Thursday, May 31, 2007

The Next Generation of Smart Pens



Check this out! (This link was sent from an AT listserve that I belong to.)

LiveScribe is a product in development that takes paper-based computing to new levels. It's not a free product but looks like it has incredible potential for students who struggle with note-taking, organization and/or memory issues. Here's the company's description of one of their products:

Never miss a word – One of the key applications at launch for the Livescribe platform is called “Paper Replay,” which allows total recall from lectures, meetings or conversations by simply tapping on your notes. When used to take notes during a discussion or lecture, the smartpen records the conversation and digitizes the handwriting, automatically synchronizing the ink and audio. By later tapping the ink, the user can replay the conversation from the exact moment the note was written. Notes and audio can also be uploaded to a PC where they can be replayed, saved, searched or sent.

Create, share, and collaborate – Other applications will use the power of the Internet to enable personal expression. Handwritten messages can be sent as emails. Animated, hand-drawn “movies” can be posted and shared online. Spoken messages can be recorded, linked with written notes and emailed directly from a notepad.

Watch the company video here. Does it look cool or what? And seems reasonably priced for under $200.

They have a few other products in development that you can check out. The website says it will be available in the fourth quarter. I can't wait to get my hands on it to test for some of the students with whom I work.

3 comments:

Carolyn Foote said...

Wow. That sounds really helpful!

We have a couple of the Logitech digital pens that record the writing and can upload your text as an image or as a Word document, but this really takes it to the next level.

I can see where this would be very helpful to students who need the auditory component.

Thanks for sharing! And thanks for the nice "tap" on the shoulder in your post on weekend blog reading also!

Karen said...

Hi there,

I’ve read your coverage of the Livescribe smartpen and platform and wanted to share with you some exciting things that are going on at Livescribe.

Now you can get free shipping if you pre-order a smartpen before 12/31/07 on www.livescribe.com. Or, you can try your luck at winning one in our online giveaway on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5722312363

We just started a company blog (http://www.livescribe.com/blog/) that we’ll be updating regularly as we ramp up for our launch on 1/28.

We also recently launched a campaign that addresses the pain point of “missing a word” and we hope you enjoy it (as much as we did making it)!

http://nevermissaword.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8SvLUHc7-s

Thanks and enjoy - there’ll be more to come!

Karen

Karen Lee
Marketing Manager
Livescribe, Inc.
www.livescribe.com

Unknown said...

Hi again,

I’ve read your past coverage of the Livescribe smartpen and platform and wanted to share with you some exciting things that are going on at Livescribe.

We just added 3 smartpen movies on our website (http://www.livescribe.com/smartpen/index.html) and will be adding more as we ramp up for our launch at DEMO on 1/28.

We also created a video that shows Livescribe’s commitment and dedication to solving the growing problem of “Restless Mind Syndrome”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX5z4w4A5HA

Hope you enjoy and feel free to pass along to others.

Karen