One of the most iconic pens in the world is finally fighting back against the iPad by launching a universal stylus.
Bic is swapping its plastic stopper for a touchscreen stylus in the new version of its famous biro, Bic Cristal, which has sold 115 billion since the first one made in 1945.
The 6mm Cristal Stylus will replace the end of the pen which, traditionally, has been chewed by millions of users from schoolchildren to crossword solvers for generations.
The French firm will launch the £2.49 stylus in supermarket chains Sainsbury and Asda from August, following its launch online at sites such as Amazon this month.
The pen has been designed to work at any angle on any touchscreen. The company boasts that it will write for ‘up to three kilometres.’
The design is a reaction by Bic to the growing use of technology from smartphones to iPads, which have left many traditional pens forgotten in the back of desk drawers.
In the 1950s, the Bic pen was introduced to America where it became a hit as an alternative to messy and fussy ink pens.
Bic became so famous that its design has been included as a permanent display in New York’s trendy Museum of Modern Art.
An interior design studio in Madrid also used the design to create the Bic chandelier made entirely from Bic Cristal pens.
The Bic Cristal was invented as a super-thin free flowing pen by Baron Marcel Bich after the war to cash in on the newly invented Biro (it needed a licence from Biro to operate.)
As a result of its popularity, schools eventually allowed children to use Bics and other biros in the classroom. It now claims to sell 59 pens every second of every day.
