Smartpens come in handy for artists who need to go the old ways of creating art using their hand. You can then share your art or your notes online, allowing you to fit your old world into the new one.
We’ve done extensive research, and below are the very best smart pens on the market today. Enjoy!
1. Livescribe 3 Smartpen
Intro
This pen was designed for accurate drawing and writing, which makes it a favorite of many artists. It comes with a comfortable and easy to use design. Its soft rubber grip coupled with its round design makes easy to hold.
Even for a total beginner, the pen takes 30 seconds to set up. You only need to install the app on your smartphone, and you are good to go. During use, the pen records no inaccuracies, and it makes the process of digitizing your handwriting very easy. The accompanying Livescribe app also allows you to record audio.
Pros
The pens last for up to 14 hours of continuous use on a charge. You can easily charge it with a Micro-USB at its tip. It is a heavy and thick pen, but this only makes it easy to hold. The pen is competitively priced, and it writes in smooth and consistent lines.
Cons
The pen is relatively heavy, and it requires expensive Livescribe notebooks. Again, the only color available is black.
2. Wacom Bamboo Folio
Intro
If you do a lot of drawing, the Wacom Bamboo is a great choice seeing that it allows you to use different papers that appear on its pad. It is a comfortable pen offered with a twist-to-start mechanism. The pen does not need to be charged, but the pad that comes with it takes up to eight hours on the charge. The pad will charge and be up in less than a minute to be paired with your smartphone.
Pros
It is easy to use this pad as all you have to do is touch on any part of the pad with your pen, and it starts making your work digital. After you are done, press the only button on the pad, and your work is synced and saved into your smartphone on the Wacom Inkspace App. After saving, you can see your saved sketches and edit as necessary.
Cons
The paper to be used with this pen must be aligned with the smartpad. The battery life of its pad is relatively short, and the unit cannot record audio.
3. Neo Smartpen N2
Intro
This pen feels easy on your hands, making it easier to draw and write with ease. However, the pen requires special notebooks and special writing pads too. It is a long pen with an elegant metallic body. This pen is loved for its ease of use – all you need is to press the button at the bottom of the pen to switch it on or off and to toggle the Bluetooth pairing settings.
Pros
Besides the ease of use, the pen is easy to charge with a micro-USB at the top of the pen. You are able to get the pen up and running in 30 seconds, which makes it easy to pair with a smartphone or a tablet. It comes in handy for artists who are looking for a sleek, metallic smartpen that gives smooth and continuous lines. It also offers one-click emailing for prepared notes or drawings.
Cons
The battery lasts for only five hours, which is way less than other pens on this list. Again, the pen is longer than other pens and has a metallic body which makes it relatively heavy.
4. Mobile Notes Pro Digital Smartpen
Intro
The Mobile Notes Digital Pen is one of the most popular Bluetooth enabled smartpens. This Bluetooth feature makes the pen a unique model and allows it to quickly sync with any smartphone or computer. The pen easily converts your handwriting into text and stores that in your computer while allowing you to share with great ease.
Pros
This pen applies ultrasound and infrared technology to send messages from its tip where the sensors are located. The transfer of messages is enabled by a receiver at the top of any size of paper. Your message is then digitized.
Unlike most pens, the technology applied in the engineering of this pen allows you to write on any surface making it highly versatile.
Cons
This pen requires the writer to be very careful. Otherwise, the writing will not appear consistent. By simply bumping the sensor during drawing or writing, your work will appear distorted. The pen has to be held in a certain way to ensure that the writing is recorded digitally.
5. Pulse Smartpen
Intro
This is another pen from Livescribe. It is a good option when you need a pen that can record audio and can duplicate your notes for online sharing. The pen comes in handy for taking notes, but you can also use it for drawing.
Pros
At the base of the pen, there is a small OLED screen that shows you the menu, and it also has a camera at its tip. The pen allows you to use a coded paper which uses a markup language to locate the position of written content on a page. There is a specially designed tablet, The Anoto, to write on with this pen.
If you have recorded audio and you need to play it, just hit a given keyword and the audio will play. This saves you the struggle of playing, forwarding, pausing and playing again.
Cons
This pen is relatively expensive, which doesn’t come as a surprise given its unique features.
6. Moleskine Pen
Intro
Given that the Moleskine Pen is part of the Smart Writing System by Moleskine,
you are guaranteed a high-quality product that is functional and lives up to its
expectations.
Pros
- The Moleskine Pen doesn’t sacrifice practicality or style
- It’s a sleek pen that is comfortable to hold and isn’t heavy
- It’s an easy pen for writing with which makes it an excellent choice for taking down
notes but not so much drawing - The app helps you digitize your notes as it can easily transfer what’s written on the
page of your notebook to your device - Compatible with both Apple and Android
- Comes with a recharging USB cable, a user manual and an ink refill for the tip of
the pen - Easily edit, share as well as organize your notes
- The app enables you to save your notes in PDF to cloud services such as
Evernote - Includes a high-quality notebook
- Each pen stroke is easily captured in real time thanks to the code technology and
gets transferred immediately to your device - Comes in two different styles and five different sizes
- It’s a very simple smartpen to use
- Uses batteries hence no need to worry about charging it
Cons
- It’s not the best smart pen for drawing
- Quite expensive
Final Thoughts
Smartpens are being ousted by styluses that come with smartphones, tablets, and laptops. However, they are still relevant, offering a great way to digitize handwritten notes. A pen with a voice recorder is better as it gives you more. However, if you intend to write and your handwriting is sloppy, you are better off not using a smartpen.