I’d been noticing ads for Livescribe products but I hadn’t really paid attention until seeing this article by James Fallows: My new favorite gadget: Livescribe Pulse pen.
It actually sounds pretty cool– the pen is an audio recorder, which you use with special paper. As you write, the pen keeps track of where you are on the page at any given point in the audio recording, so it’s great for reporters who would want to go back and check their notes against the audio of an interview. To do so, you just point the pen at the relevant note on the page, which makes it play back the audio recorded at the moment you wrote that note. You can also buy an add-on program that will convert what you write into digital text– so far, I don’t think there’s anything that converts the recorded audio into text, which would really put this over the top in the coolness factor!
The paper is available in various formats, from spiral notebooks to a very Moleskine-like journal:
For those who struggle to reconcile their love of notebooks with their need for information in a digital form, could Livescribe be the answer? It sure seems like a step in the right direction. Please leave a comment if you’ve tried one– I’d love to know how the product measures up in terms of the pen and paper writing experience.
Amazon
I’ve wanted one of these for some time, but haven’t come up with a compelling reason to get one as yet. Not that I’d ever need a reason to buy a really cool toy like this, but that’s exactly how I would view it and use it–as a toy. And it wouldn’t work with any of my current notebooks, which is a bummer as the black ones used with this are not my favorite.
I spend a lot of time in meetings with clients and have to take copious amounts of notes, which I then need to refer back to and search through for numerous calls. I bought a Livescribe recently and if you’ve the same pains, I’d recommend one. The handwriting recognition is excellent – which is the main challenge with most of these things, it’s 95%+ accurate, better than my tablet PC and more friendly when working with clients.
You can get Pulse SmartPen at Costco online. For $180 you get the 2GB pen set with charger and pen case, 8 ink cartridge refills, the earbuds, and 5 notebooks! A great value. Costco Online runs out of these often but does diligently restock. So check their website often.
I got one on clearance at Target for $33. :)