# Livescribe Smartpen



## Highlander II (Mar 16, 2009)

Anyone have any reliable feedback resources for this?

Livescribe :: Never Miss A Word

It looks like a highly useful tool - for any number of reasons.  Fic writing, note-taking, drawing, etc.

However, I'd like to know what people think about it before I consider saving up my pennies.  I've seen a few reviews and a friend of mine just got one and was playing with it yesterday.  (She lives 6hrs away though, so I can't go borrow it and see what it's like. *g*)

The main thing I want to know (which I think I read somewhere, but can't recall for sure) is can the text be converted to an actual text file that can be opened in notepad, wordpad, MS Word, etc?  B/c if not, it's sort of useless for my purposes.


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## Saeltari (Mar 16, 2009)

Interesting, don't know much about it. I have a tablet and use that a lot but the pen looks interesting, although I don't know if I would use it enough to make it worth the while. 

I did bookmark it though, thanks!

Thinking about it, I like the idea but I am comfortable with typing now and as I said if I want to write I can use my tablet and interact with all the programs you mentioned. I think it is a good idea but right now I don't think I would go for it... I would go for a tablet pc though!


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## Highlander II (Mar 17, 2009)

The main reason that I'd go for the pen over any form of PC is b/c the 'ink on paper' method of note-taking works better for me from a 'learning' perspective.  I learn 'kinetically', so to speak, so writing things 'imprints' them better for me than typing.  Sort of like 'muscle memory', I guess.  So, with something like the Smartpen, I'd have the 'ink on paper' w/ the added advantage of 'load it to the computer'.

Mostly looking for reviews and if it does have capability to be imported as text into a text program, rather than uploaded as an image.


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## Highlander II (Jul 10, 2009)

To answer most of my own questions - first, I did get one and I like it a lot.  It's v. useful for the way I work and how I write.  Second, yes, you can get a program to convert the images of your writing to text and it works pretty well.  Better if you write firmly on the paper. (which I discovered after apparently not having pressed firmly enough and had lots of 'blank' spots on my pages when they uploaded)

There are some minor drawbacks - OMG does the ink run out fast.  The ink cartridges are pretty short - like 2" - so, you get about 25 pages or so out of them, but the replacements aren't bank-breakingly expensive, so that's a good thing.  The 'need to press hard' thing.  And the MyScript (the conversion program) sometimes confuses certain letters if you don't tend to use 'standard' techniques for making your letters.  Also, it gets confused if letters 'overlap' on different lines (like the tails of y's or g's).

If the makes of MyScript could configure it to 'learn' your handwriting, that would be really cool.  But, it does well enough to save me on typing when I transfer from paper to computer doc. =)


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## AE35Unit (Jul 10, 2009)

You know,some years ago I said to someone,You know it'd be cool if you could have a pen that not only writes but remembers what you wrote,then allowing you to transfer(we now use the word upload) the text into another device,thus copying what you originally wrote.   
Now this device sounds like that kind of thing!


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## dustinzgirl (Jul 10, 2009)

I see what I now want for Christmas.

But I'm confused, can you write stuff and put it on your computer?


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## Highlander II (Jul 11, 2009)

Here's how it works -

you write whatever you want to write w/ the smartpen on the special smartpen paper (it won't work otherwise and the paper's not expensive *and* you can print your own from the website - I haven't tried that yet though)

then you dock the smartpen in it's special USB cradle where the Livescribe software then reads the data from the pen and creates 'image' files (sort of like pdf's) of the pages from your notebook / paper

Then you have to have a separate program called MyScript for Livescribe to transfer the 'images' to text.   Sometimes the program doesn't get it all exactly right, but it does pretty darn well.

It is pretty cool to be able to write on a page, then x-fer to the PC w/o a scanner!  And while something like a tablet PC might be better, this is functional enough to be nearly the same - plus, you have a hard-copy back-up if your computer goes *poof*.

Also - a feature I don't use, but you can upload your pages to Livescribe's website and share or not.  It's a nifty little gadget. =)


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## Highlander II (Aug 29, 2014)

I'm resurrecting this thread for a couple reasons - 

1) I've used the heck out of my pen - even had to have the company replace it b/c of a known defect that manifested.  
1a) The MyScript technology has either gotten better or does learn one's handwriting over time.

2) Another aspect of this pen that I didn't mention, b/c it's not something that I use, is the capability to record audio.  A mentioned this to a co-worker who typically takes notes via his laptop in class, but he has a stickler teacher for one class who doesn't like laptops in her class, so I told him about this pen so he could take notes and record the lecture so he could go home and type up his notes on his laptop later.  (He has atrocious handwriting when trying to take notes by hand and quickly.)

It's a pretty cool little gadget and, yes, 5 years later, I'm still using mine.


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## Ray McCarthy (Aug 31, 2014)

It's quite an old product originally, late 1990s? Well maybe not for sale but announced. I was put off by need for special paper, but I didn't have a cheap to run laser printer then. Is it still sold?


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## Highlander II (Aug 31, 2014)

Yup.  They've made tons of updates and have new versions of the pens.  The new pens even have bluetooth capability.  http://www.livescribe.com

And the 'special paper' isn't terribly expensive.  It's more than standard notebooks, but the benefits out-weigh the few extra pennies.


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