Apple Stylus Patent News: Revolutionary Stylus Can Write On Any Surface

Apple seems keen to ring in the New Year by investing in new tech such as a stylus. It recently secured a patent for its own stylus from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Apple Insider was the first to report about the new stylus patent. It said Apple filed an application for the patent as early as 2010 but was only granted patent number No. 8,922,530 only recently.

Described as a "communicating stylus," it will have among its hardware a wireless communication device, accelerometers and onboard storage. This hardware combined will allow it to store and then transfer hand-writing captured onto a tablet or any smartphone.

What makes this stylus stand out from the rest is that its patent claims it will be able to write on any surface such as paper, whiteboards and even on the touchscreen of an iPad. While there are other styluses in the market that offer this feature, such as the Livescribe 3, the latter requires the use of a special type of paper and results in massive power drain.

Yahoo reports that the stylus from Apple could be a revolutionary product if it can be used to write on any surface in a classroom or office. While in operation, the stylus can either store data for transfer later, or transfer data in real time. It can also store data in smaller packages to conserve the onboard battery.

The stylus will come with different tips, allowing it to be used like a pen on paper, or as a graphite-tipped pencil when creating drawings or even as a marker while writing on whiteboards. It will also have a capacitive tip, which means it will also work on the screens of iPads or iPhones.

A number of tech websites welcomed the news of a new stylus from Apple, saying the company may unveil it later this year together with the rumored 12-inch iPad.