Livescribe 4 GB Echo Smartpen

PROS: As a reporter and writer, this pen is mature enough to be reliable in the field, as well as in a conference. The old way of note taking was to have a recorder held underneath my pad as I wrote. Trying to get quotes and facts accurate was a long and tedious process afterwards. Having to listen to the takes and playing sections over and over again made writing stories from my knows created more work for me. With this pen, I can record the interview, and write notes at the same time. If I come up with a fact or a quote that I want to use in my story, I do not need to search possibly 10 pages of notes in my pad. I use a symbol either during or at the end, then I can just tap on that part of my notebook and play the actual quote, or get the facts right. I did my job quicker. Also, with the software included, and the optional MyScript software, I can download my notes, send them to my editor with the audio, and MyScript is an OCR program that creates a text file of my notes. Yes, I do have to correct some of the mistakes the OCR makes, but it is a time saver over listening to the whole tape and typing my notes manually. I can save four hours there alone. The paper is of great quality, thick and durable, and once I have downloaded my pages into the provided software, the micro-tearing allows me to rip the page out and file my notes. The computer software creates a 100-percent duplicate of the page I wrote. As a reporter, my notes from stories jumps to different pages. The software allows me to create custom notebooks where I can categorize my notes by story, not matter where they appear on my pad. CONS: The pen is fatter than a regular pens, even though new pens coming out on the market have larger grips. My first interview I did was an hour long, and I had cramps. But the more I used the pen, my hand and fingers got accustomed to it. The ink cartridges hold a lot less ink, yet my current A5 notebook I have written 35 pages, plus the many pages in the reporter's note pad without any issues. RECOMMENDATIONS: Even though you can buy a binder for the A5-sized pads, I would recommend buying one of the carrying cases to protect your pen, and to be able to clip it inside your shirt pocket. Also, since I do work on multiple projects, I wished I ordered the 3-subject notebooks. They can come in real handy. Also, buy the charger that plugs into the wall. Otherwise, the only way to charge this pen it by connecting it to your USB on your computer. I would recommend this pen to anyone who is a reporter or writer who does interviews, or talks while taking notes. It is also great to record classes and lectures, while writing the highlights to retrieve the more important recorded data later. The 4GB is more than enough to hold thousands of pages.

LED display stopped working after a while making it difficult to use. The software has huge problems - in particular, one cannot edit the sound track (e.g. to delete confidential elements, or eliminate silence). Also, One cannot remove the lines that show up in the pdf files - and the lines in the pdf are not exactly where the lines were on the page. The company is totally irresponsive to complaints about these issues that have been raised for many years. I bought the device to create 'explained solutions' for my students. I have now moved to doing a screen capture of solutions written on an iPad. You do not need a frame rate of more than 2 fps, and compression works well - because almost nothing is changing from frame to frame. The final file size is ermined primarily by the audio sound track - and so there is little difference between an mp4 and the pencast (annotated pdf) created with Livescribe.

I have the 4GB ECHO. I generally won't post a review on a product like this until I have used it for at least one year, and in this case, I waited longer than that. The pen works well to its stated function, at least for me. I use the pen now and then, and have recorded in the presence of hundreds of clients. The pen works well with my Livescribe desktop application on my PC. The PDF pencast application is a major plus, and I have used it many times to provide secure copies to clients. 4GB is more than most people need before a download. I recomend the 2GB product. What problems have I encountered? I have noticed the scratchiness in the recording reported by others. It usually isn't overwhelming of my voice, but might be for recording the voices of people around me. It has not been a limiting problem for me. It is my perception scratchiness is louder on the smaller notepads than for the notebooks. As reported by others, the display is dimming quite a bit. It is not gone yet, and it is initially brighter when I first turn on the pen. I am not sure how much longer the display will last. I am careful with the pen, and try to turn it off quickly after use to preserve the display. The cap that protects the writing point is easy to lose. Be careful with 3rd party pen refills. I have found them to be unpredictable in quality and lifetime. The refills from Livescribe work better, but are more pricey. When saving to a PDF Pencast file, the Save Dialog box does not necessarily rise to be the top window. After searching, I often find it as the bottom window. This programming glitch needs to be addressed. I have encountered one super major problem. I often have to record many clients, simultaneously, but on separate pages of the same notebook. I need to provide separate copies to clients for their page content. Unfortunately, the voice/page-content on one page can't be separated (as PDF pencasts) from the voice/page-content on another page unless one turns off recording for one page before starting for another. This is tedious to do when having to jump back and forth between different conversations. Livescribe desktop needs to be modified to fully isolate the content of one page from another (when making PDF Pencasts for each page), if needed, regardless of whether they were recorded in the same continuous session. It is probably easy to program this, and I think Livescribe should undertake the task. It will improve the utility of their product. Now my commentary about Livescribe: I haven't used the SKY product, but I have seen many complaints. I could not use the SKY product because it forces content to Evernote, and I would not be permitted to deposit information of clients on a 3rd party server. I was warned by other Livescribe users to avoid SKY for this reason. If they hadn't warned me, I might have purchased the SKY. What troubles me is that I think many people who purchase the SKY are not well enough informed. I really think Livescribe needs to be more explicit in explaining the difference between the ECHO and SKY. Also, they need to state that the PDF pencast is not available for the SKY, and at the same time, explain that some people really value the PDF Pencast. I should also point out the ECHO has some useful dedicated applications available to it that are not available to the SKY. Even though Livescribe provides 500MB of free access to Evernote for the SKY, with more storage space being available as a cost based service, 500MB would be quickly filled by a moderate to heavy pen user. So, 500MB is really not enough for many (if not all) users; you likely would have to quickly start paying to store your information. I recommend that Livescribe provide PC desktop access to the SKY so that Evernote does not have to be used. Bottom line: My ECHO meets my needs. Purchasers of the SKY need to be wary of its limitations. Evernote might be fine for some people, but from the many confused and unhappy reviews, it is clear that many purchasers didn't know that they were getting locked into Evernote. Frankly, Livescribe would have likely gotten better reviews and had happier customers if they more clearly defined what their different products CANNOT do. I believe Livescribe has done themselves no favors by not enabling the SKY to directly store to the user's PC. It would have helped Livescribe (and its customers) immensely if the SKY could do everything the ECHO could do, AND, additionally, wifi connect to Evernote, as well as blue-tooth or wifi connect to one's PC. I would've purchased the SKY under that circumstance, and I would likely be regularly upgrading my pen with each advance of added flexibility. However, I can say that after my ECHO fails, I may not purchase another pen from Livescribe if I have to choose between functionalities and deliberate dysfunctionalities of the different products. It would be nice to have wifi (or blue-tooth), if it went directly to my PC laptop, and not to Evernote on a 3rd party computer. AMAZON is culpable with the confusion between the ECHO and SKY products by merging the reviews for all. I have suggested to Livescribe, in other comments, that they request that the ECHO and SKY reviews are separated, but that hasn't happened. My fundamental strategic recommendation to Livescribe is to ensure that each successive new innovative product is capable of doing everything that could be done by earlier products. This is the successful Apple model of development. This is what customers want to see. What they don't want are new products where features are disabled from products they have previously used. Am I wasting my effort with this recommendation? Maybe. It appears to me the company would rather coerce customers into a subscription service, rather than concentrate on innovation and improvement. So, 4 stars for my Livescribe ECHO pen. 1-2 stars for the Livescribe company. Overall, 2.5-3 stars. Read reviews carefully so you understand what you are getting. Update 10/1/2014 I just yesterday received an email from Livescribe indicating that they intend to replace the Adobe PDF Pencast file with their own "LIvescribe PDF" file. If I understand correctly, this file may not play the audio through the ADOBE Reader(?), but it will provide a separate MP4 file of the audio. If this is correct, then, unlike the ADOBE Reader enabled PDF Pencast, one presumes the audio of this MP4 might not play synchronized with the pen strokes of the ADOBE Reader, and the synchronized utility of the PDF Pencast will be lost? Again, not sure if I have interpreted this correctly. Perhaps Brian, the representative of Livescribe, who patrolls these reviews, can clarify if the ADOBE Reader PDF Pencast will effectively be lost for future versions of the ECHO? If the ADOBE Reader PDF Pencast is lost, then I will be compelled to abandon Livescribe after my ECHO fails. My clients rely on the synchronized audio/pen-strokes of the ADOBE Reader version of the PDF Pencast. Livescribe came out with the Pulse, and then an improvement, the ECHO, developing an ardently enthusiastic customer base. After that, they have been struggling with product developments that often don't meet the needs of their original Pulse/Echo customers. I realize they are trying to forge new market directions, and anticipate technology evolutions, but as one other reviewer pointed out, more often than not, they seem to be trying to lead their customers into accepting a product Livescribe wants to make, rather than have their customers lead them into manufacturing what the customers really need. Update 11/8/2014 The audio playback sometimes no longer activates when I touch the page where I have written/recorded. I sometimes have to jam the pen down multiple times, and can't necessarily always get the audio portion I am seeking. I presume the internal switch audio activation may have failed or is wearing out? Don't know. I can still download the entire content to my computer and still create pencast PDF files. The pen has become less reliable for me, and I am getting closer to stop using it entirely. I will not replace the pen when I stop using it. I always update my reviews if anything new comes up, and will do also for this review, if need be.

An absolutely brilliant device. I often take notes for the production of minutes in meetings that may be three hours long and involve a dozen people. Using the pen and the dedicated A4 notebooks means that a scribbled note can be easily expanded into a full-blown discourse by playing the entire meeting along in real time through the computer speakers as you type up the minutes (using the Livescribe Desktop software supplied). In the event of subsequent dispute you can quickly locate the section of the meeting concerned and play the entire discussion back. The microphone on the pen is surprisingly sensitive, clearly picking up speech from a distance suitable for all meetings although the quality of playback from the pen speaker is not brilliant (a decent set of desktop speakers gives very good reproduction). Can't imagine life without it now.

Ich nutze den LIvescribe-Stift nun seit etwas mehr als 2 Wochen und bin nur begeistert!! Ich arbeite im Therapie/Coaching-Bereich, das bedeutet es muss in den Sitzungen immer sehr viel mitgeschrieben werden. Zwar habe ich bislang die Sitzungen immer noch auf Video oder Audio aufgenommen, wenn man da allerdings "mal kurz" was nochmal nachhören möchte, ist das eben sehr zeitaufwändig, bis man tatsächlich die entsprechende Stelle im Interview wieder gefunden hat. Daher war bislang mein großes Problem, dass ich einfach immer viel zu viel mitgeschrieben habe und am Ende hat dann manchmal trotzdem etwas wichtiges gefehlt. Aber jetzt ist das anders! :-) Mit dem Livescribe kann ich es mir erlauben, bei den Interviews wirklich nur die Schlüsselsätze zu notieren und kann mich daher viel besser auf den Patienten konzentrieren. Wenn ich an irgendeiner Stelle etwas unklar notiert habe, dann kann ich ja später jederzeit schnell und unkompliziert nochmal nachhören: Stift per USB an Laptop anschließen, das Hochladen geschieht automatisch. Danach den Aufschrieb ansehen und an der interessierenden Stelle einfach anklicken, schon wird das Interview an diesem Punkt nochmal abgespielt. Echt genial! Das erhöht die Arbeitsqualität wirklich ungemein und ich möchte nicht mehr ohne den Stift arbeiten. Die Aufnahmequaltiät ist überraschend gut, ich hatte vorher schon einige Mikros probiert, die eine schlechtere Qualität hatten. Natürlich hört man den schreibenden Stift und ähnliche Nebengeräusche. Aber das ist in dem Fall ja egal, das was ich hören will (die Stimme des Patienten) kommt sehr deutlich und absolut verständlich rüber. Natürlich hat man Folgekosten, da man ja nur die Livescribe-Blöcke und -Stifte nutzen kann. Das der Stift selbst aber nicht so wahnsinnig teuer ist, finde ich kann man damit wirklich leben. Der Nutzen wiegt das allemal auf. Theoretisch kann man die handshriftlichen Notizen sogar über die Handschriftenerkennung der "MyScript"-Software (kostet ca.29,- EUR, in der 8GB-Verion mit enthalten) als Word-Dokument konvertieren lassen. Bei meiner Sauklaue funktioniert das allerdings nicht wirklich gut. Aber bei einer etwas ordentlicheren Handschrift funktioniert das bestimmt besser. Aber auch ohne die Handschriftenerkennung, für mich ist der Livescribe eine Riesen-Erleichterung. Auch in Vorlesungen, Seminaren, Weiterbildungen werde ich ihn künftig nutzen, anstatt auf dem Laptop mitzuschreiben. Denn: der Livescribe bringt einen wirklich dazu, nur die wichtigen Sachen aufzuschreiben. Man muss nicht krampfhaft versuchen jedes Wort mitzukriegen (ist ja alles aufgenommen), und das erhöht die Konzentration ungemein. Also: uneingeschränkte Kaufempfehlung! Nachtrag im Juli 2013: Ich nutze meinen Livescribe nun schon über ein Jahr und bin nach wie vor begeistert. Nun wollte ich mir die neueste (WiFi-)Version des Stiftes gönnen,diese wird aber morgen wieder zurückgeschickt, sie ist für mich nicht brauchbar. Gründe: - es wird NUR noch Evernote unterstützt, also keine Desktop-Software mehr. - auf meinem Tablet bekomme ich die Pencasts nicht zum Laufen, kann also nur Seiten lesen. - die Synch. dauert relativ lange. - Aber was mich am meisten stört: für jede beschriebene Seite wird eine extra evernote-Notiz angelegt. Da ich Therapiesitzungen dokumentiere sind das meist mehrere Seiten lange Berichte. Wenn da jetzt jede Seite als Extra-Notiz gespeichert wird, ist das für mich natürlich so nicht organisierbar und somit nicht brauchbar. Bin sehr enttäuscht, dass man eine so offenbar unausgegorene Version auf den Markt bringt. Bleibe also bei meinem alten, Nicht-Wifi-Echo und von dem bin ich nach wie vor begeistert. Da muss ich zwar jede Sitzung manuell ins Evernote hochladen. Dafür kann ich aber bestimmen, welche Seiten in einer Notiz zusammengefasst sind. Den "klassischen" Livescribe-Stift kann ich nach wie vor uneingeschränkt empfehlen. Ich hatte bislang keinen einzigen Aussetzer, verlorene Daten oder ähnliches. Ach ja: ich habe mir noch diese Mikrofon-Kopfhörer als Zubehör gekauft, die sind echt klasse, der Ton ist damit glasklar und ohne die störenden Schreibgeräusche.

A[près avoir comparé avec d'autres stylos numérique, je me suis arrêté sur ce modèle et je ne le regrette pas du tout. Le transfert vers PC: facile. La reconnaissance de caractères parfaite. Je conseille sans réserve.

Le top des stylos numériques, une fois essayé c'est adopté ! Mais si vous ne savez pas à quoi çà sert c'est surement pas pour vous...

Keeps going wrong. I contacted the supplier after it went wrong and they sent me some reset instructions. Which did not work. The pen lasted only the 100 pages of the first book and then it failed to work thereafter. The display screen does not work. With no way of getting support on this product and no interest from the company it the fault I'd recommend not buying this.