Livescribe Pulse smartpen hits 4GB, launching app store (video)
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Oct 19th 2009 2:11AM
posted Oct 19th 2009 2:11AM
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I really don't see a market for this. College students, maybe? Designers, I guess. I'm about to finish grad school and I can't imagine a single time over the past five years where this would have been handy. I actually prefer my hand-written notes to electronic notes. In the few classes where I've thought otherwise, I would just bring my laptop so that I could quickly bang out the notes. Also, it appears you need a special notebook to use the pen. Forgive me if I'm wrong, I'm just too lazy to look into it further. Oh yeah, the pen looks pretty f-in big in the picture. Probably not comfortable to use for long periods of time.
And for college students, typing is faster than handwriting.
Not if you're a maths student. Typing out equations in LaTeX can be pretty damn slow, and trying to use "approximate" characters on your keyboard results in an unreadable mess.
Business. I can't tell you how cool this device is for recording meetings. As a software engineer, taking this to meetings and not only giving me the ability to automatically transfer diagrams and notes to my computer but also having an accurate record of everything said is invaluable.
I'm sure its handy for classes as well but its incredible if you attend meetings.
You always have proof of what was "agreed" upon, when and by who. Very important when working on big projects. Of course, you always mention you will be recording it at the start.
I will be getting the 4GB as the extra space will be nice in those busy weeks.
at least one of my professors uses something like this to record lectures.
My wife is going to medical school and she uses the crap out of this. While computers can be faster for traditional not taking they can suck pretty hard for diagrams and as was mentioned math. You simply cannot beat the recording syncing with the typing thing either, it is really fantastic being able to listen to those lectures and what was being said AS you wrote that note.
Seconding Darren's comment... Since it records everything, you never miss a word... just tap what you were writing when it was said. You can also create/jump to a bookmark, or skip to wherever you want in the session, all using the paper-based UI. I can't wait to see what apps people create for it.
market: anyone who can't type
Obligatory "I'd tap that" comment.
i'm sure the north west corner of her face has a pair of balls, just yaknow, danglin'
i've seen it in real life. piece of junk if ask me, completely impractical.
A co-worker of mine tried one years ago. The most impractical part of it was that it only worked on special paper. You can't just use it on any ol' piece of paper to doodle. You need to keep a stock of the paper around. Don't know if this new version has this requirement, but I'd bet it does.
It does, but it's not as bad as it sounds. You can "make" your own livescribe paper by printing out sheets with their downloadable, barely visible dot matrix.
I tried this a while ago, and what killed it for me wasn't the special paper--it was the lack of simple one-button recording. "You've got to be kidding me. I have a 2GB high quality audio recorder, and I can't turn it on without tapping a special credit card?"
If they fix that, I'm buying one.
they do have that . . . you push and hold the power button. It'll record without ever touching a peice of paper.
When do we get the fart apps for this?
Did you really need to bring up the iPhone? downrank...
ice cream is good.
And this is better than a tablet pc how?
its not and i'd take a tablet pc over this any day.
Hell, a tablet netbook cost a little over twice as much as the 4gb model, and a tablet netbook can do way more.
Its better because in things like Anatomy and Physiology getting out your tablet PC and all your other stuff and trying to fit it on a tiny little desk sucks. Also being able to print the dot matrix over other things when making your own paper for it adds some awesomeness. My wife will print out the diagrams for the bone section or heart or whatever and then print the matrix over it and then take notes right on it. We tried the tablet thing for her and this just works better. Plus some professors dont let you use computers in some classes, but they have never stopped her from using her pen.
Last time I used one of those, it spent the entire class beeping, whirring, and talking loudly while my teacher was speaking. Not great.
There's a mute button on every single page, I haven't had the pen make any noise whatsoever.
Read the manual.
I've been using the 1gb version since the start of the semester, this thing is the most useful thing i've used in college.
I've recorded hundreds of sessions and haven't had the need to erase old ones from the pen yet...
Its really amazing that instead of taking notes, you just write keywords, then when you go back to review, you click the keyword (with the pen in your notebook or in the desktop software) and you hear what the teacher was saying. Though I really don't see myself using it outside of college, it really is a tool that will help any student review their classes.
Also, in no way does it feel gimmicky, its very solid and very light, software is pretty good and lets you print your own paper, and it even recognizes your handwriting (you can search for words in your notes). Just make sure not to drop it... A friend of mine dropped mine and I had to replace the ink cartridge cause it got bent.
Sorry, but the first sentence in your last paragraph seems gimmicky. somebody correct me if im wrong, but you have to use their "special" paper.
yes and no...you have to use special paper so the pen can tag the captured audio to the notes. But you can either 1. Print your own (no cost other than the ink used) or 2. Buy their paper or notebooks
The special paper is what makes it usable. If you had tried the old Logitech IO2 which was a piece of crap you would see why the paper makes it great. Also 12.99 for 4 150 page notebooks that can be digitally labeled is nothing. Whats really awesome is even with my wifes bubbly girl handwriting when you import it to your computer you can search ANYTHING and it hasnt failed to recognize a word yet.
@DR
the multitude of grammatical errors and misspellings indicates that you probably typed it on an iphone keyboard
Reply Fail
You are a total idiot. You do know the auto correct on the iphone is one of the best available?
These things are brilliant, and my only issue with mine is that it is really fat and hard to write with. But you can just record your lecture, then go back and index the recording later. Anyone that regularly records things currently would likely find this very useful, and you never really need to write much to get the benefits of the pen.
I have one of these. I am a CTO and often attend meetings where it is important to capture a lot of detail. This pen has improved my life considerably -- I can go through the recorded meeting and make sure I've understood all the details and not overlooked anything.
I have a tabletPC, an iRex DR1000 ebook reader with pen, and I have to say that the livescribe pen is better for writing notes than any of them. I'm not sure what the real reasons are. Battery life, weight, ease of use. When I want to jot down some thoughts, I just get out the pen, and write in my notebook. But sadly, the software part is pretty bad and advances in tiny steps. No tagging, reordering of notes, can't delete a page, can't search through all notebooks.
But it still is my favorite gadget.
Do you use the Mac version? Cause it has notebook searching and tagging in it.
Yes, I use a Mac version. But I can only search a single notebook at a time, not all notebooks together. I can also not see how to tag a note - how do you do that?
I dont have the software in front of me, its on the wifes computer. Ill hit you up back here when i find out.
LOL - someone had to mention the iphone. I wonder what wouldn't get compared to an iphone these days.
I have been using mine since about June '08 and despite purchasing it for an unsupported country (UK) to use on a previously unsupported platform (OSX) my experience has been very positive.
I run a sustainable design company and use the pen nearly daily for notes & sketching nonlinear idea's such as graphics & diagrams. it is very handy having 200+ pages of written notes that are searchable and higher resolution on the computer than on the page - it means i can import sketches into photoshop and the like to use at the beginning of a work flow. The other feature i find particularly useful is the audio recording (&sync) of technical, board & design meetings... it is always amusing to gauge the large difference between what was said and what my hand jotted down at the time.
however, it is only worth getting IF you foresee regular and long term use of it...
ignore my previous comment - my password program filled in the form with an old comment and sent it off...
The biggest problem I have with this pen is that it's completely cylindrical, and loves to roll off the edge of the desk... not a good thing for an expensive delicate electronic device.
I really like my PulsePen. It is the best thing I've ever bought for college. Portable, great battery life, and pretty decent software to back it up. Even the proprietary paper is useful. Despite it's seemingly high cost, I've been able to truncate all my separate subject notebooks into one and end up paying the same amount for something thats immensely more useful, environmentally friendly, and SEARCHABLE. I do have one complaint however…uploading and sharing isn't as intuitive as it should be.
Does anyone actually use a laptop for actual computing anymore? Or is it just engineering students?
I bought one and I'm having a lot of technical problems with it. I had to reset the firmware once already because whenever I try and charge it it doesn't hold. The battery will actually be more drained than before. They were supposed to email me and it's been a month with no reply. The speaker now whines whenever the power button is pressed.
Return it...
There is a guy who sits one row below me , who uses the pen and special notebook. Must ask what his grade is on the mid term to see if it pays off!
I've said it before, I'll keep saying it. Digital pens that require "special paper" are a total fail. Try again.
No they arent. If you look at the ones before it that didnt require special paper, they all failed miserably and were absolutely horrible to use. You can print your own paper and its 12.99 for 4 notebooks. You can also get it in any size. The special paper makes it so even if your handwriting is abhorrent like mine it is still searchable when you upload to your computer. The logitech io2 didnt take special paper and it is gone from this world due to its complete sucktasticness
I use it everyday in law school, I bought the 2gb version of it in the end of august of this year and it has been the best investment ever. I have 5 classes that I use in (140 mins a day + 250 mins on tuesdays)
I still have room on the device after using it since then (aprox. 600mbs. left) I would buy the 4gb just to have the room but it is unecessary.
The software I found to be pretty decent in that it works downloads and recognizes the pen very quickly and with very little lag.
But the best part for me was the customer service, the service was prompt and was users of the product (and native speakers too, no offensive dell or hp) this pen is my second one because i fried the first one by putting too much power to the usb extender and no questions asked (no credit card nothing) they mailed me a refresh one. For all they knew I could have been frauding them but they trusted me which is simply wonderful.
One of my favorite companies next to Logitech.
I've had mine for months and love it.. works amazing, great for business to go back over client interviews, training sessions etc... one thing people forget is you can manually start recording if your writing on normal paper. Only thing missing in my opinion is native paper printing for OSX, and a form app (which I'm guessing is coming in the app store) so you can fill a paper form and direct input into excel etc...
Why is this better than a tablet?
- smaller: portable, lighter
- records audio, sync'd to your notes which you can later share online or print
- cheaper
You can print your own paper (or buy their high quality, Five-Star grade notebooks which are $5 each).
I used this for engineering (diagrams, circuits, graphs) & economics (notes, graphs, etc.) and it was great.
@Mystech
I wouldn't say that without first trying it. It worth it if you use it like other things everyone else purchases
This is invaluable in the project management and business analysis lines of business.
So what if it uses "special paper"? That's not too much of a requirement. Guess what -- typing notes on a laptop also requires a bit of a specialized equipment which costs alot and which also have to carry around -- a laptop.
FUCK YEAH LEFTIES!
sarcasm detectors are all broken today!
A co worker of mine uses one. He loves it and although I haven't used one it does have a logic appeal. The paper has a very subtle pattern printed on it that allows the pen to orient itself when capturing the ink on the page. He can go back to a note later and hear what was being said in the meeting when he wrote that note. That is cool.
Thank you CL. I was wondering how long it would take.
I use this EVERY day and love it. Couldn't have studied as easily for midterms without it. I recommend it to EVERYONE who asks me about it. BTW, i'm not a plant. I just love this pen.
My family owns a school in Brazil (Ateneu) and use this Smartpen.
My Father-in-law teaches Chemistry there and writes all of his notes on it as he teaches, then posts the file on his website so that his students can review the class as he taught it, clicking on any note on the page brings you to that specific part of the lesson.
I think it works great and the students love it.
1. It's great for students to catch up if they missed a class.
2. The notebooks are basically the same price as a regular notebook, so that's not a problem.
3. It's cheap.
Check out this sample note to get an idea of what you can export to the web. Make sure to click Full Screen and remember that you can click on any part of the not to skip to that part.
http://www.livescribe.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/LDApp.woa/wa/MLSOverviewPage?sid=8VHWtC7TnPHR
Did anyone else find the Bass in that background music horrendous?
I'm in the military and attended a language school for Persian Farsi...this pen came in so handy to transfer my handwritten notes...which aren't english, to my friends, as well as have an audio recording of each class (7 hours a day)...if I ever forgot how to pronounce a word or what the heck the symbols I was looking at was there for, I just tapped it and heard the audio from the exact point I wrote that part....pretty damn useful. the app for language is really cool as well...can't wait for the languages to be expanded to include full dictionaries!
It would be a tremendous device if it had wireless support for transferring data, and using it as a stylus on the computer..