This pen is manner from heaven for anyone who attends meetings, takes notes etc. I purchased this 2 GB version for approx £150. it is now available on amazon for £127! The livescribe is a pen and dictaphone rolled into one with fantastic digital technology which makes it so much more.

What do you get in the package?

Apart from the pen itself you receive a livescribe notepad, ink refils, charging cradle and an instruction manual.

The Livescribe Pen:
The pen is graphite colured. It is the same lenth as a normal good quality pen. it is noticably thicker however. This increased girth allows the pen to contain it's 2GB memory, digital camera and LCD display. The 2GB memory holds numerous hours of recording and the digital camera which is situated next to the nib at the bottom of the pen records every mark taht the ink makes. The camera is intuitive in that it can be held over the control panel (present on every sheet of livescribe paper) to initiate functions and controls. For instance, if you would like to record what is being said whilst you are writing then you simply hold the pen over the record section of the panal for less than a second and the recirding function switches on. The pen will then record whilst you are writing. The pen is particularly clever in that when you are writing up minutes and you are not sure what your notes mean then simply hold your pen over the word and the pen will play back exactly what was being said at the time that the specific word was written. This crucially allows you to check that your notes are reprisentative of what was being said.

You can also download free software which, when the pen is docked, th pages taht are stored on the pen are converted into pages on your pc. You can then also convert the writing into typed text!

The pen comes with blue, red, green and black cartridges. These are easilly changed by pulling out one refil and slotting in another. this can be done whilst you are using the pen.

As well as the secreatarial type uses the pen acts as a calculator, both simple and scientific.

The LCD display shows the real time and enables you to run through the various settings that can be accessed by pressing one of 2 small buttons on the top of the pen. the settings include enabling the recording to be altered dependant upon the size of romm - small meeting room to lecture theatre.

There is also a mic jack at the top of the pen that enables you to connect an external microphone. I have to say that i have used the record function in a range of rooms and i have always recorded clearly what was being said.

The pen charges via a cradle that connect by USB to your pc. This is also how data is exchanged. 1 complete charge lasts for days.

There is a leather protective case that has a clear window enabling you to see the LCD screen thus ensuring that the pen is off when it is stored away.

Livescribe notepad:
This is a 150 sheet A4 pad. It is specialist paper. You cannot use the specialist features of the pen on any other paper. It has millions of microscopic dots which allow the pen to orientate itself as you write. The pad is ring bound and also comes with an introductory sheet of activities for you to work through the features of the pen. the notepads also have functions such as a calculator printed on them to allow the pen to be used as a calculator.

For once a gadget that is not only useful but is labour saving and innovative