“Don’t leave home without it” is a slogan long attributed to a particular credit card company. These days, however, the same axiom applies to all manner of technology. We are a truly a society laden with gadgets and gizmos. Quickly observe fellow passengers during any commute. You will see iPods and other digital media players, cell phones, PDAs, GPS devices, laptops and netbooks aplenty. We are always connected – if not to other people, then to our favorite books, movies, games and other forms of entertainment.
Students, business people, and homemakers – virtually anyone with a schedule to keep – make use of varying degrees of technology. We even give our children cell phones to ensure not only their safety but our ability to reach them at all times and for all reasons. It seems that everyone seeks to make the most of every hour in their day.
Attend any business meeting or audit a college or university class and, chances are, the room will be awash in laptop computers. In fact, in classes where professors prohibit computer use, there is generally a loud and sustained outcry. Students have come to expect and even demand the option of taking notes directly on their computer. There is no desire to transcribe – or even create – handwritten notes among a generation that has been raised on keyboards large and small.
There is a tool on the market that is both efficient and appealing to the student and business communities. It is a computerized pen or “pen computer.” One of the first on the market was FLY Fusion by LeapFrog. Perceived mainly as an educational toy for the preteen set, the FLY is an electronic pen that includes a voice. Using special dotted paper, the pen employs a scanner and character recognition. The user can draw a calculator on the paper, subsequently tap on the numbers, and the pen computer will perform the mathematical calculations. To access the pen’s menu system, the user simply writes an “M” on the paper, circles it and then taps. The FLY will then “speak” the available options like the calculator or a schedule, notepad, etc. With the addition of FLY’s available applications, it can be used to learn subjects like Algebra, French or Spanish, it offers translation programs or the possibility to improve one’s writing abilities. While designed for the young, adults also find some of its features useful and the chubby pen format very convenient to carry.
Expanding on the idea of the FLY, Livescribe has released its Pulse Smartpen. Also working with dotted paper (which can be printed for free on standard printer paper using the Livescribe Desktop), the Smartpen encompasses powerful audio capabilities. Example – a student can take notes during a lecture and record the lecture (or portions of it) via the Smartpen at the same time. Tapping a particular keyword within the notes will allow the student to listen to what was being said at that moment. The pen’s microphone and noise-cancelling software ensure that the captured audio is clear. A USB connector then allows all notes and audio to be transferred to the student’s computer where it can even be used with other applications, such as OneNote. Obviously, the same premise would apply to a business meeting, conference lectures and more.
This advance in portable technology makes the gathering and sharing of information – text and audio – a convenient reality. While still an emerging tool, developers are hard at work on new applications to further serve those who are already using digital pens and pen computers – and to appeal to those who are eagerly sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the time that they, too, will be able to hold this computing power as easily as any old ballpoint pen.
