| content |
| Type | Digitizing Tablet (Computing Input Device) |
|---|---|
| Release date | Announced 1997-11; Shipped 1998-031 |
| Discontinued | 2001-042 |
In 1997, the A. T. Cross Company (major manufacturers of fountain pens) and IBM co-marketed an electronic notepad called the CrossPad. The special pen contained a small radio transmitter which told the special pad where it was writing. To provide the user with feedback on where it was writing, the pen also contained ink and you wrote on writing paper placed on top of the CrossPad. There was a small display at the bottom of the device that provided feedback about commands you gave, and there were six buttons which could be activated using the special pen.
In September 1998, the Cross Company released a smaller version of the original CrossPad, called the CrossPad XP.3
The CrossPad and CrossPad XP never achieved the market success that the Cross Company and IBM hoped for, and the product was ultimately discontinued in April, 2001. A class action suit resulted from the failure of the product in the marketplace.4
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