Livescribe APX-00003 2GB EFIGS Pulse Smartpen

The OLED display has died on me and this seems to be a common feature. Customer support is worthless, as out of warranty repair needs don't get a reasonable answer. For a £140 product (or over more), this is quite unacceptable. Sometimes the pen also connects the end point of a word with the beginning of the next, turning the pdf of your notes into an illegible scribble. Yes it was a good idea and a fine gadget to fill 3 or 4 notebooks, but in view of the high fault rate / limited lifetime it does not meet the expectations created by their marketing. I strongly recommend not to buy.

Yes it isn't perfect and yes there are horror stories around. Mine works perfectly and is in very regular use. Wouldn't be without it. Shame the paper is so pricey!

I loved my LiveScribe. Until I had a recent firmware update supplied. This killed the display (and of many others according to LiveScribe's forum. The pen is out of warranty and LiveScribe has NO REPAIR FACILITIES. The only service provided was the 'tip' of buying a new one.

I bought this product just before starting my PhD, as, during my degree, I was always making notes and losing them in a pile of paper, only to scrabble around looking for them the next day. The idea of having all my notes accessible was great, and the added bonus of the dictation is great. The pen itself appears a bit chunky, but personally I prefer this in a pen, so find it very comfortable to write with. The screen is clear and bright, and navigating the pen's menus is also very easy, as each notebook comes with "buttons" in the inside covers, that provide quick access to options and settings buried in the menu. The dictation linking to text feature is also very good - I haven't made great use of this yet, but to have this in university would have been great - you can even set a delay so that the audio from five seconds or so ago is linked to what you are writing down now, which I imagine would be very helpful in lectures. Included with the pen is a notebook, a nice case (don't bother with the available leather cases, they aren't as nice), headphones and a spare nib. The only downside is the cost of the paper, and the lack of availability of supplies in the UK (in America, for instance, they are launching Livescribe post it notes). The software interface is easy to use, and you can easily save pages to a .pdf for emailing, which is very helpful. The resolution of this output is also very good. One thing with using a product like this regularly is getting into the habit of having to switch your pen on, which is obviously not a natural thing to do. I have often written a line and then realised the pen is not turned on, and then had to go over my writing again. You can set how long the pen takes before automatically switching off though, and with its long battery life, this isn't really a huge issue.

I saw someone with this pen and was instantly envious! So, after seeing an offer I bought this from amazon recently, and its good, the search works well and recognises my handwriting and it records well. Hopefully this will be the end of my constant scrawling on pads which I then lose, so as long as I dont lose my laptop these days will be long gone. Things which were annoying; a) have to download the software online, and b) in order to make it work I think I had to do about 3 firmware updates, one of which looked like it killed the pen. I would have preferred it just worked rather than having to wait around 30-45 minutes updating it.

This sounded like one of those gadgets that's too good to be true, like the Men From Uncle pen I was duped into buying 40 years ago, that was supposed to see through walls. In fact, it's everything I hoped it would be. I use it to record creative sessions with collaborators. Nothing is ever forgotten or lost. The notes transfer to the computer, along with the associated audio. No chance of losing valuable work with a clumsy coffee spill, or having the dog run off with it. It even makes a decent stab at transposing my appalling handwriting into editable text. I imagine it would be invaluable for students. Can't imagine how I lived without it. Oh, and it works with Macs. It does require special paper, but you can print your own if you have a laser printer.

Really disappointed to find that a recent upgrade caused a display failure and obviously now out of warranty. Should have read the blogs, but do expect this from a renown company like Livescribe. DB

This pen is great when it works, but I've found that at times I get a random scribble all over the page where the pen does not register that you have taken it off the page. This can make important notes useless, especially when you are using (the not-included) OCR software to convert it to text. I'm doubly annoyed that a useful upgrade has just been released for the pen, but as it is the cheaper of the two models, you have to pay for the upgrade. This is outrageous, given that I bought the pen less than two months ago. To make matters even worse, I gave in and paid for the upgrade only to discover that it would not download and that the company's customer support is next to useless as they send out 'copy and paste' email responses without actually addressing your problem. Overall, as a novelty this pen can be quite fun, but I would not recommend it to anyone who has to rely on their notes.

Bonjour, produit étonnant et fait ce qu'il prétend faire. Et il le fait très bien. Une autre façon de prendre des notes, en associant des dessins avec un exposé par exemple. Pourquoi pas des dessins heuristiques... Livescribe - APX-00004 - EFIGS Titanium Pulse - Smartpen - 4 Go (Import Royaume Uni) Belle invention.

Both pens I bought do not work, screen does not light up, parts unavailable and pens not able to be repaired.

Eigentlich mochte ich meinen Livescribe Pulse sehr gerne - bis nach knapp zwei Jahren das OLED Display begonnen hat immer dunkler zu werden. Mittlerweile ist es komplett erloschen - d.h. der Stift kann nur noch "blind" bedient werden (der Rest der Elektronik funktioniert nach wie vor - geschriebenes und gesprochenes wird noch immer aufgezeichnet und kann wie gehabt per USB vom Stift herunter geladen werden; auch das Laden des Akkus scheint nach wie vor zu funktionieren). Wer jetzt "Einzelfall" denkt, der sollte sich im englischen Livescribe Forum den Thread "21632063-Pen-Display-Faded" ansehen, dort haben sich über ein Jahr hinweg dutzende mit dem gleichen Problem gemeldet und die Standardantwort von Livescribe war, man solle einen neuen Stift kaufen... Entweder miserable Qualitätssicherung oder extrem dreister Fall von geplanter Obsoleszenz....

First of all, these pens are the best Smartpens made, and would still be the best, if they were still being made. The problem is these pens were last made in 2009, and contain parts have have a finite lifespan. The battery and the display are good for about 3 years from the date of manufacture. So if the pen was made in 2009, then by 2012 they are no longer any good. I bought two of these pens in 2009, and they both died in 2011. I bought a new one in preparation for a new job in 2019, and I received a brand new box with a pen undamaged since it was packaged in 2009, however it had a bad display. I was able to charge the battery, and the pen made noises when I tried to operate the setup menu, but with the display being dead, there was no configuration possible. The manufacturer tells me they stopped making these before I bought my first one, so there is no way it is possible these were made later. They have integrated batteries and are not intended to be repaired, The OLED display on my original pens grew dimmer in the two years I used them, and were the primary reason they were failing, but the batteries and display pens stored for 10 years are unlikely to have the same life as new.

It works great. I really love how you can playback the audio by clicking on a note you were writing while recording. I've never had it fail. It always picks up everything I write. I think this could be a really valuable tool for anyone in college. It's a little bit of a touchy item in a corporate setting because people don't usually want to be recorded. You don't have to record audio though. You can just start writing on your note pad and it will record what you write without audio. People complain about needing to purchase paper but it's not really that expensive. If you're really concerned about that, livescribe lets you download "dot paper" from their website that you can print on your home printer which works exactly like their pre-printed dot paper. I just bought one for my Father and I'm planning on getting at least 2 more as gifts for Christmas. I only have one gripe but it doesn't detract from my 5 star rating. I wish it came bundled with the software that turned your handwriting into type. You can purchase it for an additional $30 which isn't that bad, and some versions of this pen come with it bundled so shop around. Enjoy :)