Livescribe Pulse smartpen gets OS X support

For months now, dutiful Mac users who refuse to load any flavor of Windows on their precious machines have longed for the ability to use Livescribe's Pulse smartpen. Now, those holdouts can finally say the wait was worth it, as Livescribe has announced that a native Mac desktop application (Livescribe Desktop for Mac) will be made available in beta form on November 24th. Additionally, a few new features for the Pulse have been added over on the Wintel side, including handwriting to text transcription software ($29.95) and the ability for consumers to print dot paper notepads for free. Finally, something for OS X users to digitally write home about.

[Jeff Lewis @ Nov 17th 2008 3:21AM]

"For months now, dutiful Mac users who refuse to load any flavor of Windows on their precious machines have longed for the ability to use Livescribe's Pulse smartpen."

Really? There are such people? Longing for a product that almost no one has heard about and are bemoaning the fact that they can't use it with their Mac without running Windows?

Hmmm... actually, I don't even know any *Windows* users who are rushing to get one of these or one of the many similar products.

[Intrepid @ Nov 17th 2008 4:01AM]

Although I'm equally concerned with Engadget's understandings of the world, we sell those pens at my work and we sell quite a lot of them. They'll be huge in Australia during the "Back-to-school" period.

[Boards of Canada @ Nov 17th 2008 4:14AM]

I think your sarcasm detector is broken... its probably running on a mac!

[Neil Parikh @ Nov 17th 2008 4:10AM]

I've got one of the pens and I don't know what I'd do without it--there are quite a lot of people interested in what the pen can do for them and now that there's a Mac version available the possibilities are (nearly) endless!

If you're interested in picking up a pen, check out livescribe.com & use discount code 'SCRIBE5A30' to get a discount online!

[kyle allen @ Nov 17th 2008 4:41AM]

... well, you are certainly in no way connected livescribe,

[floh @ Nov 17th 2008 4:36AM]

ok I want one... sell it in germany already! come on!

[Bad Beaver @ Nov 17th 2008 5:02AM]

Shop online? ;) I just checked amazon.com, there seem to be some issues with some of the supplies being "unable" to be shipped internationally, but maybe they've fixed that by now...?

[kyle allen @ Nov 17th 2008 4:44AM]

yay! now i can draw diagrams of amoebas and label all the organelles on my mac!

[Bad Beaver @ Nov 17th 2008 5:15AM]

Seems like a neat product if you can get over the drawbacks (constant dependency on refills, having to write with that "pretty" pen instead of your nice one). The audio/text linking is a superb idea, you can just take down a couple of words to keep the overview and then concentrate while listening/recording.

Mac support is highly welcome. It happens too often that I see nice productivity products such as this one that depend on desktop software without it, which translates to me not buying them. With the number of Macs in (higher) education environments, that means lots of lost sales for those companies.

[Nihility @ Nov 17th 2008 11:08AM]

Ugh, I wanted one of these until you mentioned the dependency on refills. I already got screwed once with my printer and I say "Never again!"

[Bad Beaver @ Nov 17th 2008 11:18AM]

Yeah, well, it's a pen, it needs some ink every now and then... and these pens rely on special paper. If you use paper anyway and the price of the special material is not too inflated, the cost is a non-issue, but the brand-dependency is. Prudent users would likely want to stockpile a decent supply of both ink & paper that does not leave them crying should the company go belly-up. How long should one expect these pens to last, with regular use? Three years? Five?

[Josh @ Nov 17th 2008 6:35AM]

How does this compare to the "My Note Premium 2"?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aiptek-My-Note-Premium-2/dp/B0017PM2DK/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1226921680&sr=8-12

It seems to do the same sort of thing..?

[Zadillo @ Nov 17th 2008 9:44AM]

If I'm reading that correctly, it looks like that is mainly for digitizing your handwritten notes. The Livescribe Pulse seems to be similar, except that it has some more advanced capabilities. The big one that I see is that it will record audio at the same time you are taking notes; and when you go back later, if you click on a note you took, it will begin playing the audio it recorded at that time. Very useful potentially for taking notes in class, meetings, interviews, etc.

[Manch @ Nov 17th 2008 8:08AM]

Intrepid is working at an officeworks. Boo, you BM (or TW) scum!

[loocas @ Nov 17th 2008 8:51AM]

The price for sexiness is too high. All you get after months of envying your neighbours of all the high-tech they've gone bored by by now is a beta...

[bmf5046 @ Nov 17th 2008 9:19AM]

I've had the pen for a couple of months. As a student I have found that classes have become easier by using the Pulse Smartpen. I know a bunch of people with Macs who were waiting for Mac compatibility to be able to buy one. Now I can finally convince them too!

[Nihility @ Nov 17th 2008 11:25AM]

I can't help noticing that you signed up to Engadget today and this is your only post. Also I can't seem to help noticing that your post is phrased like an ad.

[ran @ Nov 17th 2008 9:54AM]

When they finally don't require specialized paper, I'm sold.

Otherwise, back to the tablet.

[dacinom @ Nov 17th 2008 12:05PM]

My husband gave a Pulse to me as a Mother's Day gift. I was skeptical at first but I'm an executive and an MBA student and this pen has proven invaluable to me. It's been most helpful at school, especially when reviewing for exams. I can re-listen to the lectures and understand what my notes, which made so much sense in class, mean 10 days later. At work, it's great during strategy meetings when we're just sketching things out and diagramming things. I print my diagrams and notes to PDF and send them out to the group. Plus, it helps me because I don't have to try to find "that piece of paper that I wrote that one note on". Anyway, as a Mac user, I'm glad they finally have this.

Re: refills ... I haven't really had a problem. I use my pen heavily and have only replaced the ink cartridge once and have only filled up one notebook. I do write on both sides of the paper (the pages are numbered anyway). I guess I look at the dependency on the refills and the brand as the trade-off for the return I get on the use utility of the pen. My one complaint is the shipping on the ink refills. It's outrageously expensive if you're just trying to get ink alone. If you order it, get a lot of refills with your order to save on that expense later.

[DH @ Nov 17th 2008 12:12PM]

Ahhh. Read the story. You can print your own paper now.

I guess you're sold.

[Dave @ Nov 17th 2008 1:06PM]

It seems like some people missed "and the ability for consumers to print dot paper notepads for free." in the article. The only thing you need to stock up on is the ink at 5 for $5.95 if your afraid it will be discontinued.

[tuckers @ Nov 17th 2008 2:04PM]

This is a way cool gadget, I have one, but you guys have it wrong. The previous software was incompatible with Bootcamp, Fusion or Parralels, so you couldn't use it at all on a Mac. So you can't carp on those stalwart Mac users. I tried it on my Fusion install and it seriously choked. Hurray for Mac compatability!

[TikiScott @ Nov 17th 2008 4:01PM]

Big Livescribe fan here (since July launch) ... and yes, the OSX void was a big problem. I'll bet that I'm not the only one using WinXP at work and OSX at home. Problem is, work lappies are locked down, so I can't install livescribe software there and there was no Mac version, until now. This is a breakthrough! Cant wait to havre regular uploading of sessions.

Also... accessories are always in stock at Target or Amazon. 5 ink refills are like $5, same as dot-paper notebooks. No biggie compared to the value of the tech.

... waiting anxiously for the 24th.

[Christian Burk @ Nov 17th 2008 5:50PM]

I love my Pulse. I am a teacher/student/office worker-guy and use it in all three contexts. Plus, I use it at home to record the funny things my kids are saying as I'm writing. I'm a Mac user and have had success with Boot Camp and Livescribe but look forward to the native Mac app.

[kurtzk @ Nov 17th 2008 5:56PM]

I have one of these. It rocks especially if they let us print our own paper now since I work at a print shop and I can do it for so cheap. Now it's just a matter if they let you print whole notebook worth at a time...

[Happy chappy @ Jan 11th 2009 6:18AM]

Just purchased a Smartpen and it's not working. Every time I press record it works until I try and write with it and then it comes up with system failure. Any ideas?

[devilshelper210 @ Jan 27th 2009 3:17AM]

Hi guys,

I’ve been using the pen for a while now - i love it! I’m a college student with a bioengineering major and use the pen for all my engineering classes. Studying really is a breeze with it.

Let me know if you guys have any questions!

Also, I used the discount code PULSE5A10 when I bought the pen at http://www.livescribe.com

Kal
[e-mail]