Livescribe pen comparison and reviews – is it good for student?

Who does need smartpen? Can Livescribe pen comparison help you? Smartpens record everything you write and hear so you’ll never miss a word. Replay your meetings or lectures simply by tapping on your notes. The free Echo Desktop application saves your notes and recordings to your computer for fast, easy access to what’s important. Search for words within your notes and find what you need fast. Easily send and share your notes and audio via email or a variety of other sites and services. Take the stress out of tests and meetings with an Echo smartpen from Livescribe (Livescribe smartpen comparison). Record everything you hear, say and write, while linking your audio recordings to your notes. Quickly replay audio from your Livescribe paper, a computer, or a mobile device – all with a simple tap on your handwritten notes. It’s never been easier to take notes and stay organized. Find a comparative view in our Livescribe pen comparison chart.

In the box

• 2GB Echo smartpen
• Starter Notebook (50 pages)
• Echo Desktop software for Mac or Windows (download)
• Echo Basics Guide
• Micro USB cable
• 2 ink cartridges
• 1 smartpen cap

Livescribe pen Technical comparison

Sync and transfer

Save, search and organize – Livescribe pen comparison

Record and playback pencast (Audio synced to handwriting) – Livescribe pen comparison

Send and share notes – Livescribe smartpen comparison

Third-party services (Separate purchase) – Livescribe smartpen comparison

What are the key differences – Livescribe smartpen comparison?

This is a simple summary of the differences:
• Pen design – The Echo smartpen has an OLED screen, microphone, and speaker on the pen so the top section of the pen is marginally thicker
• How Audio is Captured – The Echo models capture audio directly onto the pen whereas the Livescribe 3 models require the use of a companion device (smartphone or tablet)
• Where Content is Stored – Livescribe 3 smartpens store content on your companion device – it can be on-shared to cloud services like Evernote, or OneNote, or shared via email. Echo smartpens store content on a laptop or desktop computer.

Convert hand written notes into an editable format – Echo model

• The Echo model has an optional software program called MyScript for Livescribe. This program works inside Echo Desktop and allows you to convert one or many pages of notes into editable text.
• Livescribe 3 has a hand writing conversion built into the mobile app (Livescribe+) BUT in my experience the mobile version isn’t as good as the desktop version.

Short notes

Livescribe 3 is ideal for snippets of content – i.e. 1 or 2 paragraphs. The app allows you to swipe to convert text which can then be used in email, reminders, or sent to cloud services

Work or study

Content goes from pen and paper into Echo Desktop and you then have your notes or notes and audio locally on your primary work/study computer. You simply tap the pen on your notes and the pen will replay the audio that was recorded at that point in time. You can also replay audio via Echo Desktop

Capture notes and audio

The built in mic on the Echo means in class, all you need with you is pen and paper. Simply tap record and you are instantly taking notes and audio. Whilst you can record notes and audio with Livescribe3, you need to have your companion device with you, with the app open in order to start audio recording

Evernote or OneNote

Livescribe 3 allows you to connect the app to your cloud account and either manually or auto-send content from pen and paper into the cloud. I personally use Evernote a lot and if I’m taking short notes or working on a plane, I’ll use my Livescribe3 as I’ll often Bluetooth the content to my iPad and then into Evernote so that its then instantly available
wherever else I might be working.

Which one should you buy – Livescribe smartpen comparison?

Livescribe 3

To transfer handwritten text to editable (again EDITABLE, not a pdf (what were they thinking when they went with pdf?)) text with a Livescribe 3 pen, do this. Write in your notebook after you have paired the pen to your iPad or iPhone (and by the way if the bluetooth connection drops, it doesn’t matter. When you reestablish it all your info will transfer. You can even write far away from your iphone or ipad, and pair it hours later when you get home). Once your handwriting appears on your iPhone/iPad, swipe the block of handwriting left to right with your finger on your iPhone/iPad and it will transform into text. Now tap that text (to highlight it) and tap the little arrow that appears at the bottom of your screen (it’s an inverted “v”). This will bring up a menu, and one of the menu items is “edit.” Tap “edit” and now you can edit your text. While your text is in edit mode <(This is key; it has to be WHILE IN EDIT MODE), select all that text, copy it, and paste it into an email (just open your email on your phone; start a new email, top into the area where you’d write your email to get a cursor, then hold your finger down and you’ll get the option to paste). Once you’ve emailed it to yourself, open your email on your pc and copy and paste the text into Word. Alternatively, if you have Word on your iPhone or iPad (which is now possible) you can just open Word on your iPhone/iPad and paste it into Word that way.

Both methods are about equally convenient – that is to say, they are convenient but not as convenient as they could be if Livescribe was a little more on the ball. But they’re good enough. The handwriting recognition software is about the same quality with both pens.

FYI if you buy an Echo pen, make sure to factor in an extra $20. You will have to pay for the MyScript software later from your Livescribe Desktop. It’s a 3rd party product. With Livescribe 3 the transcription software is built in.

If you are really super geeky and just have to play the classic text adventure, Infocom’s “Zork” on your pen, buy the Echo. You will input your commands by writing with the pen, and read the text adventure on that tiny little Echo screen. It’s free for download in the store you can access from the Livescribe Desktop. FYI ONLY ECHO CAN RUN APPS. With Livescribe 3 the only software you get is what is built in. No third party apps. Not that there are many anyway.

Livescribe 3 brags about other features not present in the Echo pen. In fact it appears that this is where they put most of their efforts with this model. The ability to create appointments and have them appear on your calendar and so on. None of it interests me, so I haven’t really explored that.

I see no difference in quality of the actual pens. Livescribe 3 looks a little less geeky and more like a normal pen. Echo has that little tiny screen that might appeal to geeks. Livescribe has no screen. With Echo, you do need to be near your pc to upload your stuff to Livescribe desktop. But you can write with your pen out in the middle of nowhere, and then upload when you get home. With Livescribe 3 you can do the upload in real time as long as you have your iPhone with you. But you can also write out in the middle of nowhere and pair your pen to your iPhone/iPad via bluetooth when you get home. Overall it’s a draw.

I have tested the audio feature on the Echo, and it works fine. I haven’t tested it with Livescribe 3. I understand it needs to use your iPhone/iPad’s microphone and speaker, rather than having that built into the pen as with Echo.

Echo Pen

To transfer handwriting to editable text that you can incorporate into a larger document-in-progress on your computer, is easy. You write in a Livescribe notebook, then plug your pen into your computer. It automatically uploads to the Livescribe desktop, an amusing piece of software with an interface straight out of 1989. Apple won’t be making offers to anyone responsible for the look of Livescribe Desktop anytime soon.

Now you have an image of your handwriting on your computer. So go to the Livescribe store and buy MyScript. When installed it creates a button in your Livescribe desktop interface. If you highlight the page with your image of yoru notes, then click the MyScript button, your handwriting magically turns into editable (that’s the key word for me, editable) text, which you can put into Evernote or copy and paste into Microsft Word, whatever. A few steps, but simple, and it works.

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