Pulse Smartpen
© 2008 Livescribe, Inc.
Note as of August 2010: this review is now dated. The 1 GB model has been discontinued. Please see the Echo. Ideal for augmenting an older student's note-taking abilities, the Pulse Smartpen (www.livescribe.com) is a lithium-ion, Java-powered recorder that is just a bit fatter than a Sharpie marker. The pen has a tiny camera in its tip that can detect a faint pattern of dots to give the pen its bearings. Without this special paper, you're left with an old fashioned, rather expensive (and fat) ballpoint pen. Here's a summary of the three biggest features: a) It can capture everything you write and "replay" it on a Windows or Macintosh computer screen, when synched with the included charging cradle. b) It can record large amounts of extremely clear stereo audio (up to 100 hours for the 1GB model and 200 hours for the 2 GB model), using innovative stereo headphones that double as stereo microphones -- one in each earbud. c) It can associate written notes with the sounds that are going on, at the exact instant the marks on the page were made. So you go back to a page of old notes that you made yesterday, touch the point of the pen on a sentence or sketch, and hear that exact point in the lecture. For a reporter doing an Interview, this feature alone could be the killer application, and it was this feature that made the biggest impression on high school kids I showed it to. Those who remember Leapfrog's FLY Pentop computer (later called the Fusion) will recognize the writing recognition features, where you write a word and hear it repeated back to you. The pen we tested did not have unlimited handwriting recognition, beyond the ability to say a collection of 20 words in Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic and Swedish. There were some notable empty icons for features in the works; a reminder that this pen represents a new platform, and you'll be able to download more software in the future. Currently, besides the note-taking and recording abilities, there's not much else it can do, besides the ability to tell time, draw a piano on any page, a calculator (just write the math equation and the pen does the math) and the language sampler. The pen uses the same Swedish-based Anoto dotted media technology as the Leapfrog FLY, and it also comes from the mind of the same inventor, Jim Marggraff, who's been championing pen-and-paper-based computing at LeapFrog, and later at Anoto. The Pulse will come in two varieties: the 1GB for $150 and 100 hours of recording time; and 2GB, with 200 hours recording time. The Pulse, with the hearty batteries, slimmer form factor and amazing audio recording will become a must-have item for back to school. Why? Because students who have one will have "bigger ears for listening" compared to the student without such a device. Just don't put it through the washing machine.
$150200, Windows XP, Mac OSX
Teaches: creativity, pen-based computing
CTR Rating: 92%