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Pulse Smartpen should be required for college, not the iPhone
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OS X or Windows, either works with the Smartpen.
About a week ago, news broke that the University of Missouri’s journalism program was going to “require” its students to purchase an iPhone or an iTouch for the fall semester. The news obviously struck a chord with many readers because there was an outpouring of responses both in favor and against the initiative.
A significant number of you sided with the school and saw no problem with the program trying to get these products to its students. On the other hand, a lot of readers expressed some concern with the policy and in doing so, pointed out several alternatives to the iPhone and the iTouch that might better suite students in the lecture hall.
This will certainly be an ongoing debate, especially if more colleges follow the University of Missouri down the same road.
Now a great many of you suggested that “requiring” Netbooks might be the answer. They are cheap, they are efficient and they certainly have become all the rage. These are certainly a viable substitute to Apple’s products, but I think they present a likewise problem. Remember, the purpose of the requirement was to help students on financial aid have access to these products.
The difficulty with the Netbook is their recent shift towards using 3G data plans which are vastly superior to using Wi-Fi connections. You can use them that way, but it’s not recommended. Sure it’s easy to “require” students to purchase these for discounted prices, but what about the contracts that they will need to enter into in order to get the most out of them?
For instance, if a school “required” Netbooks for its students and they went on AT&T’s 3G unlimited data plan it would ultimately cost them an extra $1400 over the span of two years. Netbooks would be on par with the iTouch and the iPhone in that regard.
So, if not Netbooks, then what?
Well there was one email that stood out among the rest; partly because it took a different approach and partly because you could tell that this was a product that they truly believed would make a difference for students. And guess what they recommended to me? A pen.
A pen?
You read that correctly.
This is no ordinary pen however. It has its own power button.
Livescribe, based locally in Oakland, released their Pulse Smartpen last year and it has received rave reviews across the board. It definitely has great purpose in both the workplace (especially for Journalists) and in the classroom. If you haven’t heard of it, let’s run down a few features.
You can use it to write down notes like any other pen, however, using Livescribe’s Dot Paper, an infrared camera on the tip of the pen tracks everything you write or draw using DPS (Dot Positioning System). It sounds complicated but it takes the ease of note taking to a whole other level.
It has a built-in microphone that students can use to record lectures that, combined with its noise-cancelling on-board technology leaves the user with crisp and clear recordings. This is perfect to drown out that kid in the front row who is constantly giving his two cents.
The Smartpen also comes with a set of headphones, called the 3D Recording Headset. These feature ear buds with attached microphones that are able to help capture additional sound in large, noisy environments that the regular microphone might have trouble picking up.
Now comes the unique part. When you upload what you have written to your computer, Livescribe’s software will synchronize what you wrote with any audio it recorded. So if you missed something, all you have to do is tap the appropriate word on the Dot Paper and it will bring you to the audio section for you to listen to.
Also, on board the pen is a speaker for instant playback and an OLED screen that you can use to navigate the Smartpen and Pulse applications that you can download. And all of these are not even the best part.
When the Pulse Smartpen was first released it only supported users with Windows which obviously was a letdown for Mac users who wanted to get their hands on one.
This is not the case anymore.
As of March, Livescribe has included software for users of OS X 10.5.5 or higher. It was also voted “Best of Show” at the Macworld Expo 2009 with eight other products.
The Smartpen is available in two forms, the 1GB model which holds about 100 hours of audio and retails at $149 and the 2GB model which costs $199.
It does not feature an expensive contract or a data plan locking you in for years at a time. Once you make the initial investment, all you have to do is periodically buy the Dot Paper and new ink cartridges.
That’s it.
No data plans, no distractions.
When there are gadgets like this in the world, and the University of Missouri is trying to push the iPhone and iTouch onto its students, it is really difficult to believe that they have their students’ best interests at heart.
Even Apple thought it was great.
For more info: Contact Adam: admillios@gmail.com
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