The Livescribe Echo 2

What is a Livescribe smartpen?

At about the size and form factor of any regular pen, Livescribe smartpens digitally capture everything you write on Livescribe notebooks and store them in its memory. When the smartpens are connected with a supported companion device (mobile/ tablet/ desktops), they securely transfer the data to the Livescribe Apps on the device.

In addition to digitising handwritten notes, Livescribe smartpens also record audio and synchronise the recorded audio to what you write. Depending on the smartpen, audio recording and playback is either done on the pen itself or with the help of the Livescribe + App on a companion mobile device.

Echo 2 and Symphony

Capture what's important with an Echo 2 smartpen. Record everything you hear, say, and write, while adding your audio recordings to your notes. Quickly replay audio from your Echo 2 smartpen or mobile device with a simple tap on your handwritten notes. It's never been easier to take notes and stay organised.

The Echo 2 is purpose-built for capturing audio while taking notes, as it has a built-in microphone and stores around 200 hours of audio and thousands of pages of notes directly in the pen itself. Echo 2 is a self-contained ink and audio pen that permits users to capture everything that they hear and say while taking notes. The audio can be played back right on the pen and just the portion of audio associated with a specific handwritten note can be played on demand. Then when Echo 2 is connected to Bluetooth or USB, all captured notes and audio are seamlessly transferred to the free Livescribe + (Mobile/Desktop) application where notes and audio can be easily archived, organised, and shared with others.

You can also simply tap on a note the audio will start playing back on your Smartpen.

Can Livescribe smartpens be used on any paper?

No, Livescribe smartpens lose their ability to digitise handwritten notes and capture audio when used on regular paper. In order to enjoy true benefits of Livescribe smartpens, dot-pattern printed Livescribe notebooks (dot paper) are required.

What is dot paper or what is so special about Livescribe Notebooks?

Livescribe notebooks use regular paper printed with a unique pattern of tiny micro-dots. This tiny pattern of dots work a lot like a GPS system for the smartpen, called DPS (Dot Positioning System). It allows the smartpen to capture everything it writes or draws on dot paper.

The smartpen’s high‐speed infrared camera reads the dot‐pattern, which enables a wide range of digital functionalities and paper-based applications. Livescribe’s dot paper notebooks and paper‐based applications are provided by the company and at prices comparable to standard paper products.

Dot paper may also be printed on some certified home or business printers for free.

How does smartpen and the dot paper work?

The IR camera located at the tip of the smartpen takes a continuous series of photo-graphs of 6 x 6 dots, spaced 0.3mm apart, creating images of 1.8 x 1.8mm grids of 36 dots. The camera takes up to 72 snapshots per second, enough to capture and recreate handwriting. Each picture of these dots is decoded by the software in the smartpen to provide an (x,y) coordinate pair, telling the smartpen exactly where the pen is on any given page.

The smartpen’s location derived from the (x,y) coordinates, is interpreted by the smart-pen software, and mapped to an “application” in the smartpen. The camera does not see ink written by a user, nor does it see the artwork on the page. Rather, the smartpen tracks and remembers where ink is written, and knows the coordinates of items such as buttons.

What are the advantages of a Livescribe smartpen?

Students and professionals deal with information overload on a daily basis. Livescribe’s smartpens combine all four modes of communication — reading, writing, speaking and listening — in the simple, low cost, and convenient format of pen and paper.

Livescribe smartpens solve the burden of information overload in their ability to capture information and make it easily accessible and shareable. In the case of taking notes during a discussion or lecture, the smartpen records the conversation and digitises the handwriting, automatically syncing the ink and audio. By later tapping the ink, the smartpen replays the conversation from the exact moment the note was written.

Notes and audio can also be transferred wirelessly to a mobile or computer device where they can be replayed, saved, searched, shared, and synced automatically with popular cloud services so users never miss a word.