Livescribe reveals it has a Pulse

It may not be quite as rapid as the company had hoped, but Livescribe is ready to show the world its Pulse.

The digital pen company showed off a prototype of its technology at last year's D: All Things Digital conference, but missed its goal of shipping by year's end.

And although Livescribe is unveiling more details on the product at the Demo trade show in Palm Springs on Monday, it won't actually be shipping the product until March.

But a demo last week from CEO Jim Marggraff shows that the pen has a lot of interesting uses for those who take a lot of handwritten notes, particularly folks like college students and, yes, reporters.

Unlike other digital pens that share the same core technology from Sweden's Anoto, the Pulse is a computer in its own right, capable of recording audio and synchronizing the recording with handwritten notes. Those notes can be then played back from the notebook, with the sound linked to the corresponding notes. Recordings can be played at normal speed, as well as slowed down or sped up. The pen requires what's known as "dot paper," standard paper printed with tiny dots that help the pen understand its position on the page.

The company has also come up with a neat way for people to record audio in noisy places. In such locales, our brain uses the differences between what comes in our left and right ears to help filter the sound we want to hear from all the other noises coming into our head.

The company has a set of earbuds that record sound. As a result, the recorded sound can be processed in much the same way.

Like LeapFrog's Fly Fusion, the Livescribe pen can also perform tasks such as language translation and act as a calculator. Marggraff was at LeapFrog before leaving to start his own digital pen company.

Video: Pulse
smart pen
Livescribe aims
to rewrite
computing history.

As for the pen, it's using an ARM-9 processor and comes with either 1GB or 2GB of memory, enough to store 100 or 200 hours of audio, Marggraff said. The high-end version sells for $199, while the one with less memory carries a $149 price tag.

The pen initially can be synchronized only with Windows PCs (XP and Vista), though the company plans Mac support for the second half of the year and promises some interesting developments once it does have Apple compatibility.

Livescribe has also offered up a few other interesting details. In addition to selling notebooks for less than $5 apiece, the company plans in April to start letting Pulse owners print their own dot paper from laser (and some inkjet) printers. Livescribe also has its own Web site where Pulse owners will be able to share their notes and recordings with friends, as well as an application to share them on Facebook.

The start-up also is trying to make its pen an open platform, allowing developers to write their own programs for the Pulse using a development kit based on Java and Eclipse.

Despite its many new abilities, it remains to be seen whether this pen is indeed mightier. Livescribe faces a significant, though not necessarily insurmountable, challenge of trying to create a mass market success where others have found niche success at best.

[eBob1]

Forget the OLPC

If these people are selling notebooks for $5, there really is no need for the overpriced OLPC project. These people are geniuses.

[salacious-d]

Read again

Paper with dots printed on them will not replace the OLPC. The $5 notebooks are just that - notebooks. No electronics in cellulose.

[smartpen]

Hey, if you're still interested in buying this pen, you can go to their website - livescribe.com/store to order it, and if you use the code: SCRIBE5A20, then you'll get a 5% discount!

[cyn1c]

This is an awesome product

I want one. I am one to take a lot of written notes when reviewing designs or meeting with people. I then end up scanning in my handwrit document to store digitally as I don't feel like typing it all in.

This would be great for me.

I also love the calculator feature.

[smartpen]

Hey, I don't know if you've already bought one, but in case you haven't just yet, you can go to livescribe's website to purchase one, and if you use the code: SCRIBE5A20, you'll get a 5% discount!

[tremorfireheart]

A new tech for artists?

I'm a computer programmmer and network by trade but one of my major hobbies is drawing and going to conventions. I'm even becoming a convention artist. there are a number of us who draw things out on the ol sketch pads and then have to go and copy things into the computer to share with the world. This can sometimes be troublesome and the equipment bulky besides. A tablet can be rather expensive and is also bulky, this might be another alternative for us and also have the additional alternate uses as well. this can include the forementioned notetaking during panel discussions and or digital signatures for reciepts. though the exact extents of what it can be used for is unknown till the recieving end of the program is seen. I wonder if they will make it possible for some people to write custom apps for this device?
one question though does it actually expend ink unto the page and what the refill abilities are there if any?

[e-mail]
yesterday's gone , tomorrow never comes, the only time to achieve anything is now.

[smartpen]

yes, the pen writes out in ink like any other pen would, and if you buy the pen, it comes with two black refills. they have refills available for separate purchase as well. if you haven't bought the pen yet and are still thinking about it, if you decide to get it you can go to livescribe.com/store and use the code: SCRIBE5A20 to get a 5% discount!

[shirschy]

EPOS rocks

The EPOS pen is more compact and can work on ANY type of paper. Why carry around a bulky pen and have to use "special paper" with it?

[speedknitter]

Different application than EPOS

Because with Pulse you don't need to be near a computer. I can carry a small journal notebook and have it with me anywhere. EPOS does not record audio and link it to your writing or drawings either. I think that is the real killer app of the Pulse.

[neilparikh]

Hey everyone--if you're looking to buy a smartpen, here's a discount code for $5 off online: 'SCRIBEA530' at www.livescribe.com

Now get pencasting!
_________________________________
I'm a campus representative for Livescribe and so I just got my hands on a Pulse Smartpen recently! I have to say I was always a bit of a skeptic as I've seen lots of products that claim to record written notes (or) audio from lectures/meetings but never both.

My first and ongoing experiences with this product have been nothing short of amazing! Speaking from my personal experience, it records audio with excellent quality (with either the two built-in microphones or the included 3D recording headset) and syncs it perfectly with the notes you wrote at that moment. You can even set it to go back in the audio a bit every time you click to account for the fact that many people take some time to digest information before writing things down.

The notebooks are of very high quality and the journals are pretty similar to Molskines.

Soon, you'll be able to print out your own dot paper and that will open up countless new opportunities.

Later this year, 3rd party applications will become available as more developers release the apps for things like translation, OCR, etc.

[rxsilas33]

I?ve read your blog post of the Pulse smartpen and wanted to share some new commercial and demo videos that we just uploaded to the Livescribe YouTube channel: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/nevermissaword">http://www.youtube.com/user/nevermissaword</a>

Thanks, and enjoy the videos!