Remember that pen-computer thingie from last year that got a lot of attention? You know, the pen that recorded everything you wrote with it, via a tiny built-in camera and software? Yeah, that one. It seems it was a big enough hit for the company behind it, LeapFrog, to come out with an upgrade. The Fly Fusion Pentop Computer improves upon the original Fly by quadrupling the memory and adding a 1,000-word Spanish dictionary. When you want to know a Spanish word, simply write it down in English and the pen will speak the translation instantly. Written notes are easily digitized when you hook up the Pentop to your PC, turning them into Word docs, thus making them searchable. The design's a bit sleeker, too.

That's all cool for the middle-school kids, I'm sure (the pen's target customer), but what happened to those plans for adding Bluetooth and Internet connectivity so you just write down the name of something and get instant instructions on where to buy it? Guess we'll have to wait a bit before LeapFrog comes out with a mainstream version of the Fly, but parents of eighth graders will be able to buy the Fusion for $80 starting in August. — Peter Pachal

Via LeapFrog