Students are also paired with on-line "pen-pals" in the U.S. who help extend their vocabulary, though perhaps not always of the textbook variety.

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Unlike previous Notes, the hardware keys (power button and volume rocker), IR blaster and S Pen all line the Note 8.0's right side, with a covered microSD port occupying the opposite edge all by its lonesome.

ENGADGET: Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 review

The receiver can be clipped to the edge of standard paper or sketchbooks and the position can be adjusted for left or right handed users to provide the receiver with an uninterrupted line of sight with the pen tip.

ENGADGET: Wacom Inkling smart pen does drawing the old-fashioned way -- sort of (video)

"Through its pressure sensitivity, Inkling captures the varied line weights created by the ink pen, " adds Tsunekawa.

ENGADGET: Wacom Inkling smart pen does drawing the old-fashioned way -- sort of (video)

And so despite my status as a running refusenik, I found myself herded, among a crowd of far fitter, healthier, sportier types, into a pen behind the start line, part of a sea of red t-shirted runners beneath a threatening gray sky.

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The Galaxy Note, which has a larger screen, comes with a built-in stylus pen and blurs the line between smartphones and tablet computers, is another popular Galaxy subbrand in addition to the Galaxy S. Samsung doesn't break out sales of individual models.

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LeapReader's a sort of spiritual successor to the company's Tag line, maintaining the reading tool's pen-like form factor, while adding writing to the equation.

ENGADGET

Of course, while some of the people whose by-line appears on the front cover really do put pen to paper, it would be naive to imagine they all have either the time or talent.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Magazine | I'm a celebrity, get me a ghost writer