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Xiaomi unveils Pad 5 productivity tablet and Mi Smart Band 6 with NFC
Xiaomi has also launched a new tablet, the Pad 5, and an NFC version of the Mi Smart Band 6 today.
Send notes to OneNote with your Livescribe 3 smartpen
Shortly after the news that OneNote will be free starting today, Livescribe has announced a collaboration which will see its newest smartpen integrate with Microsoft's service. Using the Livescribe+ application, Livescribe 3 owners can now easily send notes, drawings and other stuff to OneNote. Better yet, once your scribbles and doodles show up in OneNote, they can also be synced across multiple devices by way of OneDrive (formerly known as SkyDrive) -- Livescribe states this is all part of its strategy to "make smartpens a ubiquitous and valuable tool." You'll need to have your pen running the latest software, version 1.1.0, for this to work -- and in case you need any assistance with that, take a look at Livescribe's help page here.
Livescribe 3 smartpen appears in FCC filing, can't wait to digitize your doodles
Now that we've got those naming suits out of the way, it's time to get down to brass tacks. With "brass tacks" involving a new smartpen, in this particular instance. The Livescribe 3 has just made itself known in a public FCC filing today, showcasing a svelte writing utensil whose main purpose in life is to digitize your handwritten notes. It's equipped with Bluetooth in order to pair with your iOS device and the accompanying Livescribe+ app, and once you start doodling in your Livescribe notebook, those very scribbles will appear in the app. There's a micro-USB connector on top for recharging it, and a handy twistable handle that turns the unit on. (Oh, and if you're curious, we're told that "more supported devices" will be added soon.) For the power users, there are Pencasts -- said to be "interactive documents containing audio that is synchronized to your handwritten notes." As is always the case with FCC reveals, pricing and availability are nowhere to be found; that said, an FCC submission generally signals that it's just about ready for store shelves in the US. We'll watch as you attempt to digitally write about the art of containing your excitement.
Wacom Inkling smart pen does drawing the old-fashioned way -- sort of (video)
The latest product from Wacom trades the whole tablet motif we've come to know and love from the company, in favor of some good, old-fashioned pen-on-paper action. The Inkling is a ballpoint that transfers layered sketches to a PC or Mac via a USB connected receiver, which can then be edited with the included Sketch Manager software. The Livescribe-esque pen has pressure sensing technology with 1,024 levels of sensitivity. It will be available mid-September for $199. Video of the device after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Livescribe axes developer program to focus on the cloud
For the past several years one of the strangest and most interesting platforms with an app store all its own was the Livescribe series of smart-pens. Now, it's just another ditch to be dug in the development graveyard. After three years it will be closing up its SDK shop on July 22nd, and no more submissions too its app market will be accepted. The store will remain open for the time being, but the company won't guarantee compatibility with future models or firmware updates. Instead it will shift focus to cloud services like Livescribe Connect. But, don't get too worried, we're sure the healthy hacker community will keep you knee deep in text adventure ports.
Livescribe Connect upgrade lets you share doodles in several ways, just not wirelessly (video)
Pen pushers who took a chance on Livescribe's note-recording smartpen have benefited from some nice apps, hacks and upgrades along the way. Now the company's latest productivity-booster is a software update called Connect, which lets you share your scribbles via Email, Google Docs, Facebook and Evernote, as well as through Livescribe's own Pencast platform. Some of these sharing options were already available but Connect tries to speed things in an interesting way: by letting you set sharing instructions even as you jot down a note. Simply draw a double line and write, say, 'Facebook' or 'Google Docs' somewhere on the page, and the sharing will take place automatically the next time you sync to your Mac or PC. Most of the sharing options are free, but if you own an older Pulse model or the new entry-level $99.95 2GB Echo you'll need to buy a $15 upgrade before you can share via Email or Google Docs. Heck, we'd pay way more than that if only Livescribe would come up with a way to sync and share wirelessly -- docking this thing feels about as cutting edge as a quill. Video and full PR after the break.
Livescribe hack lets you play Zork with (smart) pen and paper
Livescribe's pen certainly seems like a hackable enough device, but for some reason we haven't seen many hacks or mods that make the smart pen even smarter (or dumber, for that matter). One big one quietly popped up last month, however, and has apparently gone largely unnoticed until now. YouTube user "chipos81" has managed to port Infocom's Z-Machine virtual machine to the pen (the Echo, specifically), and you know what that means: Zork on paper. Look down. Examine link. Go past break. Watch video. [Thanks, Charlie]
