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Phree lets you write on any surface and the words appear on your phone’s screen

Fed up with typing on your mobile? Want to use a stylus but don’t want to be restricted to your phone’s screen? Phree lets you write and draw on virtually any surface, and your scribblings appear on your mobile’s display like magic.

That means you can use your handwriting – a skill that’s being lost in today’s digital age – to make a message more personal.

The sensor contains a laser which sends a beam onto the surface. Reflections from the surface combine with internal reflections to track the motion of the pen. As you write, a mouse-style cursor follows your path.

A mini touch display on the side shows notifications. Scrawl on the desk, wall or floor, and you can reply directly without having to take out your phone. Plus it doubles as a Bluetooth headset, so you can take calls through it.

It’s handy for jotting down notes as soon as you think of them, or scrawling design ideas without having to reach for a pen and paper.

Read more: Toshiba Encore 2 Write preview

It works with software and apps such as Office, OneNote, Evernote, Acrobat, Google Handwriting Keyboard, Viber and more. And you can annotate photos, or just draw funny wigs and moustaches on them, if you like.

It’s about the length of a fountain pen, so should feel natural in the hand, and it’s sailed past its Kickstarter funding goal with 43 days still to go.

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