Microsoft starts rolling out collaborative inking Whiteboard app

Microsoft on Tuesday announced it's rolling out its collaborative inking Whiteboard app on Windows 10, starting with a private preview now available on Surface Hub. The app should be available on more Windows 10 devices, including the Surface Studio and Surface Pro, later this year.

The app offers collaborative inking, geometry recognition, table conversion and automatic table shading, as well as exclusive capabilities for Office 365 subscribers.

While the new app coincides with Microsoft's updates to the Surface Pro, it comes as the whiteboard market gets increasingly competitive. Google on Tuesday started selling its Jamboard, which comes with an app that combines handwriting, freeform sketching, photos and other functionalities.

In addition to the app, Microsoft on Tuesday announced new improvements to its inking technology. With the new Surface Pen, for instance, the ink reacts a user's touch with pressure sensitivity of 4,096 pressure points -- up from 1,024 pressure points. Additionally, the thickness and texture of your ink adjusts, based on the angle of your pen. The new Surface Pen offers "almost zero latency" when used with Office apps, Microsoft says.

Meanwhile, Word, Excel and PowerPoint users will have more ink effects to choose from, such as rainbow, galaxy, lava, ocean, gold and silver. New Office apps also include a gallery for your favorite pens, pencils and highlighters, which roams when you move across apps and devices.

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