Anyone Use A Livescribe Pen For College?

[Tydog07]

I keep seeing this Livescribe pens and now they are offering one for $100 plus a evernote premium subscription. I was thinking that I should consider getting one because I plan to use evernote in college. Any ideas about getting one of these?

http://www.livescribe.com/store/20070723002/2gb-echo-smartpen-starter-pack/p-533.htm


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Livescr...908272&skuId=2390579&st=live scribe&cp=1&lp=1

 

[dftheorist]

Yes, love it

I have one of the older 4GB Pulse models that I have been using for a couple of years. I love it. The ability to immediately hear what was being said at the moment I wrote something down greatly enhances study efficiency. The only complaint I have about mine is that the battery doesn't last more than a couple of days while turned off. So when I am using it regularly, I generally need to charge mine every day. Also, pick up some extra ink cartridges (~$5). Nothing worse than to run out of ink during the middle of class.

 

[Tydog07]

I have one of the older 4GB Pulse models that I have been using for a couple of years. I love it. The ability to immediately hear what was being said at the moment I wrote something down greatly enhances study efficiency. The only complaint I have about mine is that the battery doesn't last more than a couple of days while turned off. So when I am using it regularly, I generally need to charge mine every day. Also, pick up some extra ink cartridges (~$5). Nothing worse than to run out of ink during the middle of class.

So how do I use this? Do you write on the paper and it will show up on Evernote? What kind of integration does it use and what value does it have to repeat what is being said, does it work in a lecture hall then? I'll try to find a youtube video of its use being demonstrated.

 

[dftheorist]

So how do I use this? Do you write on the paper and it will show up on Evernote? What kind of integration does it use and what value does it have to repeat what is being said, does it work in a lecture hall then? I'll try to find a youtube video of its use being demonstrated.

This is livescribe's youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/nevermissaword
Should tell you most of what you want to know. You write on special paper (journals and notebooks are reasonably priced) and the pen has an infrared camera in the end that recognizes which notebook and page you are writing on automatically. The only button on the pen is the power button so you control functions by either drawing/writing special commands or using icons printed on the paper. As an example, I keep one journal notebook for each class. When I enter the class, I turn the pen on. When lecture starts, I touch the record icon at the bottom of the page with the tip of the pen to begin recording audio with the built-in microphone. (The microphone performs very well in the medium sized lecture halls I have used it in. Audio is clear.) As I take notes, the pen is storing an exact copy of what I write along with the audio. At the end of class, I tap the stop record icon and stick the pen in my bag. Once back at my computer, I connect with USB and the transfer begins automatically. You can use the livescribe software to view and listen to lecture or, if you leave the data on the pen, you can simply tap the text in your notebook and audio begins playing back through the pen's speaker. The killer feature is that the audio is linked to what you were writing at that moment.

As for Evernote integration, you have a couple of ways to do it. You can select the pages you want to store in evernote using the livescribe software and choose to send them to evernote as a plain notes only pdf or png, or you can send them as a combo audio/notes pdf. While in the evernote client you can open the note using adobe reader to listen to audio while you look at your notes. The other method is to draw a quick right then left line (creating a double line), then pen asks what command and you write evernote above the line. It asks you which pages to send and you go tap each page you want to go to evernote. They will transfer to evernote as soon as you connect your pen to your computer.