Microsoft has acquired an Israeli company called N-Trig that is responsible for creating the Surface Pro 3 stylus.
Official word on the acquisition has not been given, but Microsoft reportedly bought the company for "at least $200 million."
N-Trig doesn't just make a stylus, however. The stylus that N-Trig makes supports 256 points of pressure, designed to minimize latency. This essentially means that there is no time in between the user making a movement and something showing up on the display of the device.
The news suggests that Microsoft might be looking to integrate the stylus more into its products over the next few years, possibly including one in the upcoming Surface Pro 4. At least the new "pen" would likely replace Microsoft's current default Surface Pro 3 Pen when the Surface Pro 4 is eventually released.
The acquisition of N-Trig marks Microsoft's ninth purchase of an Israeli company, making Israel the third most popular country for Microsoft to purchase companies from, behind the U.S. and Canada. N-Trig has 200 employees and has generated a whopping $150 million in funding to date. It also has hubs around the world, in Japan, Taiwan, China and North America.
The acquisition also suggests that the stylus could be making a comeback. When Apple first released the iPhone and iPad, many realized that they could do as much with their finger as they could with a stylus, largely because of the tech used in a stylus at the time.
Since then, however, stylus technology has evolved and become more accurate. More and more people are finding that a stylus might not take over the use of the finger as a pointing device on touch screens, but it could very well take over the use of a pen and paper.
The resurgence of the stylus is also highlighted by the fact that Apple is reportedly looking into the use of a stylus when it releases a rumored 12-inch iPad. Not only that, but if N-Trig's revenue is anything to go by, then the Pen is certainly making a comeback. In 2014, revenue for the first half of the year was more than the total revenue in 2013.
For now, however, the stylus has a rather limited application. It is useful for people like graphic designers and animators who work in a digital medium but prefer to use their hands to design. Only time will tell if the stylus will actually make a comeback, but right now it seems as though Microsoft and Apple think it might.
