Livescribe has just released an additional smartpen to the UK market with built in Wifi and a direct connection with Evernote. So they now provide 2 options for turning everything we write and hear into digital records. Given that I am an enthusiastic user for my own productivity and managing my own competing priorities, I thought it might be useful to provide a quick overview of the Livescribe Wifi smartpen here. I will also post how I use it with Evernote later.

I have previously written back in September 2011 about how and why the Livescribe Echo smartpen replaced my MontbBlanc in business meetings.

The new Wifi smartpen feels the same size as the Echo, only marginally thicker than my Montblanc Meisterstück fountain pen and comfortable in the hand to use for extended note taking. It sports an attractive silver element in the barrel and I think it looks better than the Echo for that.

But lets get to the business end here.

Livescribe Wifi and Echo key difference 1

The clue to the key difference is in the name. The Livescribe Wifi has a built in wifi which simply syncs to your Evernote account. You can use your existing account or easily create a new one, following the instructions when you set-up the pen.

This means that your notes, pencasts and recordings are automatically synced to your Evernote account when your smartpen is in range of your secure wifi access points, whether they be via your phone, your office or home wifi access point. And they are immediately available to you on all your devices – phone, tablet, pad or laptop on the run.

The Livescribe Echo, on the other hand, stores all your notes, pencasts and sound recordings on-board. You then connect your Echo to your computer by USB cable and it transfers those notes and recordings to the Livescribe Desktop application. From there you can choose to keep your content on your computer or send it to cloud services like Evernote, Microsoft OneNote, Google Docs etc.

By default the Livescribe wifi will create an Evernote Stack in your personal account. Your Livescribe notebooks are filed under this stack. You can then move your data into other Notebooks within your account if that is your filing preference.

Livescribe Wifi and Echo key difference 2

The second key difference is, we are told, only temporary.

With the Livescribe Echo you can buy a Myscript for Livescribe licence from VisionObjects which transcribes your handwriting to text. Great for turning your handwritten notes into documents or emails. I have found this very useful, especially when I exercise a little more care over my handwriting (which – in itself – is very satisfying!)

For the time being this is not available for the Wifi smartpen. Livescribe say they are working with Vision Objects to provide a similar solution for the Wifi.

There are some other subtle differences between the two Livescribe offerings but these 2 will define which smartpen is best for you. As I’ve already pointed out, Livescribe is working on adding further functionality to the Wifi smartpen / Evernote solution. I’m excited and migrated from the Echo to Wifi Smartpen in October last year.

Feel free to get in touch by commenting here or emailing or phoning me with any comments or questions.

Until next time…

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