Dane-Elec Digital Pen

List Price: $109.99 Discount Price: $87.99

Features:

• WRITE with the pen, on any kind of paper (with the receiver on top of your page)
• DOWNLOAD your handwritten notes on your PC and view them on screen
• FIND keywords back on your handwritten notes
• CONVERT your handwritten notes in digital text, to use it on your standard word processing software applications
  
  The Zpen by Dane-Elec is a revolutionary device that brings note taking to a whole new level. Ideal for use in classrooms, meetings, at work, while traveling and on the go, the Zpen will change the way you write forever. The combination of the Zpen and its companion receiver lets you write on any kind of paper and download you're handwritten notes on your PC, Mac or Linux ma
• Write with the pen, on any kind of paper (with the receiver on top of your page)

Customer Reviews:

A Fantastic Digital Pen [Posted on 2008-03-13]
Not liking previous reviews of digital pens, I waited a long time before purchasing a digital pen. The ZPen is an amazing device really works! ZPen records your handwriting accurately--and even retains the formatting. Clip the receive to the top of a note pad, any kind of paper as large as A4 (portrait). Write or draw and then upload text and drawings to a PC monitor. Convert your handwriting to text (RTF) to use in Microsoft Word. The receiver unit (a 1 GB flash drive) can also be used to store text, music, pictures, and video. By registering the product you receive an additional software program to search your handwritten notes. Install 2 small batteries into the top of the pen, install the software on your PC, and you're ready to write. Opening the package is initially bewildering because there are no directions. Directions, software, guides, and manuals are all stored on the flash drive. Plug in the USB receiver, install the software, and launch the note-taking program. Replace the ballpoint pen cartridge as needed. Pull out the old and insert the new one. No special brand of ballpoint is needed. ZPen's home is France, so technical support via telephone is impractical. The directions are easy enough, although the documentation could have been written better for English users, but I did not read any incomprehensible text. The receiver houses a battery that recharges when connected to a USB port on your PC with the short USB cable included. The ZPen is a winner.

Dane Electric Digital Pen [Posted on 2008-04-01]
I have been anticipating this product for about a year, so I was probably set up for the mild disappointment I experienced when it arrived. The early user review I read was almost certainly a plant since it pretty much was a rewording of the promotional materials preceding the product's release. For sure, the pen is pretty "cool" and quite a conversation piece, but there are a few drawbacks that are evident to me.

First, you have to hunt around for the electronic documentation since there are no printed instructions at all. That's not impossible, but somewhat annoying, especially when the documentation you do find is not all that clear. With a little time it can all be figured out, but it's certainly not plug and play out of the box. That brings us to the second issue, actually using it.

Very often the "recorder" doesn't start when the pen starts to move, so the resulting image (words or hand drawn graphics) has a lot of blank or missing parts. Slowing down a great deal helps a little, but still there are quite a few gaps. And slowing down to check the little light while taking notes during a presentation defeats the purpose of the thing anyway.

Finally, the resulting proprietary file which can only be exported through the cumbersome pdf format rather than the easily and widely used jpg format is very inconvenient. And the character recognition is actually sort of humorous in its inaccuracies. I suppose if I took the time to carefully print each number and letter the accuracy would improve, but again, that's not notetaking as it is usually performed.

I guess it's amazing that the thing works at all, but it's still just a little disappointing. I'll hang on to it because it's fun to have and show people, but it's probably easier just to scan the notes.

Z Pen [Posted on 2008-07-15]
The pen works as advertised. Right out of the box, I got it to recognize a simple sentence. It seems to have trouble when I write less neatly. You can't go back and fix up an error, it gets confused.

The product is not going to win any awards for text conversion, but for those of us who misplace our notes, it serves a need. Both Dane-Elec and the people who make MyScript Notes are helpful. When I asked, Vision Objects gave me a free upgrade to their MyScript software. Dane-Elec sent me a link to upgrade PenInkViewer. Their Note Search software is still in beta and I won't pass judgment at this time. - In all I am happy, but if you use a scanner religiously, it might work better for you.

It works for me! [Posted on 2008-07-17]
In researching this pen I came across a couple of unfavorable reviews, which almost convinced me not to buy it. I am glad I went through with the purchase. It works as advertised, and I find the text recognition of the included MyScript software to be good. That said, expect to take some time to figure out how it works, and adapt your writing style to meet its limitations. For instance you can't cross out or erase mistakes. Instead you just ignore them and go on writing what you meant to say -- and then you clean it up on the import.

The pen itself feels a little delicate -- I don't plan to drop it on the floor too many times -- but the receiver unit has a good substantial clip unit. Overall this produce is a winner!

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