In a time of tablets, the pen continues to evolve

Last week while the rest of the world was talking about the role of the iPad and other tablet/touch solutions, Adapx announced their newest hardware product, Capturx Mobile. You have probably seen our videos and discussions about how the Capturx pens capture data in the field using a unique pattern in the background of your printed map or form (Excel, OneNote, or PDF) and allow you to dock the pen when you return to the office and instantly add the stored data to the appropriate geodatabase or file.

Capturx Mobile is a bluetooth solution that allows users to save themselves a trip back to the office for the dock/sync by pairing the bluetooth enabled pen with a Blackberry or WinMo smart phone. The pairing allows the data to be captured by and sent through the phone’s cell network either as an email with attachment or synced to a SharePoint server. Just like the docked version of the software you get some metadata with the device including data, time and author stamps on the data and as with the docked version files associate themselves with the appropriate software when you open the attachment.

I am not sure what the bundle price is with the ArcGIS Desktop extension, but Capturx Mobile looks like it will offer a great field based experience and provide a better solution for those field workers who don’t return to the office often. It does away with the need to carry around a portable PC and pen dock for those who want a true field data solution since we all carry work phones anyway. Adapx has a couple of webinars highlighting Capturx Mobile in February if you want to find out more.