Livescribe 3 Smartpen Announced for iOS Devices with IR Camera, Content Recognition Capabilities

[MacRumors]

Paper-based computing company Livescribe has announced the Livescribe 3, the latest version of its popular Bluetooth smartpen for iOS devices. The smartpen includes an ARM 9 processor inside and a high speed infrared camera at the top, along with an on/off twist ring and a lithium ion battery that lasts up to 14 hours.

Elevate Your Writing
From the integrated stylus cap to the Swiss-made tungsten-carbide ballpoint ink cartridge, the Livescribe 3 smartpen is a statement of elegant design that delivers the experience of a premium writing instrument.

Putting The Smart in Smartpen
The streamlined design of the Livescribe 3 smartpen conceals an astonishing amount of technology. An infrared camera, ARM processor, Bluetooth Smart chipset, flash memory and lithium ion battery all work together to bring your notes to life on your tablet or smartphone.

Not Just Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart
Bluetooth Smart wireless technology allows your Livescribe 3 smartpen to quickly and easily pair to your tablet or smartphone. It also extends the battery life, giving you over 14 hours of continuous writing between charges.

The Livescribe 3 is also accompanied by the new Livescribe+ app [Direct Link], which works with the pen to recognize different types of handwriting on Livescribe paper, including tasks, reminders, contacts, and calendar events that can be shared to services such as Dropbox and iCloud, and imported into iOS apps such as Reminders and Maps. The app also includes a Find My Pen function which causes the device to emit a noise when prompted, a MyScript transcription option, and a view option named "the Feed" that groups relevant notes together.

The Livescribe 3 is avaliable in two versions, including a standard edition that comes with the pen, a starter notebook and a ballpoint ink cartrige for $149.95, and a Pro Edition that includes the pen, a bigger journal, a leather portfolio, two ballpoint ink cartriges and one year of Evernote Premium for $199.95. Both versions along with additional accessories for the smartpen are avaliable to purchase on Livescribe's official website.

Article Link: Livescribe 3 Smartpen Announced for iOS Devices with IR Camera, Content Recognition Capabilities

 

[MrSmith]

Can anyone still write by hand? My handwriting had regressed to pre-puberty levels. My typing speed has hit the roof, though.

 

[Bassic]

My handwriting is chicken scratch! Typing is no problem though, so I prefer that.

 

[Nevaborn]

So the make a new pen that still requires me to need paper and ink and just creates a digital copy. All well and good but I would rather a recision pen for the actual iDevice.

My handwriting is great but I would rather write on to my tablet than waste paper

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Can anyone still write by hand? My handwriting had regressed to pre-puberty levels. My typing speed has hit the roof, though.

I'm with ya there. The quality is fine but my hand gets sore as heck after just a 1/2 page of writing.

 

[MattG]

There are people at my office who still like to use these. To each their own I suppose. Personally I hate writing. Any handwritten notes I would take at work just end up in a pile on my desk, and eventually get lost. I just type all my meeting notes on my iPad in Evernote, and then I don't have to worry about it.

 

[Nortrab]

Think more about the possibilities with art... not so much with writing down your recipes

 

[Schtumple]

Think more about the possibilities with art... not so much with writing down your recipes

This was my thinking, seems like it could be a great competitor to Wacom tablets rather than an expensive digital pen.

 

[3282868]

I remember growing up and having to learn cursive handwriting. Now it's being cut from many educational programs.

Modern communication is about efficiency, yet there is an art to hand writing. While these are great devices with so much potential, it make me a bit sad.

There are people at my office who still like to use these. To each their own I suppose. Personally I hate writing

 

[iapplelove]

So the make a new pen that still requires me to need paper and ink and just creates a digital copy. All well and good but I would rather a recision pen for the actual iDevice.

My handwriting is great but I would rather write on to my tablet than waste paper

+1 for not wasting paper.

 

[bretm]

+1 for not wasting paper.

Paper/wood is the most easily renewed and recycled resource we have. I wouldn't worry about "wasting" it per se. It's not like coal, oil, or even natural gas. We can grow more.

 

[iMat77]

Good idea but...

Special paper = no deal.


At least for me.

 

[Menneisyys2]

Apple should at last release a Wacom-compatible tablet. Prolly the rumoured 12" Pro?

 

[iapplelove]

Paper/wood is the most easily renewed and recycled resource we have. I wouldn't worry about "wasting" it per se. It's not like coal, oil, or even natural gas. We can grow more.

Yes but why waste trees when we don't have to. The future brings other possibilities and alternatives to paper.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I am I the only one that lol'd at the name of the Find My Pens service?

 

[zosobao5150]

Been using their pens for at least 3 years. Great products to be able to sync audio with your notes. I do not like this product per se because it does not allow you to store all your notes on your desktop. The Echo model ($80) can do that, but does not have wireless connectivity.

To do a word search for anything on the last three years has its advantages.

 

[garylapointe]

Ir?

I read this multiple times as "for iOS Devices with IR Camera" as in, what kind of iOS devices have an IR camera and what does it have to do with this?!?

Gary

 

[GKThursday]

Yes but why waste trees when we don't have to. The future brings other possibilities and alternatives to paper.

Because if you don't use paper, there won't be trees. All the paper you use was made out of trees grown to be paper. The tree farmer has to feed his family, and if he can't sell the trees he is growing on his land, he'll sell his land to some developer who will cut down the trees and put in a shopping mall. There are more trees in North America now than there were 100 years ago.

 

[troy14]

I read this multiple times as "for iOS Devices with IR Camera" as in, what kind of iOS devices have an IR camera and what does it have to do with this?!?

Gary

The pen uses an IR camera to detect little special dots on the paper to determine where you are writing and what you are writing.

I use one (Echo) and I love it, but not without its faults. They keep introducing new pens with features a lot could care less about. Make the pen smaller already.

 

[MrSmith]

Because if you don't use paper, there won't be trees. All the paper you use was made out of trees grown to be paper. The tree farmer has to feed his family, and if he can't sell the trees he is growing on his land, he'll sell his land to some developer who will cut down the trees and put in a shopping mall. There are more trees in North America now than there were 100 years ago.

Interesting post, though probably not what the tree-huggers here want to hear.

 

[firewood]

Can anyone still write by hand?

Straight line text? No.

But math equations and technical diagrams, I can still do tons faster on paper or a whiteboard.

 

[xdhd350]

The tree farmer has to feed his family, and if he can't sell the trees he is growing on his land, he'll sell his land to some developer who will cut down the trees and put in a shopping mall.

I'm not sure there are any 'tree farmers' out there anymore. Most of the land used for forestation in the paper industry is owned by the large paper mills themselves. In fact, a lot of farming in the US is now done by large corporate entities. The days of the family farm are becoming as rare as a gold iPhone 5s.

 

[Nevaborn]

Interesting post, though probably not what the tree-huggers here want to hear.

Says more about you using a stupid term as tree hugger than someone who has the common sense to not cut down a tree for no good reason other than a farmer needs something to do.

Also the argument about more trees is misleading. It takes 20 years for a new tree to give the same benefits as a mature tree already in place.

However environmental reasons are only one point this tech is outdated. A said by others writing notes just get cluttered up in an in-tray. Only when a hardcopy is strictly needed would I have one and then id still rather to create directly to my device and print.

Also for art a paper copy may no transfer properly and mistakes or corrections or alterations are messy and can ruin work where as if direct to a device you can erase and alter easilly.

 

[wolfshades]

The last time I tried this device, there was no conversion capability between handwriting and typed text. Does anyone know if that's changed? Otherwise, between the lack of that feature and the necessity for paper, I doubt I'll bother. Most executives (the group I support) are interested in carrying less items, not more. They'll go so far as carrying a pen, but a laptop/tablet plus paper? Not going to happen.

 

[Digital Dude]

Heck, why even type when you can just use your voice for texting, web, and whatever?