Livescribe 2GB Echo Smartpen

I have been using this for about two weeks to take notes at university. I am a social science student and as such there is a lot of note taking and lectures in my courses which is the reason I wanted this pen, as I thought it would better help me prepare course outlines and study guides by not having to retype my notes.Software 4/5The Echo desktop software is great and very straightforward to use. There is an app-store that was relatively tricky to find as the software sends you to livescribe store for pens instead of the app-store. The app-store is quite limited although I did have to pickup Myscript from there as the Echo software cannot convert handwriting to text which is why I deducted a point of it. There is a lot of potential to develop interesting apps but most where quite primitive falling in the realm of language phrasebooks and games instead of productivity tools.Pen 4/5The pen has plenty of amazing features such as the ability to play music and record audio in addition to recording handwriting. I wish there was a full translator as the demo included is a great concept but presently unavailable for purchase even if you want it. If I could I would have bought the translator as the ability to translate would have been phenomenally useful for taking language classes and for self study, its a shame its not included. The pens menu interface was also user friendly with a large variety of settings to play with. The cartridge is easy to change too you simply pull it out. My only serious gripe with this pen apart from the lack of a translator was that it was not ergonomic to write with as it is too large. The pen's weight was much lighter than I expected it however it was too thick and I found my fingers fatigued from holding it for too long, I have fairly large hands and still thought it was too hefty to hold. Despite this the pen writes quite well and the cartridge doesnt smudge. I find my handwriting has slightly improved as it needs to be legible in order for it to be converted into text.Overall 4.9/5This pen exceeded my expectations however I wish that it was more comfortable to write with, had the translator, and included handwriting to text conversion without the additional cost. These shortcomings were greatly offset by its features which definately work as advertised and the simple desktop software and pen UI made this a breeze to setup and use. Overall I would recommend this product to other students especially those with disabilities but wish that future models will have the missing features and be more ergonomic to write with.

Ok, this thing is simply cool. I had been looking for a very long time for a way to digitize my notes to make them easier to find. An associate of mine has one of these and after I asked he showed me what it can do and how it works. First off the fact that it gets my notes on the computer is great. If you are anything like I am, you take a lot of notes and then lose them. With this they are always available and the best thing is that the software makes them searchable. That is brilliant and it actually works.The second coolest thing about this is that it records the meeting / class / etc. as well. I haven't reduced the number of notes that I take (I thought I would) but I have noticed that when I have a question about a note that I can just listen to the recording. The part that makes it cool is that by tapping the pen on the note it plays the recording starting from that point. I don't have to try to find where it was discussed it just plays it.The pen is pretty nice. It feels like it is a quality device. The refills for it aren't very expensive and the paper that you use with it comes in a lot of varieties. So far I really like this but I have to say, my boss is not a fan. Now when he tells me something its recorded. Next time we talk about it and his memory of what he said doesn't match what I heard I can refer back to the note, tap it and he can hear exactly what he told me to do. Everyone in the meeting loves the look on his face when I play something back for him. 3 other associates have purchased these over the last couple weeks, our meetings are starting to look like a LiveScribe user convention.

Even though this Smart Pen is expensive, it is a game changer for those who have ADHD, hearing loss, or other challenges that impede their learning in classrooms, business meetings, and so forth. I've worked with high school and college students, recommending this pen often. I myself have hearing loss and though I sit in the front of the classroom/ business meeting room, wear hearing aids and read lips well enough-- it is this pen that has helped me the most.You do need to purchase the special dotted paper in order for the smart pen to sync the audio recording with what the pen writes at the time. The option to print your own paper is valid: I've done this myself but it requires a high quality ink and printer. It's easier and cheaper to purchase the notebooks.The pen works with the touch of a few 'key pads' that are printed on the paper. You turn on the power button (on the pen) and then use the paper 'key pad' for the remainder of your options. The pen comes with good instructions and there are several you tube videos for this pen-- but the truth is that you learn best by messing around with it on your own. Find a youtube video of something that you'd like to learn-- something difficult to understand, something technical, and something that you'd need to take notes for if it were a real-world meeting or classroom setting. Play the video and start taking notes to learn how to use the pen. Do this BEFORE you actually need it.Hit the record button and the pen will begin to record the audio. Each time you make a mark with this pen on the smart paper, the sound syncs with the ink marking. The sound will not sync if you write on the paper with any other pen or if you use the smart pen on other paper.Each time a new subject or idea is spoken and you want to mark it, you don't have to jot down the time stamp, unless you want to. Some students use stars or the circled numbers on the top of the page. I use bullet points.When you are unable to write down as much as you had wanted to because the presenter/ instructor spoke too fast (or several people spoke at the same time), leave a large space on your paper. You can to back to that paper space later (explained below). When you wrote something down and you didn't make the symbol/star/mark in time (or you forgot to leave space for later), you can still make a symbol or jot that time down.When you are finished recording and making your notes, stop the recording session. If there is a break in recording, you have the option for pausing without stopping. You could also just record two sessions.Reviewing your recorded notes can be a help or abused as a crutch. Do not rely on this pen to do the thinking or listening for you. Don't think that you're going to learn better by recording and then sitting back during class! That isn't how learning works. Be actively engaged in taking physical, hand-written notes with this pen!Later you can review these notes. Turn on the pen and touch the part of the paper you want to review with the synced audio. The pen should automatically play at that spot. For parts of the recording that you left a large space for, you can touch the pen to the writing just before the space. The pen will play the audio right before the space. Listen to the recording and write in that large space the notes you would have taken at the time. It's like going back in time to take notes. Later, you can touch the pen over these 'time-traveling' notes and the pen will play with the synced audio as if you had made them during class originally.You can upload your notes, handwritten and audio recording, online on your own account.What I personally like to do (and this may seem crazy to some but feasible to others who cannot afford the smart paper or smart ink) is to create a system that works for me. I use the smart pen and smart post its for the recording, but I take my class notes on regular blank copy paper with a regular ink pen. Before class I take regular ink and write in a series of numbers like this:(Date of Lecture)(Start) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. ...etc.Once the professor starts the class, I hit record and draw a dot on the "start" I originally drew with regular ink. I draw the dot with the smart pen. This way, when I review the recording, the pen will start playing where the dot is. If I draw the (start) or numbers with the smart pen, the timing gets messed up. Each time the professor makes a new point, I'll draw a dot on the next number with my smart pen. But on the regular paper with regular ink, I then write the corresponding number so I know that the rest of my handwritten notes correspond with this number. It's a system that works for me but I've seen others use regular ink/paper and smart ink/paper that works for them. A former coworker used her smart ink and smart paper with colored regular ink, all on smart paper to organize her notes. It's what works best for you and that will come to you as you continue to use the smart pen. The only reason I do this is because I like to combine text notes, lecture notes, and video notes a few weeks later on regular paper. I don't like mountains of original notes-- that makes for messy study time when exams are looming. (See What Smart Students Know for more information on note-taking ideas).Other students do this because the paper and ink can be pricey after having had to pay for the smart pen itself. Still, others pay for all of it and do everything on the same smart paper because it's not work the headache for them to do something complicated. I just thought I'd put this out there for others who might wonder.Other thoughts: Be kind when using a smart pen. Other people might not understand why you are recording a lecture or meeting. Some don't care and some get offended. I simply ask if it is okay to use a smart pen when I meet with someone in their office. In class, I let them know if they don't already.There are ADA accommodations that professors are required to respect. If you have legally-binding accomodations, as set through your ADA resource office at your school or employment, then no one can deny your use of the pen. However, you cannot abuse this law. You must go through the proper ADA resource office procedures in order to have this protection.I normally delete sessions after I'm done gleaning anything else that I've recorded and did not get down on paper. The idea of note-taking is to get what is "out there" into your brain. So the condensing of audio notes, class notes, text notes, etc... to get into your brain is part of the note-rewriting process.Other than hearing loss or ADHD, this pen has helped students who suffer from PTSD, mobility loss, sensory perception, etc. I've even suggested to some of my students who were veterans to use this pen. One student in particular served in Kuwait and Iraq. When he decided to go to school after retirement, he had PTSD and could not bring himself to sit in the front of the class to pay better attention. His mind was too stuck on everything happening behind him that he was unable to see. Yet, when he sat in the back or sides of the class, he could not pay attention the teacher. After using this pen, he called it a 'game changer.' So many students have shared that with me.I feel the same way!