256MB DDR DRAM, a 20GB hard drive, and 802.11b and Bluetooth wireless networking. Battery life is up to six hours, and it weighs approximately twelve ounces. Hooked up to an external monitor and keyboard, the OQO computer is no different than existing desktop PCs.

About OQO

OQO Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, CA, has developed the OQO ultra personal computer (uPC), a full-power, full-featured personal computer running Microsoft Windows XP in a pocketable form factor. The company was founded by Jory Bell and Jonathan Betts-LaCroix in 2000 along with several members of the team that developed the Apple Titanium Powerbook. Their vision was to built a truly mobile personal computer. OQO unveiled its first prototype at WinHEC 2002 and plans to release the final product in 2004. For additional information, email press@oqo.com; website: http://www.oqo.com.

About Wacom

Wacom is best known for having introduced the world's first cordless, battery-free, pressure-sensitive pen in America in 1989. Wacom Co., Ltd., a worldwide corporation, is headquartered in Japan. It operates through its wholly owned subsidiaries: Wacom Technology Corp., Vancouver, WA; Wacom Europe GmbH, Dusseldorf, Germany; and Wacom Components of Europe, Cambridge, UK. For more information contact in Europe: Justin Staines, Wacom Components Europe, phone +44 (0) 1223 422344, justin@wacom-europe.com; or in the USA: Steve Sedaker, Wacom Technology Corp., 1311 SE Cardinal Court, Vancouver, WA 98683; phone 1-800-922-6613 x136; website: http://www.wacom-components.com.