Not that writing things out by hand doesn’t have its weaknesses. Unless you have a scanner, you’re pretty limited as to where you can store your thoughts, and if you lose your notebook, that’s it – they’re gone. That kinda sucks, but it’s a sacrifice I’m more than willing to make for the sake of being at least a little old-fashioned. It’s also a sacrifice I won’t have to make any longer, thanks to a company called Equil. It’s developed the Smartpen 2; a writing device that’s capable of digitizing anything the user writes, without needing any special paper or hundred-dollar notebookx. Literally any old journal or piece of scrap will work just fine. On the surface, the Smartpen 2 works pretty much identically to a traditional ballpoint pen – with one small caveat. The device ships with a small receiver that attaches to whatever paper you’re using at the time; this receiver is capable of accurately locating and tracking the pen’s position on the page through a combination of ultrasound and infrared technology. Coupled with the Smartpen 2’s sensitive tip, the receiver allows the pen to actively record everything that’s written with it, translating each and every page you pump out into the digital realm. Awesome, right? Even better, the Smartpen 2 doesn’t use special ink – which means you aren’t going to have to sacrifice an arm and a leg to replace the cartridge when it runs out. Simply go to any store that sells ballpoint ink cartridges, and you’re good. Certainly beats having to deal with a printer, right? The Smartpen 2 will retail for $169.99 when it launches in October, but if you contribute to the Indiegogo campaign (which has already more than surpassed its initial goal), you can save $70. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to wrap things up here. I have a purchase to make.
Equil Smartpen 2 | Gallery
