I thought I was the cat s pajamas when I brought my electronic handheld baseball game to class (unfortunately, it was in eleventh grade and I got beat up, yet again). Maybe things would have been different if I had cooler electronics, like this Pentop computer. The Pentop is essentially a PDA without a screen. All of the standard PDA-esque features are intact: calendar, calculator, time, notepad, games, etc. It works by reading and analyzing your written commands. The Pentop has an integrated ink pen and a camera that recognizes commands written on special paper. The con is that without a screen the Pentop has to read out information, which is a wee-bit impractical during classroom excercises. Also, the device gets confused by sloppy writing, so only the top third-grade penman need apply. The Pentop will be available later this year for $99 through major retailers.

Fly Should Soar with Kids [BusinessWeek]

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