By Andrew Liszewski
I’m still a pen and paper kind of guy when it comes to jotting down notes and such so I like the simplicity of this digital pen alternative from EPOS. It doesn’t require a special writing surface or even custom paper in order to work. All you have to do is clip the included USB flash drive to the top of your notebook (the old-school type) or pad of paper and start writing.
When you’re done just connect the flash drive to your PC and all of your notes and sketches will be automatically accessible as digital versions. From that point you can create PDFs, JPGs or even automatically convert your hand-written words into editable text. And while the flash drive can be recharged when connected to a USB port the pen uses standard batteries that will have to be periodically replaced.
The best part in my opinion is that EPOS claims the pen and flash drive will be available for as low as $80 sometime this Spring.
[ EPOS Digital Pen & USB Flash Drive ] VIA [ Crunch Gear ]
Damned, now that looks like something usefull! I use a pen and paper all the time for taking notes, so something like this could come in handy. If the handwriting recognition works well I might even buy one!
Ugh! Windows only!! OS X has Inkwell, hand writing recognition software. This would be great on a Mac. Sigh.
Looks like it worth trying out — assuming the bugs are cleared. Any news when the EPOS digital pen and USB drive will be availalbe in the US?
I have no idea when this thing will be hitting the market. But I’m definitely keeping my eye out. For the price it’s worth a shot.
It would have been nice this semester for Grad School.
When is the Epos digital pen and USB drive going to be available….Spring is almost past!
Now is July and it looks like noshop heard about something called EPOS digital pen. There is only this campain.
I would like if you notice me when it should appear in shops.
Tnx
I have been waiting for this since the CES. It is now mid July and . . . nobody knows. The epos-ps.com website has no new information and the Dane electronics website (the partner that was going to market and produce the pens), says nothing. One-Note and the Table-PC input panel in Vista will work great with this . . . if it is going to be a reality. It would also be great the use for live annotation of power point slides during lectures.
If they can’t keep their potential customers updated about something as simple as the release date, how is their customer service going to be? They’re unprofessional right off the bat. I think they had about a dozen pens made up to send to reviewers and then pffft the whole company went into vapourland. I’m really disappointed because the product was supposed to rock but I’ve got to have a solution so I’m moving on to research a different (and available) product. Boo hoo!
I would like to know were to purchase this device, please forward me the web-site or a local re-seller for more details.
I just found one of the pens on ebay for 47dollars. claims its brand new. http://cgi1.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=260150860213&Category=99247
Where are they selling these?
Check it out! It’s being auctioned here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130170680942&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=003
Ok folks, I just bought a Dane Z Pen for $129 at Samy’s Camera in Los Angeles. I little pricey considering the $80 estimate that has been floating around. That’s the bad news. Here’s the good news: This thing is COMPLETELY AWESOME!!! There is absolutely no documentation with the device (which, by the way, looks nothing like the EPOS model). So I clipped it to the top of an old spiral notebook, wrote about a paragraph’s worth of nonsense, and plugged it into my laptop. I have a Intel Macbook, by the way, so I tried to get it to recognize the drive, but no luck. But would you believe it, on a lark, I opened the drive using Mac OS 10.4 and there is an application on the drive that allows you to read the memory on a Mac (and save it as a PDF file to boot). The notes on my laptop’s screen were an exact image of what I’d written in my spiral. I am just blown away by the possibilities of this device. It is packages as a Dane-Elec ZPen. There are images and scant information at Dane’s website (www.danedigital.com). Enjoy!
Oops, meant to say I first tried to get it to recognize the drive using a virtual PC app (Parallels Desktop, for those in the know). Sorry for the confusion.
I too have been waiting for the purchasing of this product. I wanted to get it for my son who just went off to college, but I guess I will have to wait a bit longer. Hopefully not too long. I really want this product. OK gusy stop teasing us and let us know where we can purchase the USB Digital Pen.
I have used other digital pen system, mainly based on the Anoto functionality, and I am very curious to how the EPOS actually works in real life.
It seems odd to me that it works based on positioning relative to the USB hub and not be `reading’ from the dot patterns as the Anoto based system does.
But with the price point they are talking about, it’s going to be a good seller I think.
I’ll be getting one to do some testing with very soon.
I want one NOW. How do I purchase? I would like at least 50 before the end-of March.
Thanks for help.