Livescribe's app store was meant to increase the appeal of its Pulse digital pen, however a number of glitches have instead led to frustrations for many users.
(Credit: Livescribe)Digital pen maker Livescribe acknowledged on Friday that the launch of an app store for its digital pen has led to a host of problems for many users, including issues that interfere with its main note-taking feature.
The start-up launched a long-awaited app store last month, hoping to boost the appeal of its Pulse smart pen. The store included a range of applications from free games, to language translators, to specialized programs such as a Torah-chanting tutor.
However, since the store launched in beta form on November 19, customers have been experiencing issues ranging from difficulties downloading the applications to problems with the core "paper replay" feature, including challenges transferring recordings to the PC.
In an e-mail, Livescribe CEO Jim Marggraff apologized for the issues and said the company is working on fixes.
"With this new software, we inadvertently introduced some bugs that compromised our platform's performance," Marggraff said in a letter to customers.
Here's the full text of his e-mail:
On November 19th, we launched the beta (test) version of our Application Store to provide access to free and fee-based smartpen applications for Pulse users. The changes that enabled our Application Store included substantial advancements to our entire platform, including the smartpen, PC and Mac Livescribe Desktop software, and Web services.With this new software, we inadvertently introduced some bugs that compromised our platform's performance. I'm writing to sincerely apologize for these problems, and to provide an update on the progress we've made in addressing them.
While we have solved many of the major performance issues, we are still making improvements. Between now and Christmas, we will continue to deploy additional updates to improve occasional issues related to uploading larger-sized pencasts, downloading purchased applications, transferring audio from smartpens to the desktop, and installing new software.
We expect these enhancements to address most known issues and to substantially improve service.
Through this rollout, the support from our community to assist us in working through these issues has been critical and extremely helpful. Thank you for your guidance and patience. We're committed to your satisfaction, and to improving our communication as our global community continues to expand.
Please send any requests for assistance to our customer service team, reachable by phone (1-977-727-4239) or e-mail at cs@livescribe.com.
Happy Holidays,
Jim Marggraff, CEO
To get a sense of what the digital pen apps look like when things are working, here's a video I did last month.
With all the buzz over the tiny LCD screen on the bottom of Barnes & Noble's Nook, I was excited to get some time with the Entourage Edge, a device that pairs a large 9.7-inch E Ink screen with an even larger 10-inch LCD touch screen.
I got that chance on Monday, when the company stopped by CNET with a prototype of the product, which is set to ship in February for $490.
The goal of the Edge, the company says, is to offer a device that can replace the textbooks and notebooks carried around by typical high school students.
"We just thought here was a way to take technology and apply it to what they carry around," said Entourage Systems Vice President Doug Atkinson. "The initial goal was to put a 30-pound backpack in a device. I think we've achieved that."
There are a lot of features to like about the three-pound device, although, it definitely has the look and feel of a first-generation product.
The Edge's main selling point is, of course, the fact that it has two screens to do true work on. Unlike the Nook, which uses its color screen only for navigating the eBook and as an on-screen keyboard, the Edge's LCD can be used to run a variety of Android applications or to browse the Web.
The electronic ink side, meanwhile, can be used not only for reading books, but also for taking notes, using a stylus.
One of the Edge's many neat tricks is letting you go back and forth between the two screens. ... Read more
It's sort of Hunter S. Thompson meets the Twitter generation.
Five employees of accessories maker Griffin Technology are driving cross-country from company headquarters in Tennessee to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which begins January 7.
Five workers from the iPod accessory maker will be making the 2,476 mile trek from Tennessee to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show in January in a restored 1972 Volkswagen van.
(Credit: Griffin Technology)Their mode of transportation for the 2,476-mile trip will be a 1972 Volkswagen Westfalia mini-bus that company workers have been restoring. The work has been led by chief mechanic Mark McGlon, whose day job is managing branding efforts for Griffin, which is known for its iPod and iPhone accessories. McGlon and four others from the company will head out in late December on their way to Sin City.
The Griffin-mobile is making scheduled stops on December 30 in New Orleans, December 31 in Austin, and January 2 in Phoenix, and is slated to be at the Grand Canyon on January ... Read more
The Livescribe app store, now in beta, allows users to download applications to their pen ranging from inexpensive games to a pricey--but handy--Bar Mitzvah tutor.
(Credit: Livescribe)It took a little bit longer than the company had hoped, but the Livescribe digital pen now has its own app store.
The store, which requires pen owners to upgrade their desktop software to the new version 2.0, offers a mixed bag of new applications that range from free programs to one that costs $99.
The programs, which all work without a computer, include games like video poker and hangman, along with utilities like a Spanish-English dictionary. The one that caught my eye the most was the priciest app--the $99 Magic Yad application, which works to help those studying for their bar or bat mitzvah.
The Magic Yad (which gets its name from the Hebrew term for the pointer used to keep one's place in the Torah) consists of Torah and haftarah portions printed on the special dot paper. When an aspiring Hebrew learner clicks on ... Read more
T-Mobile USA said late Monday that it is resuming sales of the Sidekick after pulling it off the shelves in the wake of last month's massive outage.
The wireless carrier said that the Sidekick 2008 will now sell for as low as $49 with a two-year contract, while the Sidekick LX 2009 will be priced at $149 with a two-year contract.
T-Mobile Sidekick LX
(Credit: CNET)"T-Mobile is pleased to announce that Sidekick sales have resumed," the carrier said in a statement.
The company is still dealing with the aftermath of the outage, which left customers without access to their data for weeks. Most customers have now been able to get much of their data back, although photos are being e-mailed to customers rather than being restored to the device.
Although sales have resumed, the question is whether the device will ever be able to regain the confidence of consumers.
It's also an issue for Microsoft, whose Danger service powers the Sidekick. The software maker on Tuesday is expected to announce another key ... Read more
Vitamin D, a start-up formed by three ex-Palm executives, is releasing a public beta of software that consumers can use to detect human motion in their security cameras and create rules on what to do when someone is spotted coming or going.
(Credit: Vitamin D)The great thing about security cameras is the fact that they let you record things without needing to have a human being physically there.
The downside is that, in most cases, it takes a human being to figure out whether there is anything interesting there. Sure, there is motion-sensing technology, but such systems are often fooled by animals, cars, or even by a tree rustling in the wind.
Three former Palm executives think they have some software that could help shake things up. Their company, Vitamin D, is releasing a public beta on Monday of software that can detect and isolate human motion, potentially allowing the growing number of surveillance cameras out there to be a whole lot more useful.
The software, which works on either PCs or Macs, puts ... Read more
NEW YORK--As nearly everyone already knows, Barnes & Noble is officially entering the e-reader business on Tuesday with the launch of the Nook, a $259 device with an e-ink display as well as a secondary color touch screen.
I'm on hand at the Chelsea Piers event to provide live coverage and share whatever surprises might be remaining.
4 p.m. EDT: The event hasn't started, but I can tell you all of the rumors and leaks are basically true. It looks like what you think, and you will be able to lend e-books to a friend who can read it on their Nook or other device compatible with Barnes and Noble's software.
Also, there are some high-fashion cases from Kate Spade New York and Jonathan Adler.
(Credit:
Barnes & Noble)
4:20 p.m. EDT: Things are about to get started.
4:23 p.m. EDT: Barnes & Noble CEO Steve Riggio kicks things off, noting company's entire management team and some of its directors are at the event.
4:25 p.m. EDT:... Read more
T-Mobile Sidekick LX
(Credit: CNET)Microsoft has begun the process of restoring data to Sidekick owners who have been without it since a massive outage began at the beginning of the month, the software giant said Tuesday.
In a statement, Microsoft said it has posted a tool to T-Mobile's Web site that allows Sidekick owners to restore their address book.
Although it initially feared that much data might be lost, Microsoft said last week that it expected to be able to recover most, if not all, of the information. However, the company also said that the process of bringing back the data will go beyond this week.
Here is the full statement:
The Danger/Microsoft team continues to work around the clock and has completed its latest round of rigorous tests. We are now ready to make the first phase of the content restoration process available to you, starting with personal contacts.This data restoration effort is only necessary for the minority of customers who lost data from their Sidekick devices.
Beginning today, log ... Read more
NEW YORK--Barnes & Noble's forthcoming electronic book reader will be called the Nook and sell for $259, according a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal, citing a forthcoming ad for the product, also says the device will feature the ability to lend electronic books to others as well as a widely reported dual-screen display that features an electronic ink display and a smaller color touch screen.
The bookseller is expected to unveil the device at an event here on Tuesday. Leaked photos of the device cropped up last week. Also, as I noted earlier on Monday, Barnes & Noble has received FCC approval to start selling an electronic book reader.
The field, long dominated by Amazon's Kindle, is quickly becoming more crowded. In addition to a new crop of devices from Sony, a host of others have either announced products or plans for products that combine an e-ink display and wireless connection.
Plastic Logic said on Monday that its larger-screen Que device will be out early next year, while start-up Spring Design announced ... Read more
Microsoft on Monday apologized for the length of time it is taking to restore missing data to T-Mobile Sidekicks. The company said it expects to begin restoring data this week, but added that bringing back all data will take longer than that.
T-Mobile Sidekick LX
(Credit: CNET)In a note on its Web site, Microsoft said that the reason for the delay is that the company wants to make sure that it doesn't risk messing up data as it restores information to users' phones.
"The Danger/Microsoft team is continuing to work around the clock on the data restoration proces," Microsoft said. "We apologize that this is taking so long, but we want to make sure we are doing everything possible to maintain the integrity of your data."
A significant number of Sidekick owners have been without their data since the beginning of the month, when Sidekick data service became interrupted amid a massive outage. At one point, Microsoft feared much of the data was lost, but the company said early last week that ... Read more
