- 14
- Aug
Tag : pulse smartpen, livescribe 2gb, apa 00002
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 Company : Livescribe List Price : $199.95 Amazon Price : $199.95 Used Price : Average customer review :  |
Features
- Record and link audio to what you write
- Listen to your recordings by tapping on what you wrote
- Search and share your notes and recordings from your computer
Customer reviews
No Support for Mac 
Let’s face it, almost every college student in my class uses a Mac. Why the heck would they not release a product that would be universal for both Mac and PC at the same time. I’m sure they could’ve made a lot more money by now. Yes, I have this product as a gift. Works somewhat nicely on a PC. Does not work on any VM though. The web UI is a little clunky, but this pen does what it’s suppose to do.
Partly Fantastic 
The pen does what it says but if you have used the Leapfrog Fly Fusion pen - which is the company the founder came from - you expect that it will convert your writing to text - but it doesn’t.
The company promises to do this but has not delivered on their promise and since the pen has been out since at least April - I feel it is long overdue. They could give one access to the digital audio which then would enable the user of the pen to use another text conversion program — but they don’t or won’t.
The other problem is the tease of the apps like language translator - which the pen does but only as demo so far.
What the pen does do - it does it fantastically - so if you are a student of someone just wanting to have a verbal recording of something and the ability to take notes that associate the recording so that it is easy to find what you want right away - it does that very well.
The problem is that all digital recording devices do this too and also allow text conversion. So… if you don’t need to take notes to find your recording places - then the pen will be less functional than a digital recording device and perhaps cheaper and more efficient.
I will hang onto mine for a bit longer but I need the text conversion or the pen is useless to me - if they don’t get their act together on their promises I will just sell mine for whatever I can get and go back to using my cheaper fly fusion pen.
If they get the text conversion together and add real apps instead of teasers - then this product will be a real winner and useful for a wide range of people.
skeptic 
I kept all my receipts handy just in case. I was not expecting it to work very well, but really needed something that did what this is pen is advertised to do.
After trying it in a few real world situations, I would not consider returning it. I was very pleasantly surprised to find it worked far better than I had hoped, and in fact it was a very helpful tool, not a toy.
If you think you need something with this type of capability, I highly recommend you take a chance on the livescribe pen. I was so impressed I will be getting another one for my daugher to use in class.
Far exceeded my expectations!
Take 2Gb, stick that potential in a pen and what do you have? In this case, a very user friendly pen that bridges the gap between laptop and computer, allowing me to grab the pen and go, leaving the laptop behind in many cases.
Why?
To give you an idea why, let me indicate how I’ve used it:
1. Because the Smartpen can record up to 200 hours of lectures, interviews or whatever, it is helpful to me as a writer. For students, they can doze in class and still have uploadable audio for their computer. Taking notes? Want to highlight a section and find it in the audio recording later? You can do that with a couple of taps of the pen on special paper.
THe trick in describing this is that it is nearly intuitive to use. The best way to learn how it works is by using it. That is why many stores will allow you to do that, starting soon. Not yet made for the Mac, this is one product that could help special needs students who have trouble tracking lectures or keeping notes. The pen not only records but is easily used for review. Also include? Special paper and a calculator as well as some nifty add -ons ( a simple language translator, some movie options, the ability to create charts and diagrams and add them to your notes). All can go in your ocmputer and you can get to key sections of the audio later by tapping on keywords on special notebook paper.
Now, how cool is that? Not that I’m encouraging students to sleep in class but with this pen, that would be possible. Of course, you could also catch some less desirable moments in class - a cough, a sneeze…but nothing is perfect, including this gadget.
I really like this, though. When it comes to filling in the blanks in your information or memory, this is a great study or work tool.
Greatest study tool since flashcards!
So I’ve had this for a couple months now, and my opinion of it hasn’t changed since day 1 - it’s awesome.
I’m a college students on the pre-med track, so my schedule is filled science classes. The pen is so useful especially when the professors going at a 100 mph and has diagrams/reactions to go with it. I use it all the time to just go through the main points of the lecture - I simply “star” sections that I know are important as I take notes. Later, when studying for my tests, I quickly go through the starred parts and re-hear them.
But the great thing about the pen is that anyone can find use for it, be it a student like me, or a doctor, or a lawyer, or a financial analyst, an engineer, an artist, etc. etc. It really is a great tool for everyone.
And one more thing, besides the practical use of the pen itself, it’s great just to show off! The calculator feature, or the translator feature, etc. are just so cool! For example, put the pen in “translation” mode, write a word in English and the pen will give you a Spanish translation.. how cool is that?!
So obviously, I’m sold, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
-Kal
