wrote:
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There is also some confusion on pen technology. It seems like the 12 has good ole' Wacom, but could you find out more about the ActivePen tech? Does this support hover? Who manufactures the technology behind that? It's apparently different than both Wacom and 'AnyPen', but the differences have not been explained anywhere as far as I can tell.
You're in luck! Serene pinged me about your question and I was able to have a conversation about it this afternoon. (apologies if I get any of this wrong, but I hope it helps a bit)
Here's what I found out...
- The ActivePen in the TP Yoga 14 & 15 is, in fact, Wacom.
- Prior tech uses unpowered RF in the pen. This RF is changed subtly depending on whether the button/s are depressed, or on some pens, the 'eraser' is being used. This RF interacts with the field produced by the digitizer in the glass panel, which is also required to poll the position of the pen tip some finite number of times per second. It was described to me as a loop system. All of this requires that the panel be a bit thicker, which adds weight. It also induces some minor parallax distortion, which can be seen in how closely the the 'hover' point matches the position of the pen tip. Finally, because there is a polling process running, if you try to draw a line very slowly, you might observe 'skips' in the drawn line. Drawing quickly doesn't result in this (I tested it).
- Enter the new ActivePen tech, which is powered by a AAAA battery. This allows some of the pen tip position determination work to be removed from the digitizer glass, specifically (I think) the polling process. That, by itself, makes it possible to draw very slowly with out inducing 'skips' in the drawn line (again, I tested it). It also allows the panel to be a bit thinner, reducing weight. This does require the pen to be a bit thicker / heavier, but to my hand it felt quite comfortable, and certainly worth the increased accuracy.
- Finally, just in case anyone wonders, the ActivePen from the TP Yoga 14 & 15 does not work on the TP Yoga 12 (or Helix or Tablet 10). Likewise, the pen from the TP Yoga 12 doesn't work on the 14 or 15 (tested).
Cheers!
(from the Lenovo exhibition at CES2015)