Is the Scribble INK Pen Too Good to be True?

When Scribble launched its Kickstarter campaign early in August to raise funds for the development of its namesake pen, the project quickly raised more than three times its $100,000 objective before being shut down amidst questions about the viability of what would seem to be a remarkable new multi-colored drawing device. The campaign recently relaunched, this time using the open source (and mostly unregulated) Tilt platform. And again it quickly exceeded its objectives. But now questions are being raised about whether the campaign's explanatory videos have been faked. What's going on?

People seem to support the Scribble Pen because if it works it will deliver something no other drawing device has yet managed ‐ to allows to sample a color from virtually any object and then begin immediately drawing with that ink color. You'll be able to scan color data into the pen via its RGB color sensor, with 1GB of memory available to store more than 100,000 colors. Then simply employ its light- and water-resistant CMYK and white inks to draw via a range of rollerball nibs. CMYK inks, blended right in the pen? Wait, there's more.

Scribble can also sync with your Android or iOS device, thanks to the included apps. And you can also bring scanned colors into Windows or Mac Photoshop. It should be pointed out that all this describes the Scribble INK pen but part of the funding drive is also for the STYLUS. There's less information available about this, although it's said to be essentially the same but designed for drawing just on screens.

So is this for real? More than 1,200 backers seem to think so, with most of them shelling out $149 for the INK, although one brave soul has apparently ponied up $10,000 for the privilege of becoming a distributor! Check out the campaign, by all means, but keep the classic caveat emptor in mind.