Livescribe 4 GB Echo Smartpen

I recently went on the hunt for something that would capture my mostly mathematical notes digitally for easy filing, storing, searching, etc. First I tried the Motorola Xoom Tablet, but the handwriting recognition was terrible and interactivity with pdfs and word (even with the expensive apps) was just too great a hassle for daily use. (In fairness, the Xoom doesn't bill itself as a tool for replacement of handwritten notes.)I returned the Xoom to Amazon and then tried the Bamboo Tablet, which is a pad and stylus that you plug into a USB port for handwriting. The Bamboo tablet was decent, but it actually decreased mobility because it required both the laptop and (of course) the tablet. I found there were just too many instances in which I wanted to capture something quickly...waiting for the laptop to bootup was just unacceptable. Also, I was frustrated with the writing/editing options within word and the options with adobe were even worse....I don't have any specific, illustrative examples to cite here--using the toolbars and stylus was just too great an inconvenience for me relative to a $3 notebook and mechanical pencil. Also, from a student's perspective, it was inconvenient to have everything stored electronically, with no physical copy for studying on the go.Thank goodness, I didn't abandon the quest for the ultimate notetaking tool. I returned the Bamboo Tablet and purchased the Livescribe Pen. It is a superb product and should be in the pocket of anyone preferring idea capture and storage in long-hand form. The reason I am now never without my livescribe is that the pen and paper feel no different than any other paper...the best technological advances give us efficiency improvements without requiring us to change our habits. This is one such advance.The pen references and tracks which notebook it's writing on and where it is on the page; when I upload, the digital notebooks are stored on my hard drive separately for easy browsing according to the (customize-able) subject of the notebook. What's more, if you wish, you can use the record feature and capture audio with good quality. For example, if I want to capture a professor's explanation of a math problem, I just press record and begin writing. Later, I can return to the problem in my notebook and simply press the spot on the paper with the pen and and the pen will playback the professor's words in sync with the presentation. I don't use this feature very often mostly because my professor's lectures are hard enough to endure live...one undersold capability though is the ability to produce your own pencasts. (See below.)It is gloriously portable...the only thing I carry are the notebooks and the pen, which is only slightly larger than a Mont Blanc pen. No more worries about sitting within cord length of an electrical receptacle...the LiveScribe has allowed me to shed the laptop in lectures and meetings completely. Once/if I return to my laptop after a day's classes or meetings, I simply plug the pen into a USB port via the included cord and the software pulls the notes (organized automatically by notebook) into a homepage for viewing. From there, you can print your notes to pdf, email or whatever. My favorite use for the LiveScribe pen is the ability to produce a pencast...this is incredible! I simply write and record my real-time narration in the notebook; once finished, in about 60 seconds, I can upload my pencast to livescribe online and publish it. If you choose to make the pencast public, you simply select that option from the website, then copy and paste the link for the pencast into emails to friends or associates for viewing at their convenience. Where has this pen been all my life?Things they could improve: 1) as others have said, the cap for the pen could be easily lost; 2) they may have this already, but it would be great to have livescribe personal organizers along the lines of DayRunner; 3) it would also be great to have a product the size of the pocket Moleskin; 4) on several pencasts, I have paused the recording to gather my thoughts and forgotten to resume recording...it would be nice if the pen had a pencast mode that would autoprompt you to record when the pen is back in motion. 5) there is a 3rd party that offers writing-recognition software for the LiveScribe...it's only average...improve that. (Although, an incredibly useful feature of the livescribe software is the ability to search handwritten notes...I write codes in the margins of my notes such as "review"...later, I can use the software to search for, then print only those pages I made a point to review.)I run Windows Vista and have had no problems with the software about which others have complained. To the contrary, for the first time in a long time, I have found the manufacturer's software adds true value to the product...Sorry for the length of this review...I first purchased the other products mentioned in the review in part because I didn't see a complete review from someone on the usefulness of the livescribe pen relative to other electronic notetaking options. I took the time to write this review in the hopes that the thorough description of my experiences may save you some time and money in your purchase decision. Good Luck!

LED display stopped working after a while making it difficult to use.The software has huge problems - in particular, one cannot edit the sound track (e.g. to delete confidential elements, or eliminate silence). Also, One cannot remove the lines that show up in the pdf files - and the lines in the pdf are not exactly where the lines were on the page. The company is totally irresponsive to complaints about these issues that have been raised for many years. I bought the device to create 'explained solutions' for my students. I have now moved to doing a screen capture of solutions written on an iPad. You do not need a frame rate of more than 2 fps, and compression works well - because almost nothing is changing from frame to frame. The final file size is ermined primarily by the audio sound track - and so there is little difference between an mp4 and the pencast (annotated pdf) created with Livescribe.

PROS: As a reporter and writer, this pen is mature enough to be reliable in the field, as well as in a conference.The old way of note taking was to have a recorder held underneath my pad as I wrote. Trying to get quotes and facts accurate was a long and tedious process afterwards. Having to listen to the takes and playing sections over and over again made writing stories from my knows created more work for me.With this pen, I can record the interview, and write notes at the same time. If I come up with a fact or a quote that I want to use in my story, I do not need to search possibly 10 pages of notes in my pad. I use a symbol either during or at the end, then I can just tap on that part of my notebook and play the actual quote, or get the facts right. I did my job quicker.Also, with the software included, and the optional MyScript software, I can download my notes, send them to my editor with the audio, and MyScript is an OCR program that creates a text file of my notes.Yes, I do have to correct some of the mistakes the OCR makes, but it is a time saver over listening to the whole tape and typing my notes manually. I can save four hours there alone.The paper is of great quality, thick and durable, and once I have downloaded my pages into the provided software, the micro-tearing allows me to rip the page out and file my notes.The computer software creates a 100-percent duplicate of the page I wrote. As a reporter, my notes from stories jumps to different pages. The software allows me to create custom notebooks where I can categorize my notes by story, not matter where they appear on my pad.CONS: The pen is fatter than a regular pens, even though new pens coming out on the market have larger grips. My first interview I did was an hour long, and I had cramps. But the more I used the pen, my hand and fingers got accustomed to it.The ink cartridges hold a lot less ink, yet my current A5 notebook I have written 35 pages, plus the many pages in the reporter's note pad without any issues.RECOMMENDATIONS: Even though you can buy a binder for the A5-sized pads, I would recommend buying one of the carrying cases to protect your pen, and to be able to clip it inside your shirt pocket. Also, since I do work on multiple projects, I wished I ordered the 3-subject notebooks. They can come in real handy. Also, buy the charger that plugs into the wall. Otherwise, the only way to charge this pen it by connecting it to your USB on your computer.I would recommend this pen to anyone who is a reporter or writer who does interviews, or talks while taking notes. It is also great to record classes and lectures, while writing the highlights to retrieve the more important recorded data later. The 4GB is more than enough to hold thousands of pages.