Not as good as it could be. (Oxford Easybook A4)

Member Name: jenmck

Product:	Oxford Easybook A4
Date:	20/11/08 (133 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Saves you from all that typing

Disadvantages: See the review

Do you write a lot and then need to type them up? Well the Oxford Easybook Notepad and pen could be of help to you, but then again maybe not.

I recently got given one of these pens to trial at work, since I work in administration and do a lot of note taking and typing. I have mainly used this product for writing meeting notes and importing them into word.

So what do you get? The package I received included the A4 notebook, software and Logitech digital pen. Once you have loaded the software and charged the pen (via usb port) you are ready to go.

The basics:

Take notes as normal using the notebook and pen. The notebook has a specified layout in a table format, which you have to complete certain sections in order to identify your document type, language, date action. A column or smart margin as they call it on the right hand side is for actions, where you instruct the software to either import the purely handwritten notes, or transfer into word/excel/email or diagram.

Once you had finished writing plug you pen back into the pc, and it automatically uploads, recognising (if you have complete the actions column) where and how to store your notes.

The negatives:

Your handwriting needs to be pretty clear otherwise it has difficulty translating, and you might find you have some strange words in your notes.

You still have to provide some formatting around your notes, and you can't import into a template to make this easier.

You have to remember to put your action on the page; otherwise it will just load as a static picture of your notes which cannot be transferred into the required format. Nor can you reload your notes.

I have found that the ink in the pen runs out quite quickly (only 15 pages of notes), and even though the pen comes with 5 refills they don't last that long.

Overall I have been a little disappointed with this product. Yes it does save some time typing, but then you spend more time formatting and editing your document so I am not sure if this is worth it.

Summary: Disappointing.