Livescribe Fully Becomes An Anoto Property

Despite the prevalence of computers, keyboards, and touch screens, the way of the pen hasn't completely been erased from mankind's culture. It has even found a way back into the digital world, thanks to smartphones and tablets with styluses. With the upcoming arrival of the iPad Pro, that niche space will become even more tighter and the competition for the pen even fiercer. Times like these, it pays to often consolidate your assets and seek allies, which is probably why Livescribe and Anoto are finally becoming one.

You might not have heard that much about Anoto, but if you're using Livescribe's products, or maybe some other "smartpen", chances are, you are using their technology. Anoto specializes in digital writing and drawing solutions. Although it does have digital styluses in its portfolio, its real innovation is the smartpen that almost magically converts your handwritten, real ink scribbles into digital form.

If that sounds eerily similar to what Livescribe has, that's because the two are almost one and the same. To be more precise, Livescribe licenses Anoto's technology to fuel its own products, which have enjoyed no small amount of success in this digital age. The two, however, have different customer targets. While Livescribe focuses on consumer-level products, Anoto is more about licensing its technology and selling products to enterprise customers.

To some extent, it makes sense that the two finally come together to join forces and try to take the market by storm. Anoto benefits by expanding its market reach. Livescribe, on the other hand, will be able to iterate over development faster now that it doesn't have to license the technology. Since, well, it's part of the company that owns the technology. And yes, Livescribe will live on. Or at least the brand will. Its operations, technology, and IP will all be taken over by Anoto.

This acquisition perhaps couldn't have come at a better time. With vindication coming from Apple, the pen might be on its way to becoming a serious instrument in a digital world. Even Wacom, whose products are almost all completely digital, has joined this game when it unveiled the Bamboo Spark. Now we get to wait and see what new innovation will come out from the Anoto-owned Livescribe.