IOGEAR Mobile Scribe Digital Pen with Flash Memory GPEN300 (black) Review

IOGEAR Mobile Scribe Digital Pen with Flash Memory GPEN300 (black)
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Thank goodness for Amazon.com's easy return policy! The first GPEN300 I got wouldn't charge. The manual says that before you use it plug it into a USB port and charge it for 6 hours. Then it says to make sure the light is blinking the whole time while it's charging. But it doesn't say what to do if the light doesn't blink. I got no blink no matter what I did (plugging into various computers, even my nook charger, pushing the reset). Nothing. It did have enough power to run for a few minutes and when it was plugged in, and then it worked great -- but obviously it was defective so back it went.
The replacement GPEN charged fine, but everything I wrote with it was scrambled. Mostly shifted to the right and up, but randomly too. So some lines were OK, others not. Lines in drawings would leap around and end up looking Picasso. I tried holding the pen differently, sitting in different spots around the house and office, made sure my writing surface was flat and stable, and on and on. (I'm a former QC techie and I've worked with and on some fairly high-tech laboratory equipment, so I know what to do.) So back it goes. I'll try one more, then move on.
IOGear support was OK. They gave me a ticket number and approved the first return over the phone no trouble. The second one I emailed them first to see if there was a way to calibrate the pen and they replied within a day. There isn't a way to calibrate the pen, but they suggested pulling the ink refill out and putting it back in. I did that, and found a ball of lint inside the pen and cleaned it out, but it didn't help.
Finally, I opened the receiver case and looked inside. What I found doesn't give me much hope for the next one. Long strings of hot melt glue or plastic all over, including obstructing the optics. Lint and fuzz all over inside, blue corrosion on the positive contact of the battery clip and hints of white dusty corrosion on some of the soldering. I cleaned it up as best I could and tried it again. No improvement.
I think they have manufacturing and quality control problems, and until they get them solved, they're going to have trouble.


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Livescribe 2 GB Pulse Smartpen Review

Livescribe 2 GB Pulse Smartpen
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This is an excellent pen in its own right - extremely reliable right up until the cartridge runs out of ink, but additionally adds a great deal of utility in terms of being able to do voice recordings and get what is essentially a movie of yourself writing while recording sound. The pen is tremendously under-marketed by Livescribe and (in my opinion) most people are not really made aware of its full potential. The only way to really get what it's capable of is to watch some of the video reviews on Youtube.
Features I would like to see on future pens include better battery monitoring (currently, the meter is a little inaccurate), ink level monitoring and a small, compact tool for removing spent ink cartridges. Also, it would be nice if I could charge the pen with something more common like micro USB rather than the proprietary dock.

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Capture Everything - The Pulse smartpen records audio and links it what you write. Missed something? Tap on your notes or drawings with the tip of your Pulse smartpen to hear what was said while you were writing.No Need to Lug the Laptop - The Pulse smartpen automatically captures everything as you write and draw. Transfer your notes to your computer, organize them, and even search for words within your notes. Find what you want in seconds.Share Your Notes - Transform your notes and audio into interactive movies. Upload your creations online for everyone to see, hear and play.What You Get• The Pulse smartpen (1.3 ounces, anodized aluminum housing)• 2 GB of memory (actual user available memory will be less)• Livescribe Desktop software (download)• 3-D Recording Headset• 50 sheet dot paper lined notebook• USB mobile charging cradle• Smartpen case• 1 black fine point ink cartridge• Interactive Getting Started Guide• Tips & Tricks GuideWhat You Need• Windows XP™ 32-bit SP2 or higher, Windows Vista™ 32 or 64-bit operating system, or Intel Mac with Mac OS X 10.5.5 or newer • 600MHz CPU or higher• 300 MB minimum free disk space• Available USB port• Internet connectionThe Pulse smartpen works only with Livescribe dot paper.

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