AppleInsider Staff
Livescribe on Tuesday added a new model to its digital writing tool lineup in the Echo Smartpen 8GB Pro Edition, an all-in-one system for digitizing handwritten notes, synchronizing recorded audio and transferring it all to Mac for review and sharing.
Like other Livescribe products, Echo Pro uses an imaging sensor at the pen's tip to capture notes written on special microdot paper. A technology called "pencast" syncs these notes with audio recorded by a built-in microphone or included headset, allowing for intuitive playback after USB import.
For example, students can write down and record what their professor is saying in class, upload the resulting pencast file to Mac via the Echo Desktop app and jump to specific points in the lecture simply by tapping on their notes.
According to Livescribe, Echo Pro's 8GB of onboard memory is enough to store up to 800 hours of pencasts or more than 100,000 pages of notes. Pencasts can be shared as PDFs, with full support for visual/audio playback on iOS devices. Users also have the option of converting handwritten notes to digitized text with the included MyScript for Livescribe app.
The Echo Smartpen 8GB Pro Edition, which includes the Echo Desktop app, a 100-page notebook, recording headset, portfolio and other accessories, is available now for $199.95 through Livescribe's online store.
Oliver Haslam
Andrew O'Hara
Charles Martin
Wesley Hilliard
Marko Zivkovic
Malcolm Owen
Andrew Orr
4 Comments
Doesn't seem to work with iOS though.........
Then I'll wait for something better. I really need stylus based handwriting recognition for iPad. 'Son of Newton' please someone!
How is this any different than the 8GB "pro" echo smartpen than I bought over 3.5 years ago? Mine came bundled with all the same accessories and was the same exact price. How is this new??
When are they going make a fountain pen version? I'd love to use a "smart" pen to transcribe notes, etc, but I prefer a fountain pen to a ball point or rolling ball.