The pen just got SMART: Phree lets you make calls, see notifications and work on any surface, including your skin

Israel-based OTM Technologies developed a 3D laser patent smart pen called Phree Stylus. It doubles up as a Bluetooth headset and shows your phone’s notifications on a built-in display. The stylus can determine its relative position to a surface by tracking interruptions in the laser, and thus can transfer your physical drawings to a paired device.

It connects to a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth and is designed to work with laptops and some smart TVs. Phree will work with cross-platform programs such as Microsoft’s OneNote, EverNote and Adobe Systems’ Acrobat.

Conventional styluses like the Wacom Bamboo Stylus Fineline aren’t made for intense, long-term note-taking and need their own tablet as an input surface. Even the cool Adobe Ink & Slide still requires the use of an Apple iPad to function.

So, If you have a need to jot everything down or sketch at will, Phree may be the stylus for you for $169 on crowd-funding site Kickstarter.

;

Currently crushing its $100, 000 goal Phree’s Kickstarter campaign indicates that it’s fully funded with about $323, 000 pledged — more than three times its goal, with more than a month on funding left. All of the “super early bird” offers between $128 to $148 (£82 to £95, AU$161 to AU$186) are gone, but higher pledge levels remain.

“We always believed in our vision for Phree, and it becoming the entry key to the digital world in many areas. We were encouraged by many to pursue our vision. But we must admit that we were overwhelmed by the amazing take-off we encountered on Kickstarter, having achieved our goal of $100, 000 in less than 24 hours, and passing the $300, 000 mark in less than a week, ” said Lederer.