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Take better notes with the Echo Smartpen

Many mobile apps and desktop programs have offered intriguing note-taking capabilities, but the truth is: nothing beats handwritten notes. Typing might be more efficient, but even experts will tell you that writing by hand allows you to learn better, retain more information, and stimulates your brain.

For these reasons, subconsciously or not, many students and professionals still choose analog notes over the speed of a keyboard and searchable, typed words.

But if you're a handwriting romantic who embraces technology, you don't have to choose between the conveniences of technology and the comfort of the pen. Meet the Echo Smartpen … Read more

Crave giveaway: Livescribe Echo smartpen

First, congrats to Arnav of Temple Terrace, F.L., for winning the Toshiba Camileo mini camcorder in last week's giveaway. Now, for this week's giveaway, we've got a special-edition Livescribe Echo smartpen with 8GB of built-in memory. What makes it special? Well, the folks at Livescribe have provided us with a translucent version that shows off the smartpen's innards. How sweet is that?

Here's what editor Donald Bell had to say about the standard black version of the Echo (read the full review here):

The Livescribe Echo is a ballpoint pen and voice recorder combination … Read more

Duo converts laptops and monitors into tablet PCs

As consumers hold their breath for the rumored Apple tablet, KCI Communications has an immediate and possibly better solution for those who can't wait to get touchy-feely with their screens.

The Duo turns monitors and laptops 17 inches or smaller into a tablet. A small device that acts as a "base station" clips onto the top of the monitor, continuously picking up the user's input with the Duo pen. Lee Jae-jun, head of research and development at KCI Communications, explains the technology: "The pen's coordinates are calculated by the amount of time it takes for the infrared and ultrasonic waves to be reflected from the base station."

The user can write or draw directly on the screen in eight different languages, marking up Web pages, documents, or PowerPoint presentations while using the pen to navigate through the desktop. One of the more remarkable features is that the Duo also converts into a ballpoint pen, letting the user take notes on traditional paper and watch them appear in the included NoteTaker software.

Earlier this year, we reviewed Canson's Papershow, a dedicated paper-to-screen device that's mostly aimed at professionals who want to conduct interactive PowerPoint presentations. A similar gadget is the LiveScribe Smartpen, which is geared toward students, linking audio to written text. But the Duo appears to be is the first device to capture ink and convert a plain monitor into a touch screen. … Read more