Comments on: LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen Review

By: rebecca hopkins

rebecca hopkins — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:15:33 +0000

Livescribe pen, good idea, bad execution, even worse customer service. Glitchy, functions work, then won’t. Hey google, buy them out and put your people on it,

By: Nito

Nito — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 02:13:40 +0000

I have had my pen since 2009. In Maryland I do ot get to use it much for it is illegal to record anything unless all parties agree that are involved and believe someone always gets upset. Once you convert your handwriting into text you cannot put on pen on your text and hear the audio. Personally, I think it is an expensive tool. If the pen converted voice into tex it would be better.

By: mariah

mariah — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 02:20:32 +0000

what kind of ink dose a smart pen take

By: Jawa

Jawa — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 06:19:31 +0000

1) can you disable recording?
2) With handwriting and drawings mixed, will the software keep convert the handwriting to text and leave the rest as image?
thanks.

By: Livescribe Announces the Echo Pen — The Gadgeteer

Livescribe Announces the Echo Pen — The Gadgeteer — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:21:51 +0000

[...] of my favorite technology tools, the Livescribe Pen, is getting an upgrade. Livescribe announced the release of the Echo pen. This seems to address [...]

By: vijay

vijay — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:39:17 +0000

Can some one give me a comparison of anoto and livescribe pens?

By: Anoto penDocuments Pro Review — The Gadgeteer

Anoto penDocuments Pro Review — The Gadgeteer — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:00:54 +0000

[...] is a Swedish company and developed the technology behind products like the Livescribe Pen and the Logitech Io2 pen. I am a big fan of my Livescribe pen so I was very interested in [...]

By: Nikki

Nikki — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:10:43 +0000

@Tim
@Julie
I just got a 4GB lightscribe pro-pack. It is awesome, and I have no troubles with the diameter of the pen. I got it for two main reasons: 1) I am an English major and take a great deal of notes
2)I write constantly, and I hate typing my written papers, stories, and the sort. I would rather fix OCR errors than retype.

The Pro-pack contains a registration key for MyScribe Notes, which takes your handwriting and converts it into digital text. From there, you can export it as a .rtf and edit it in Word. (I like OpenOffice Writer, personally). So, to all the writers out there who ask “Can I use this to transcribe my stories, notes, ect?” the answer is YES! (you may have to adjust your handwriting for better OCR transcription).

If the pen is worth this convenience, ask yourself how much your time is worth. How long do you spend hand-typing what you’ve written? Are you drowning under piles of written papers? My writing job earns $30/hour. I bought the pen for $220 at BestBuy, so I would only have to use the pen for 7.5 hours to recover my loss.

People with loopy handwriting might confuse the OCR, but my sloppy cursive is translated amazingly well (2 mistakes on my entire test page). For me it is an AWESOME tool, not only for classwork but also for my writing.

Nikki

PS, I am a little bit disturbed no one has brought up the ethics of this pen. Many people want permission to be recorded. If they see a recorder, they report this, but in the form of a pen they may never know.

By: michael

michael — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:00:08 +0000

PROBLEM PROBLEM PROBLEM. My spouse bought the pen for my daughter. Daughter then plugs pen into holder, holder via usb into MAC Book, she waits and gets a notification that the pen is registered to someone else. After multiple try s I enter the gam and slowly look for some reset process. There is none. After contacting customer service, we were told basically tough. The pen was apparently restocked after being returned. Target, company we bought it from, is not supposed to restock returns. Therefore we must way two business days before they can register the pen and then only if it has not be reported stolen. No, we cannot speak with a supervisor and no the manager will not take our call or leave us an email to contact him. And no, there is nothing to do but, wait or return it to Target for a replacement. Also you can still use it as a ball point ( no joke she actually said that) HA HA. And by the way there is no policy to reset the pen when this type of problem occurs. Again, go to hell customer, we got your money. This is the worst customer service I have seen from an IT company in years if not ever.

By: Julie

Julie — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:56:10 +0000

@Tim Turn off the audio part? This pen records any audio while you’re taking notes in a mtg. You don’t have to listen to the audio when you go back to read your notes, if that’s what you mean. But that’s really the whole point of the device.

By: Tim Mayer

Tim Mayer — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 12:56:13 +0000

I’m interested in the pen because I hate to type.
Can you turn the audio part off if you just want to take notes in silence?

By: Sean

Sean — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:50:57 +0000

@TIm (comment 39) and @Chris (comment 30).
So, Tim, the bottom line is that it perhaps helps you prepare more accurate reports. I doubt it saves you time in filling out the reports.
Appreciate your feedback – thanks

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:23:45 +0000

Chris (comment 30),

Yes, they have flip notepads and I use them! I am a firefighter/ALS provider and this thing is awesome for use on calls. I just start recording as soon as I get on the scene and take my usual notes. When I get done with the call I just refer back to the pen for everything to help me fill out my report. What an awesome gadget!

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:20:56 +0000

I agree with you Ron! I have been trying to find a way to save the file as my own but it doesn’t look that way. You can save the page as a PDF and then the audio separetely as a .wav or .mp4 file but then you have to embed the audio into the doc once you’ve uploaded to your site. I can do this with many other tools, like a tablet so why would I spend the extra money and have to do more work!! I am pretty disappointed with the fact that livescribe has limited the amount of file space and their control over the objects that we create! I have also been trying to figure out if we can only use 1/2 the page upload it and then use the other 1/2 and upload it as a seperate file, or do I have to have both on the same page. I am trying to create working examples for students but can not have them all together. From what I have found so far you need to use an entire new page!
Just my thoughts…………….

By: Ronald C. Smallwood

Ronald C. Smallwood — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Really slick technology but I took mine back for a refund. Pulse has set it up so the only way you can share files is through their website. You can’t save the files to your own web site or back them up on your own computers. Would you buy a camera from a company that said the only way you can share your photos was through their website? Not me! If I create something, I should be able to choose where and how I store & share my creation.

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:53:46 +0000

@Layla The LiveScribe does NOT convert your writing to text. It records audio while you write and allows you to tap on your handwritten notes in order to hear what audio was being said at that time. The client software that you install on your computer lets you search for words in your notes and it finds them, but your writing won’t be translated into a text file (at least not in the version of the software that I tested a year ago.

By: Layla

Layla — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:35:06 +0000

Thanks for your well presented review. As a writer who can hand write faster than I can type, I’m looking for a miracle. I tried DragonSoft but it took too long to recognize my handwriting. Does the SmartPen require the same kind of training? Once the notes are uploaded and transcribed into text, how easy is it to edit?

By: Jim Gorski

Jim Gorski — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:10:57 +0000

Windows Software is Awful – Support is Insulting.

The desktop software checks for updates over the internet. This cannot be disabled. Fair enough – they have some ‘online pen lovers’ community thing going and everyone is wired these days. But at work I have a firewall (like most schools, offices, hospitals, libraries, coffee shops – okay everywhere but home).

The CHECK for updates works – but the UPDATE ITSELF does not work through a firewall.

This happens EVERY TIME YOU CONNECT THE PEN TO THE PC – EVERY TIME. YOU CANNOT DISABLE IT. YOU HAVE TO CLICK ‘DECLINE’. Then it asks you if you REALLY want to decline the update you just declined. Yes – you have to click twice every time you connect the pen.

Now I’m mad. So I send an email to tech support.

They say that it’s not their problem – they send me links to other frustrated users who have written their own software to try and correct the issue. This doesn’t correct my issue, but then again it’s just another frustrated user trying to be helpful. So I send more email to the Livescribe support staff. They stop returning my emails. These are not CAP LOCK email, these are polite but firm requests for help. I even offer to beta test software if they have something that they think might help!

I post on the Livescribe blog – within seconds (really!) I get a reply telling me that they can help and I can expect some support soon.

Then they stop replying to my email – and they disable commenting on their blog. No kidding.

I’m not sure what to do now.

By: mark

mark — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:26:23 +0000

The directions say that the battery takes 3 hours to fully charge.

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:47:21 +0000

@Streamfinder the Livescribe doesn’t translate audio files into text.

By: Streamfinder

Streamfinder — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:12:03 +0000

After researching this product, I am still unclear as to whether the software will parse written text into a file. That feature is rather important in regards to the full usefulness of this pen. Perhaps there is 3rd party software to do this?

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:38:23 +0000

Ok I am a paramedic and I’m wondering if they make any type of pocket sized notepads this would be awesome for call reviews or even just the small bits of knowledge that I often pick up from dr. Nurses and just off the streets would also work great for cops I would imagine!

-Chris

By: SN

SN — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:44:57 +0000

I just received my Smartpen and would like some suggestions for using it with web conferences (webinars). My company has frequent conference calls and webinars and I take detailed notes. I can’t get my head around how my pen can record the webinar audio to accompany my notes. The webinar audio is via a telephone connection rather than speakers.
Thank you.

By: KC

KC — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:11:19 +0000

Has anyone got an answer re message 19? I have a hearing impaired student with a moderate loss who as asked about using the pen. She is about to move onto college – does the pen record a good quality audio recording of lecturers that she would be able to hear? Are there facilities in the software for boosting the volume?
Thanks

By: Misha

Misha — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:10:25 +0000

I just got my pen and I’m loving it so far. My only quesion -is there a way to use a page of the special paper if you didn’t take up the entire page. I’m still in the starter notebook, only filled out about a third of a page then synched it up. Came back the next day to practice hand writing using the same page but now can’t get the bottom half of the page to load. I’ll try not synching up until I fill up a page to see if that works but was hoping someone might know a trick to get it to still let me use up the rest of the page.