Review: Livescribe Pulse Smartpen

I purchased the Livescribe Pulse Smartpen the other as a new toy to play with because I was curious about how well they work. The Smartpen cost $129.99 and does a fair number of things for its price.

As a graduate student, I can see this product coming in handy during my classes. The pen records audio while you write and links the sound to the writing. For example, if I am not able to write fast enough write everything down, I can just make some scribbles and fill them in later by listening to the audio the pen was hearing while I scribbled. This will help me to make sure that I do not miss anything during a lecture. This would also be useful during meetings.

I like that I can listen to what I have recorded by tapping on what I wrote down. The smartpen that I purchased holds 1GB which is about enough to remember 100 hours of audio. There is a camera inside the tip of the pen so that it can remember what is being written.

To use the smartpen, you simply tap record in your notebook and then begin writing. As you write, the pen will record everything it hears. When you are done, tap stop. Then, you can go back and listen again to anything you need to. The pen connects to your computer with a USB cable. This way, you can upload your notes into your computer just the way they were written. This would be great to use later when study or to share with a friend who may have missed class.

You may be wondering why I can't just take notes and use a tape recorder during class. When you use a tape recorder, you have to listen to the entire lecture over again because it is very hard to fast forward or rewind to the exact spot you need. The smartpen saves time because you can go directly to the place in your notes that you want to listen to and get that information immediately.

I was very pleased with how easy the setup for this product was. I simply installed the software on my computer and plugged the pen into the USB port and everything worked properly on the first try. I am very hopeful that this will save me time and help to improve my grades because I will not miss information during lectures.